Societal aging and workplace automation are rapidly and fundamentally transforming the future of work.
At the convergence of these two trends sits a variety of risks and opportunities for employers. Older workers are facing significant displacement risks at the hands of emerging technologies, and are often overlooked as viable sources of renewed productivity. Employers would do well to redeploy the unique abilities of older workers as part and parcel of any digital transformation strategy.
Indeed, employers that don’t incorporate older workers into their workplace strategies run the risk of exacerbating unemployment and underemployment among this segment, contributing to social instability and missing a valuable opportunity to enhance productivity.
*The Risk of Automation to Older Workers score reflects, on average, the proportion of tasks done by older workers that are automatable. This value is a weighted average based on the proportion of older workers employed in various occupations.
Mercer’s report, The Twin Threats of Aging and Automation, focuses on 15 major markets to examine and quantify the risks of rapid societal aging and of older workers’ susceptibility to automation. Key findings include:
Africa