Canadians Approaching Retirement Willing to Work Part-Time with Reduced Stress: Statistics Canada

A majority of Canadians approaching retirement are willing to prolong their working lives if offered reduced work hours and reduced stress levels.

New data from Statistics Canada published on Tuesday indeed indicate that certain measures could promote the retention of more experienced workers in the job market.

About 55% of people aged 55 to 80, still working or partially retired, said they would continue to work longer if they became part-timers.

Slightly less than half of these respondents indicated that they would stay employed if they could spend less time at work without it affecting their pension.

A lower stress level or less physically demanding tasks were also named as an incentive for postponing retirement among 43% of respondents. Next come more interesting work (37.6%), salary increases (34.2%) and better health (29.3%).

These data are taken from the Labor Force Survey conducted last June for which additional questions were asked for respondents aged 55 to 80.

This is the first time that the federal agency has collected this type of data.

The study also reveals distinctions between the provinces. Quebecers gave a little more importance to part-time work as a factor in staying employed compared to Ontarians (59.6% versus 56%), mentioned Vincent Hardy, principal researcher at the information center on the labor market at Statistics Canada.

“In Ontario, the characteristics of the job itself seemed to be a bit more of a factor,” he said in an interview. In particular, the salary increase was perceived more as an interesting incentive in Ontario than in Quebec.

The survey also presents a portrait of the factors leading to retirement. Being financially prepared and health issues topped the deciding considerations.

The data also shows that nearly 22% of Canadians aged 55 to 59 say they have fully or partially retired. They are twice as numerous among those aged 60 to 64 (44.9%), and about four times more among those aged 65 to 69 (80.5%).

Progress still needed

The results of the federal agency are consistent with other studies on the issue of retaining experienced workers, such as those of the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ) or of the professor at the school of administrative sciences at the TELUQ, Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay.

“It confirms things that I had observed, among other things that in some cases employers may not always do what is necessary to retain experienced workers, especially in the context of labor scarcity. “said Mr.^me Tremblay in interview.

She points out that in her survey conducted in 2022, in collaboration with the College of Chartered Human Resources Advisors, 19% of experienced workers surveyed said they would have liked to extend their career if their employer had given them the opportunity.

“It’s easier to retain people who are still there in the labor market today. Once they’re gone, it’s a much bigger effort to bring them back,” says Ms.^me Tremblay.

A culture change is taking place among Quebec employers to implement specific policies targeting workers aged 55 and over. But progress remains to be made, recognizes Denis Hamel, vice-president of workforce development policies at the CPQ.

“Very, very often, employers have told us that they don’t know how to manage human resources in such a way as to favor the retention of experienced workers,” he says.

If offering part-time or atypical schedules cannot apply in all sectors of activity, a multitude of other avenues are possible to promote their retention.

M^me Tremblay and Mr. Hamel cite in particular a lightening or modification of tasks so that they transfer their knowledge by becoming mentors, supervisors or trainers in order to enhance their experience.

Governments should also review the taxation of these groups of employees, adds Mr. Hamel. “When we question experienced workers, they have the impression that working past 60 is almost like giving the government their pay since pensions are often cut,” he recalls.

In a context of labor shortage, experienced workers aged 55 and over represent a valuable contribution to businesses, argues Ms.^me Tremblay.

“They have this great advantage of being already trained. And we recognize a certain number of particular qualities in them, in particular loyalty, their commitment, their relations with the customers, the quality of the service and the work,” she concludes.

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