Lisa Toppin, Ed.D. HR Executive and Consultant.
getty
Employee resource groups have long offered an important vehicle for employees to connect with one another. Organizations position these groups as foundational anchors for diversity, equity and inclusion programs because they bring people together with a clear purpose. ERG members often state that the value is in the connection and support that comes from having a definitive place to gather, acknowledge challenges and proactively build the community. Organizations need the grassroots enthusiasm these groups provide to drive thinking forward and build solid programs.
ERGs have typically focused on professionals who are early in their careers. What's becoming clear now is that a large group of organizations' mature workers need similar support. An active push to add mature worker-focused ERGs can reduce career isolation, support the changing landscape of career progression and provide the space for deeper personal connections.
The Issues That Mature Workers Face
Workers over 40 years old often experience isolation in corporate environments, and their needs go largely unaddressed. Programs designed to support inclusion, like employee resource groups, are generally intended for groups in protected classes, but they often focus on race, gender, sexual orientation or disability. Less often is there a focus on older workers, even though they're a protected group that's often cited as the most at-risk during layoffs. Yet, there's been less of a push to provide organizational support to this group, and that needs to change.
The challenge that the over-40 crowd faces is the unstated expectation for seniority. If you haven't progressed to higher ranks by the time you hit 50, you're generally less considered for promotion, if you're thought of at all. This isn't healthy or right. There are many reasons people are choosing not to push to the top, and of course, there's the reality that many people have been structurally excluded from reaching the higher echelons of organizations. In no way does this reflect their talent, effort or capability. This is all the more reason they shouldn't be left out of mentoring programs or other ways in which they might be seen and supported in their work life.
Organizations may be a bit behind, but it's not too late to offer inclusion and value to workers over 40 who have been excluded and, in many instances, become invisible. Ongoing exclusion from support programs and promotions sends a powerful message to mature workers that they no longer belong. We cannot afford to let employees suffer in isolation on the job.
What Organizational Support Can Provide
Using structures that already exist, like ERGs, can allow employers to make a concerted effort toward including middle-aged or older workers. This is a ready-made opportunity that should be leveraged to communicate that Baby Boomers and early Gen-Xers are welcome and supported so they can contribute their best to the organization.
With Baby Boomers and Gen-X making up a combined 58% of the workforce, employers need to take a more active role in supporting the specific needs and concerns of this group. These employees are staying in the workforce longer, but it's not necessarily because they want to continue working. In my experience, it's because they don't know what they would do in retirement. An ERG structure could help this group focus on its needs and find solutions to their concerns.
In the same way women and other underrepresented groups may conduct organization-wide programming on breaking through bias, mature workers could present on securing and creating retirement plans. These conversations are happening in isolation, and it could be more robust and powerful to have talks and share ideas together, in the open. This kind of support lends itself to engagement, which is tied to the bottom line. Helping employees sort through their true concerns helps the organization. Taking a proactive approach will make a difference.
Mature Workers, Like Everyone, Need Connection
Considering all of these issues together, it's no wonder mature workers are struggling with connection. We learned throughout the Covid-19 pandemic that people who live alone depend on physical engagement with co-workers much more than they realized. We're watching professionals decide not to retire because they recognize they could face significant isolation, and some are still recovering from mandatory remote work during the worst of the pandemic.
Real connection is exactly what many need, especially considering how often people form friendships at work anyway. Why not use our standing structures to provide support and pathways to real connection? Employees in the same life stage could greatly benefit from coming together through support programs like ERGS and solving the challenges they face.
Mature workers remain quite present in our organizations, and we can no longer afford to ignore them. They still require support and attention regarding their careers, and overlooking a group makes it challenging for them to speak up. Organizations, and particularly HR practitioners, need to lead the way and signal these workers are safe and welcome.
Helping employees talk about and solve their real concerns drives loyalty and engagement. Don't shy away from helping mature employees with career progression, addressing isolation, discussing retirement planning and providing opportunities for connection. Supporting older generations only sets the precedent for the next—and what a powerful precedent to have.
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