They learned, they grew, they succeeded - so why retire? The gift of experience

Abstract

What could motivate well educated and experienced employees to offer their expertise beyond the legal retirement age in markets with a shortage of skilled workers?At the same time, what could motivate employers to offer retirement as an option and not a foregone conclusion after a successful and fulfilled working life?This studypresents a first approach to analyse the literature that researches the impact of a seasoned and experienced workforce on the economic success of organizationsand to reflect this in the context ofan exploratory collection of qualitative data.We used a triangulation approach that consisted of a systematic literature review, a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews and an observation of the German labourmarket. In our exploratory research, we conducted nineinterviews with participants of the German labourmarket,representing a balanced number of employers and employees as well as women and men.We used this data to challenge or validate our hypothesis that there are experienced employees near and beyond the legal retirement age thatcould be a solution to the scarcity of skilled labour. Our thematic analysis revealed that both sides are open toconversations andto constructingcreative solutions.