According to a recent government survey, Japan’s older workers are still quite motivated to keep working and are far more willing than their counterparts in three other countries.
Japanese aged 60 and above are more motivated to work, with 40.2% stating that they wanted to work or continue in their jobs, according to the government’s annual report on the ageing society. This compares to the United States (29.9%), Germany (28.1%), and Sweden (26.6%).
However, the report also noted that businesses will need to adopt a more flexible work style, which includes telework and remote working, in order for these older workers to remain in the workforce. This is especially true for workers above the retirement age, who do not have as much energy to contribute as they used to.
The survey was conducted from December 2020 to January 2021 on 1,367, 1,006, 1,043 and 1,528 seniors aged 60 and older in Japan, the US, Germany and Sweden, respectively.
The employment of older workers has been increasing in the past decade. In 2020, the employment rate for people aged 65 or older registered a record high of 25.1%, according to The Japan Times.
This trend of employing older workers and increasing the retirement age is due to a growing shortage of manpower in the global workforce. Notably, many developed nations are facing a population crisis, resulting in declining birth rates. this in turn has led to a lower number of new talent entering the workforce over the years.
Japan’s population as of October 1 last year registered 125.71 million people, which includes 36.19 million people aged 65 or older, representing 28.8% of the country.
