The aging workforce is becoming an increasingly prominent feature of the global labour market, with older workers projected to represent a significant proportion of the workforce in coming years. This demographic shift presents both challenges and opportunities for organizations across various industries. Key challenges include health and wellness concerns, potential technology and skill gaps, and the need for effective succession planning.

However, older employees offer valuable experience, institutional knowledge, and diversity of thought, which can enhance innovation and organizational performance. Shifting strategies, from recruitment to empowering and retaining, is imperative for organisational growth. With the average Indian now just 24 years old, and with over half the population under 25, industrialists and policymakers talk about India’s demographic dividend. But along with this rosy picture, there is another reality ~ older workers and their concerns that tend to get swept under the carpet. While companies, especially multinationals, proclaim themselves to be equal opportunity employers welcoming diversity in the workplace, it is not actually happening in India. With all the focus on attracting the young workers and keeping them, happy, older workers are, definitely, not turning out to be the first choice for employers.

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For MNCs that are unable to find enough workers in their own countries due to an aging and more expensive workforce, India provides a hunting ground for younger recruits. Aging population of India is no longer a distant matter of concern ~ it is a growing reality with profound economic and social implications. By 2050, nearly 20 per cent of India’s population will be over 60, challenging traditional workforce structures and retirement norms. The rise of the ‘aging workforce’ ~ older adults continuing employment beyond conventional retirement ~ demands urgent attention from policymakers, employers, and society. The concept of a fixed retirement age is gradually losing its relevance. Increasing life expectancy, albeit with a gap between overall lifespan and healthy lifespan, necessitates a re-evaluation of work and ageing.

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The United Nations’ Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030) stresses the need for individuals to maintain functional mobility and achieve personal goals. Employment plays a vital role in this, providing financial stability, purpose, and social engagement. However, India presents a dual reality when it comes to aging and work in the formal sector; structured retirement policies ensure pensions and welfare benefits but often disregard the potential contributions of older workers. Many retire not out of necessity but because of rigid policies, despite possessing valuable experience and institutional knowledge. This is a loss for both individuals and organisations.

On the other hand, the informal sector, which employs a significant portion of India’s elderly, allows workforce........

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