[UK] Older people working from home likely to stay in workforce longer

[UK] Older people working from home likely to stay in workforce longer
02 Sep 2021

Working from home can help keep older people in the workforce for longer, experts say, as official figures show many workers over the age of 50 have switched to remote working during the pandemic, People Management reports.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that two-thirds of older workers who had never worked from home before the COVID-19 pandemic had now shifted to working from home at least part-time. 

Between January and February 2020, two-thirds (66.8 per cent) of workers aged 50 years and over reportedly said that they never worked from home. However, of these workers, two in five (41.5 per cent) changed to working from home ‘sometimes, often or always’ at some point between April 2020 and March 2021.

Additionally, the ONS data found that, in June and July 2020, those who were working entirely from home were more likely to say they were planning to retire later (11 per cent) compared with those not working from home (5 per cent).

The ONS also cited data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing COVID-19 substudy, which found working from home would allow older workers with a disability or illness to stay in the labour force longer.

The study noted that one in 10 (10.9 per cent) workers with a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity who work from home said they were now planning to retire later compared to just 5.9 per cent of those not working from home.

Based on these results, working from home was noted to be a positive sign as the ONS suggested that poor health was one of the main reasons for this cohort dropping out of the labour market.

Even prior to the onset of the pandemic, the ONS found health benefits for older workers who worked from home. It found that 84.4 per cent of older workers who moved to home working before the pandemic reported ‘excellent’, ‘very good’ or ‘good’ health, compared to 78.5 per cent of older workers whose work location had not changed.

Jonathan Boys - labour market economist at the CIPD - told People Management that older workers were more likely to value flexibility than younger workers.

"More home working options increases the match between older workers' preferences and the available employment opportunities”, Mr Boys said. “It can extend working lives and is a positive outcome from the big home working experiment.” 

However, Mr Boys added that home working was only one form of flexible working and employers must consider offering a wider range of options, including flexi-time, job shares or part-time working.

Cheney Hamilton - CEO of flexible working recruiter Find Your Flex - warned that older workers were being pushed out of pre-pandemic roles.

According to Ms Hamilton, people aged 45 years old and above are “job hunting in droves” as a result of the pandemic and older workers have been hit particularly hard by the move to remote working. 

"Many older workers are seeking flexibility to accommodate a better work-life balance as they enter the latter stages of their working lives,” she said, adding that while flexibility was once a luxury, it “is now a requirement if you're lucky enough to find a role".

A Saga poll in 2018, for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), found that, when asked how workplaces could become more welcoming to older workers, more than three-quarters (78 per cent) of those aged 50 and over said that workplaces should introduce flexible working including working from home arrangements.



Source: People Management

Working from home can help keep older people in the workforce for longer, experts say, as official figures show many workers over the age of 50 have switched to remote working during the pandemic, People Management reports.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that two-thirds of older workers who had never worked from home before the COVID-19 pandemic had now shifted to working from home at least part-time. 

Between January and February 2020, two-thirds (66.8 per cent) of workers aged 50 years and over reportedly said that they never worked from home. However, of these workers, two in five (41.5 per cent) changed to working from home ‘sometimes, often or always’ at some point between April 2020 and March 2021.

Additionally, the ONS data found that, in June and July 2020, those who were working entirely from home were more likely to say they were planning to retire later (11 per cent) compared with those not working from home (5 per cent).

The ONS also cited data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing COVID-19 substudy, which found working from home would allow older workers with a disability or illness to stay in the labour force longer.

The study noted that one in 10 (10.9 per cent) workers with a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity who work from home said they were now planning to retire later compared to just 5.9 per cent of those not working from home.

Based on these results, working from home was noted to be a positive sign as the ONS suggested that poor health was one of the main reasons for this cohort dropping out of the labour market.

Even prior to the onset of the pandemic, the ONS found health benefits for older workers who worked from home. It found that 84.4 per cent of older workers who moved to home working before the pandemic reported ‘excellent’, ‘very good’ or ‘good’ health, compared to 78.5 per cent of older workers whose work location had not changed.

Jonathan Boys - labour market economist at the CIPD - told People Management that older workers were more likely to value flexibility than younger workers.

"More home working options increases the match between older workers' preferences and the available employment opportunities”, Mr Boys said. “It can extend working lives and is a positive outcome from the big home working experiment.” 

However, Mr Boys added that home working was only one form of flexible working and employers must consider offering a wider range of options, including flexi-time, job shares or part-time working.

Cheney Hamilton - CEO of flexible working recruiter Find Your Flex - warned that older workers were being pushed out of pre-pandemic roles.

According to Ms Hamilton, people aged 45 years old and above are “job hunting in droves” as a result of the pandemic and older workers have been hit particularly hard by the move to remote working. 

"Many older workers are seeking flexibility to accommodate a better work-life balance as they enter the latter stages of their working lives,” she said, adding that while flexibility was once a luxury, it “is now a requirement if you're lucky enough to find a role".

A Saga poll in 2018, for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), found that, when asked how workplaces could become more welcoming to older workers, more than three-quarters (78 per cent) of those aged 50 and over said that workplaces should introduce flexible working including working from home arrangements.



Source: People Management

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