Senior workers represent one of the largest untapped resources in today’s workforce. As populations age, organisations face a demographic shift that demands new approaches to talent management.
By 2040, four out of five countries will see their working-age population growth slow or reverse. In the EU, most countries will see the share of senior workers increase to 55% of their labour force by 2030.
At the same time, health spans have increased, meaning many 60-year-olds today have several healthy years ahead of them.
Why are senior workers a hot topic right now?
Senior workers are likely to become a key area of focus for organisations in the next few years. “Companies desperately need skilled young people because they are their future,” says Alessandra Giordano, Employability Director at INTOO Italy, a Gi Group Holding career development and outplacement company. “But the flip side of the demographic shift has received far less attention until recently: what to do with the growing number of senior workers.”
With workforces ageing rapidly and young talent shortages growing, the share of senior workers in the workforce is increasing rapidly, and is expected to continue to do so for decades, making them an untapped opportunity.
More experienced workers bring institutional knowledge, professional networks, and deep understanding of company culture and values. Research consistently shows that age-diverse teams are more motivated, perform better, and have higher retention rates. According to Harvard Business Review, companies embracing a multi-generational workforce are 45% more likely to see their market share grow.
What are the pressures senior workers face today?
Senior workers encounter significant bias and stereotypes. According to Gi Group Holding’s 2025 Global Candidate and HR Surveys:
- 28.5% of candidates reported experiencing age-related discrimination;
- ageism was reported more frequently than gender-based discrimination.
Some 69% of HR leaders cite adapting to new technologies as a key challenge for workers over 55, but only 57% of senior candidates agree – showing that there’s a disconnect between senior workers and how they are perceived. Nearly 40% of senior workers report limited professional development opportunities, while 44% point to limited career progression.
The result is that many experienced professionals begin to feel invisible long before they leave the workforce.
What do senior workers want from the world of work?
Senior workers seek relevance, value, and purpose. “In a way, older workers are no different from any other worker: they need to feel seen, valued, and maintain a sense of purpose,” INTOO’s Giordano told us.
Senior workers want to feel like they are still part of their organisation’s plans, that their experience and skills are put to good use, and seek clarity about where they fit in a fast-changing workplace. “So many managers of 50 or 55 who have just lost their jobs or who are still in work but unsatisfied feel like part of the office furniture, somebody whose opinion doesn’t matter,” longevity expert Emanuela Notari told us.
One way to do that is to continue training programmes past a certain age and focus on skills development rather than career progression alone.
How can organisations better support ageing workforces?
Companies can map critical skills, design age-inclusive learning models, and analyse workforce data by age. Embedding age explicitly in non-discrimination policies and structuring intergenerational collaboration are key. Developing mentoring as a skill can help senior workers transfer knowledge effectively.
“We increasingly suggest that people over 50 or 55 are valued for their ability to transfer skills, through structured shadowing, handovers and mentoring,” says Paola Marongiu, Delivery Manager at INTOO. “That kind of role carries enormous value.”
The bottom line: why companies need a longevity strategy
Ignoring senior workers means losing institutional knowledge and missing opportunities for better performance. With ageing workforces and skills gaps, organisations cannot afford to overlook this talent pool. Senior workers tend to remain in jobs longer, take fewer days off, and identify more strongly with company values.
Discover More than Work
Heritage is only one of the major crossroads explored in More than Work. Through research, insights and expert perspectives, the project examines the forces reshaping work and what organisations can do to build a more sustainable, inclusive and human-centred future of work.