Eurofound Talks: How can Europe adapt to an ageing workforce?

How can Europe adapt to an ageing workforce? What impediments do older workers face at the workplace? How are changing technologies and job quality influencing the retention of older workers on the labour market?

A new episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast series sets out to answer these questions in the context of changing demographics in Europe and the need to make work more sustainable.

The episode comes as Eurofound warns that, with Europe’s old-age dependency ratio projected to increase to 52% in 2050, supporting older workers to stay in the workforce for longer is now an economic necessity.

Eurofound research has also highlighted that, despite an increase in their employment rate - by almost 20 percentage points during 2010–2023 - the risk of long-term unemployment among workers over 55 is 13.5 percentage points higher than among mid-career workers.

In the episode Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound researchers Franz Eiffe and Karel Fric about how ageism and stereotyping can hamper the working conditions and career prospects of older workers, how rapidly changing technology is impacting older workers, how job quality influences early retirement, and what policies and practices can be implemented to support older workers and increase their retention in the labour market.

Listen to the episode for free on our dedicated page, or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode.

Feedback on the series and media requests can be sent to james.higgins@eurofound.europa.eu.