Retirees are ready to rejoin the workforce post-pandemic

Retirees are feeling the effects of an unstable economy and it’s causing many of them to seek out new job opportunities.

Due to COVID-19, nearly 1 in 4 retirees feel it is “extremely necessary” for them to return to work and generate income, according to a study conducted by Bay Alarm Medical. Forty-five percent of retirees said they’ve already applied for remote-work gigs or positions, even though nearly half feel there is a significant technology skills gap to overcome.

“The retirees we spoke with almost unanimously found remote work at least slightly appealing,” says Melody Kasulis, who conducted the research on behalf of Bay Alarm Medical. “Nearly half are considering working remotely 10-20 hours a week. The benefit of returning to work in a remote setting is that it provides retirees an opportunity to supplement their income while providing flexible scheduling that suits them.”

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The pandemic forced thousands of workers out the door — more than two-thirds of respondents said they retired earlier than expected, up significantly from the 50% of employees who left the workforce for early retirement last year, according to an survey by Allianz Life. As vaccination efforts continue to progress, those workers are concerned with returning to the workforce amidst an anticipated competitive hiring frenzy.

However, in spite of these fears, it’s likely that there won’t be any competition between retirees and newer applicants due to the fact that the two demographics are in search of different things from their prospective companies, according to Kasulis. While older employees are searching for gigs of less than 30 hours a week, younger employees are in search of full-time positions that offer upgraded technology, educational opportunities, diversity initiatives and put less of a focus on output.

“It will be interesting to see how employers evaluate the influx of experienced job-seeking professionals who are likely only available on a part-time basis and may require tech skill training,” she says.

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While older professionals are the demographic most willing to return on-site once vaccines are distributed, over half of all the remote professionals surveyed said they’d prefer to continue working remotely, even once inoculated. Closing the digital divide will be necessary as older employees return to work.

Companies like PwC have already begun rolling out programs to re-skill and upskill their workers. Their platform, ProEdge, helps employers understand the current capabilities of their employees and then pinpoints the digital skills they’ll need to improve based on labor data and industry trends. The program will also help employers identify skills gaps and design a plan to close them.

“Investing in employee training is an essential part of strengthening culture, attracting and retaining employees and quickly adapting to the changing world of work,” says Lucy Suros, president of Articulate, a virtual learning platform. “Employers will need to become a positive force in their employees’ overall life experience if they want to remain competitive in the hiring market.”