Not done yet
How organizations can support older workers' later-career ambitions and extend their working lives
Populations in industrial economies are ageing. Within the UK, in 2015, just over 12% of the population was aged over sixty; by 2050, almost 20% will be in this age group. At the same time, people can expect to live healthy lives for about five years more than they do now. This creates a challenge: as more people retire, there are fewer working-age people to support them. Efforts to support employees who continue working are crucial. Government-led measures have included legislation against age discrimination, although more common policies focus on limiting early retirement by, for example, abolishing statutory retirement ages and deferring eligibility for state pensions. Companies have also made changes, offering flexible working and training for new skills. While these policies have had some impact, many of those aged over-60 are still not working, which remains a widespread policy concern.
The importance of bridge work
Financial necessity is usually the main reason people continue working. But if people only work because they must, their engagement is inevitably diminished. The challenge, then, is not simply extending working lives but ensuring that workers feel valued and engaged later in their careers. Some people do, though, continue working even when they have no financial need, often taking ‘bridge work’ having retired from their main career. These workers tend to be more engaged because they are choosing to work.
Our research has examined the working experiences and retirement intentions of seventy-nine self-selecting later-career managers and professionals. All were over 55, had previously held a managerial or professional role, and were now engaged in paid or voluntary bridge work (Warhurst & Black, 2026).
Our participants’ stories show that financial concerns, elder-care responsibilities and declining physical and particularly mental health had often ‘pushed’ them to move into bridge work. They had other significant reasons too. Many people left because they were unhappy with their career work or organisation. Some had experienced discrimination or felt pushed aside – sometimes by well-meaning HRM policies which singled them out as needing extra support, which made them feel marginalised.
Engaging in bridge work, though, brought real benefits for our participants and beyond. The evident advantages of continued income and a daily routine. People found that working gave them a sense of purpose, personal satisfaction, and a feeling of making a social contribution. These benefits helped people stay motivated and engaged in their work. Therefore, if we want to understand how older workers might stay engaged in their main careers, we need to understand how they might be better supported in restoring, rejuvenating, or reinventing themselves as they progress into later careers.
Supporting older workers
Later-career workers prefer to engineer their own futures, and HR activity should recognise the potential contributions they can make when they remain engaged with work. Organisations should therefore be encouraged to offer opportunities for lateral job moves, even external moves, where these would benefit individuals, given the significant socio-economic benefits of their remaining within work. Retirement preparation within organisations should be supplemented with opportunities for older workers to build awareness of the possibilities open to them in later career. This preparation should focus on helping workers understand how they can become the person they would like to be, whether through remaining in their current career or moving to alternative work, paid or voluntary.
Interested?
Warhurst, R. P., & Black, K. (2026). Career crafting for extending working lives: theorising experiences of later-career. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2026.2615712
Author:
Kate Black is Professor of Management Learning and Education at Newcastle Business School, where she is Associate Head, Education. Kate’s research examines learning as a process of ‘being’ and ‘becoming’, that is, of identity formation. Previously, Kate was the out-going co-Vice-Chair for the British Academy of Management’s Management Knowledge and Education portfolio and is the current Deputy Vice-President Education for the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management (IFSAM).