On February 16th, I wrote an article here on LinkedIn reflecting on ten HR trends for 2022. I would like to return to two of them, from the perspective of people 50+: the shift to hybrid work and the central importance of Employee Experience.
It may sound strange that I do not use the trend of the increasing importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. But these have become obvious.
To begin with, the pandemic accelerated something that organizations were already gradually adopting: the hybrid model, where we merge home-office work with face-to-face work. Going even further, we are reinventing physical workspaces in companies, while actually working from anywhere, even in the Metaverse.
And what does this have to do with 50+? All! We seniors want to remain citizens of the world. We want the freedom to spend part of the year close to family and part of it trying out new places. We want to be at the grandchildren's house one day and see old friends the next. Maybe, move to our hometown. Of course, this trend is not exclusive to the 50+. Among younger people, there is a growing tendency not to buy their own home. What is special about seniors is our multiplicity of human relationships created throughout life, which connect us to many places. Being able to work with such freedom is potential for attracting 50+ talent.
Another strong trend, which I mentioned in my article, is the central importance of Employee Experience as a way to mitigate the shortage of certain talents. Here come the new labor relations as part of the company's strategies to have an attractive and productive organizational environment.
Flexible work formats are critical for all generations. And, for the 50+, this has particular meaning. At this stage of life, we cultivate multiple interests. We want (and need) to work, but we also want to resume old hobbies, study new content, spend more time with family. Work continues to be of central importance, but it is not the only activity we want to dedicate our time to. The model of eight hours a day no longer works. Therefore, the new flexible work formats allow the creation of multiple life plans, offering 50+ people the possibility to explore all their interests.
I am very optimistic about the possibilities these HR trends bring to the employability of people 50+. As I see the movement to eliminate ageism growing rapidly in all social spaces. Companies that actively build the future are already preparing for a talent market where the offer of 50+ people will be growing. And for that, they already experiment and quickly learn flexible models and new labor relations. How is your company doing in this practice so in tune with the new times?
Pedro Pittella,
Head of HR at Sanofi and Labora League Ambassador for generational inclusion
EN 
PT_BR