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Helping Minnesotans to work longer before
retirement can benefit the state’s economy and also support workers who lack
sufficient savings to retire.
That’s a finding of a recent study
conducted for the Minnesota Board on Aging by Humphrey School of Public Affairs
students in partnership with Hennepin County.
“Addressing the looming worker
shortage will require continued focus if Minnesota’s economy is to remain
vibrant,” the report says. “To ensure adequate numbers of employees in the next
decade, Minnesota employers will need to offer compensation and benefits to
attract and retain older workers. This will mean more flexible work schedules,
benefits that may include health insurance … the possibility of working
remotely and other flexible workplace offerings.”
The study found Minnesota is one of
the nation’s top 10 states in its proportion of baby boomers — people born
between 1946 and 1964 — to the general population. This is reflected in
Hennepin County government, where more than a third of some 8,000 workers are
over 55. Furthermore, because many older county workers hold leadership
positions, the county’s leadership ranks will be greatly affected by
retirements in the coming decade, the report said.
“The Minnesota Board on Aging welcomes
these findings as it charts a path to 2030, when baby boomers begin to turn
85,” said Kari Benson, executive director of the Minnesota Board on Aging.
“Support is needed for the many Minnesotans who want to remain employed out of
economic necessity and/or because it contributes significantly to the community
and to the individual’s quality of life.”
County leaders who were surveyed
view older workers as having experience and resilience as well as mentoring,
customer service and communications skills. Nearly 64 percent of survey
respondents said it is important to encourage older employees to stay in the
workplace past traditional retirement age to meet department needs. Challenges
to employing older workers include their occasional inability to adapt to
workplace changes such as new technology as well as physical limitations and
taking time off to care for older parents. However, respondents said these
challenges depend on the individual and in some cases affect younger workers,
including those who need to take time off for child care.
“This report makes a compelling case
that all employers should recognize retirees and older workers as a valuable
talent resource to be relied upon for their institutional knowledge and
mentoring skills for new workers,” said Michael Rossman, Hennepin County chief
human resources officer. “With a pending worker shortage in our region, this is
not a population of talent to be overlooked and is one to be engaged.”
Hennepin County already works to attract older workers with
such approaches as flexible workplaces, ability to work remotely, phased
retirement and limited duration contracts. The study noted that most successful
retention and recruitment efforts, such as flexible work times and places,
training and other features, benefit younger as well as older workers.
The report recommends the Minnesota
Board on Aging:
- Support policies that benefit older workers,
particularly provisions that help lower-income workers who lack sufficient
retirement savings and who will therefore benefit the most from staying in
the workforce past retirement age;
- Advise and educate partners and other Minnesotans on
the workplace shortage and opportunities for employers to use older workers;
- Develop a common language about the value of older
workers; and
- Continue research on the topic, leveraging the University
of Minnesota as a resource, and involve Minnesota non-profit, for-profit
and other public sector employees.
The report recommends Hennepin
County:
- Continue to celebrate the value of older workers;
- Clarify work expectations by developing conversation
guidelines for returning older workers and their managers as a way to
clarify roles, work tasks and differences between full-time and part-time
responsibilities;
- Encourage two-way mentoring to promote greater
understanding and respect among all employees; and
- Continue communications regarding the worker
shortage and solutions.
The report, “Older
Workers: A Key to Bridging the Workforce Gap,” is on the Minnesota Board on
Aging website. It was completed as a capstone to the students’ Master of Public
Affairs degrees at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public
Affairs.
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