The EnvisionaryAs we see people live longer and work longer, there’s numerous challenges we must consider solutions for to help elder generations adapt in work and life.
The global demographic landscape is changing rapidly. With an aging population, it’s essential to address the unique challenges and opportunities this shift presents.
Older individuals (and generations) have a wealth of wisdom and experience, and harnessing their knowledge is not only beneficial to them but also to society as a whole.
Here, we explore the main challenges faced by aging populations, as well as the current and potential innovative solutions to help combat that, and ways both individuals and startups can get involved in empowering and enriching the lives of older generations.
Challenge: Ageism in the Workplace
Ageism can limit the career opportunities of older workers. Human Resources (HR) departments often hesitate to change due to fears of offending and may not make decisions to address this issue, or not empathising enough with people in this position.
Solution: Age-Friendly Workplaces
Ensure workplaces are matching employers and employees through experience and skill-based selection processes, and seeing the value in passing old wisdom into new domains.
Existing Example: AARP’s “Work Reimagined” program connects older professionals with age-friendly employers, promoting inclusive workplaces.
How to Get Involved: Individuals can advocate for age-inclusive workplaces within their organizations. Startups can offer age diversity consulting services to businesses looking to create a more inclusive environment.
Challenge: Wasted Legacy (& Experience)
Elder workers can feel like they aren’t valued anymore and are somewhat expendable. When someone ages it should not mean their lifetime of knowledge, experience, and wisdom should be lost, but too often we have seen elder workers be undervalued and their valuable skills not be utilised or captured for future generations to learn from.
Solution: Elderly Entrepreneurship & Consultancy Pools
Encourage older adults to start their businesses or consulting services, utilising their experience, creating pools of elderly professionals to offers advisory services to organisations.
Existing Example: “Senior Entrepreneurship Works” is an organization offering resources and support to older adults looking to start their businesses.
Existing Example: “The Executives in Transition” program connects retired professionals with businesses seeking expert advice.
How to Get Involved: Individuals can become mentors or advisors, offering their expertise and experience to local businesses seeking advice or for senior entrepreneurs. Startups can establish platforms for retired professionals to offer their services or support, or partner with organizations like “Senior Entrepreneurship Works.”
Solution: Digital Legacy Building Services
Tools and services to help individuals document their life stories, wisdom, and digital assets, or platforms that allow older individuals to inspire (and connect with) younger generations long after they have passed away. This could be a digital legacy where they share life lessons, stories, and advice.
Existing Example: “StoryWorth” is a service that emails a question each week to an older person, prompting them to share their life stories. Their responses are compiled into a book or digital archive.
Existing Example: “Everplans” assists in end-of-life planning, including digital asset management.
How to Get Involved: Individuals can sign up for services like “StoryWorth” to document their own legacy. Startups can offer tools and services to develop digital legacy platforms that facilitate storytelling, wisdom sharing, and digital legacy creation.
Challenge: Keeping Up With Technology
Many people in today’s world know basic computer literacy, but when you were born and raised in decades without technology it can be a very big hurdle to be able to learn new and vastly changing technology as efficiently as those raised with it at their fingertips from a young age.
Solution: Digital Literacy Technology Platforms
Develop platforms tailored to older individuals, offering courses on technology, financial literacy, and contemporary skills.
Existing Example: “Senior Planet” offers free technology and digital literacy courses to seniors, both online and in-person.
Existing Example: The AARP’s “Create the Good” program offers resources to help seniors embrace technology and stay connected, from basic internet usage to smartphone skills.
How to Get Involved: Individuals can become digital literacy trainers for seniors. Startups can create or support local digital literacy programs for older adults.
Individuals and startups can also volunteer or partner with organizations like AARP to assist older adults in embracing technology, or offer training sessions or support for seniors in your local community.
Challenge: Mental Health Concerns (& Resistance To Change)
Whilst people get older and their physical nature faces more strains, so too do the mental challenges.
When you are older you’ve experienced life more, which also means you’ve experienced more hardships and memories such as seeing people around you pass on.
As such, older individuals often face resistance or fears in adapting to new technologies and ways of working, and they may be hesitant to change if it involves challenges.
With less flexible minds and more isolation as we age there needs to be solutions to help our aging population deal with that, plus to deal with living longer lives than before.
Solution: Holistic Wellness Programs
Develop wellness programs that focus on physical, mental, and emotional well-being, addressing the overall health of older individuals.
How to Get Involved: Individuals can lead wellness classes or support seniors in their community. Startups can offer wellness program development services.
Solution: Eldercare Services
Create businesses that offer eldercare services and companionship to allow seniors to maintain their independence while receiving support.
Existing Example: “Caring.com” is a comprehensive resource for senior care services, including reviews and advice.
How to Get Involved: Individuals can offer caregiving or companionship services. Startups can develop platforms to connect caregivers with seniors in need.
Solution: Art and Culture Workshops
Organise workshops that allow older individuals to express their creativity, providing a creative outlet and enhancing mental well-being, as well as helping them with any resistance to change by seeing how change can be liberating for them.
How to Get Involved: Individuals can lead art and culture workshops or participate in community-based programs. Startups can create platforms for organizing such workshops.
Solution: Virtual Assistant Robots
Introduce virtual assistant robots that help older people maintain health when human assistance isn’t available. These robots can remind them to take medications, provide exercise routines, and offer companionship.
Existing Example: “Jibo” is a social robot designed for companionship and assistance with daily tasks, although it’s more geared toward the general population.
How to Get Involved: Individuals can explore affordable robot-assisted solutions for older family members. Startups can develop or customise virtual assistant robots for older adults.
Challenge: A Growing Disconnect Between Younger And Older Generations
Older heads can help younger generations with knowledge and experience that only comes from life experience, should people be open and willing to listen to advice.
Solution: Mentorship Programs
Establish mentorship programs that connect older individuals with younger generations, creating opportunities for wisdom exchange.
Existing Example: “Experience Corps” connects older adults with children to improve students’ reading and life skills.
How to Get Involved: Individuals can become mentors for younger generations, offering their experience and knowledge. Startups can create mentorship matching platforms.
By taking these steps as individuals and startups, you can actively contribute to the empowerment of older generations and foster cross-generational collaboration. As the demographic landscape continues to evolve, embracing these ideas can create a brighter future for older individuals and society as a whole.