Wellness programming and creating an age-friendly culture in the workplace are keys to recruiting and retaining older employees, according to a Mather Institute survey of 232 senior living employees aged 50 and older.
The response rate was 27% out of a pool of potential respondents of 863 employees.
The survey was disseminated to employees in independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing, and most participating communities were life plan communities, a spokesperson for the Mather Institute told the McKnight’s Business Daily.
More than half of the respondents (approximately 54%) expressed plans to retire; 11% did not and 34% were not sure. On average, those who planned to retire or weren’t sure expected to stop working around age 69.
Most of the respondents said they were working mainly for financial reasons, but some said they would like to retire to explore hobbies, travel and other pursuits. According to the Mather Institute, flexible scheduling might entice older employees to stay on while they still enjoyed other pursuits. In addition, the report authors said that “intellectual wellness programming, rated as highly important by employees but offered less frequently by employers, may allow employees to seek opportunities to learn and grow, expanding their interests outside of their daily work regimen.”
Respondents indicated that employers should broaden their definition of physical wellness programming, perhaps even adding programs that would allow employees to interact with each other to foster improved social wellness.
“Physical wellness offerings were the most common type offered by employers; however, employees may be interested in addressing both their current and future anticipated health needs of themselves or their family, since some anticipate departing the workforce either because of their own health reasons, or needing to serve in a caregiver role in response to a family member’s health issues,” the report authors said.
Finally, older workers are looking for age-friendly workplaces, Mather said. Employers should aim to foster a supportive environment for workers of all ages by understanding what workers of different ages may want and need, rather than on perceived notions. The study showed that age-friendly workplace ranks highly as factor in job satisfaction, and wellness programming should reflect that.
“Workers who felt that their workplace was a positive environment for people of all ages also reported higher job satisfaction, reduced intentions to leave the employer, and reduced feelings of burnout,” the authors wrote.
