More older workers are staying on the job longer, opting for part-time work or phased retirement. At the same time, the number of self-employed older workers in professional fields is increasing.
These trends and their implications for the travel industry are covered in this second installment of a dialogue between Travel Weekly PLUS Editor in Chief Diane Merlino and Sara Rix, a senior strategic policy advisor with the AARP Public Policy Institute.
Merlino: What are the top trends shaping the size and the interests of older workers?
Rix: Workers do a lot of different things as they are thinking about and actually transitioning into retirement.
There’s this myth that we all used to retire overnight, collect that gold watch from our full-time job and be gone into full-time retirement the next day. A lot of people didn't do it that way, and many fewer are doing it that way today. They are transitioning into retirement.
Merlino: What does the trend for older workers to transition into retirement rather than make an abrupt departure from the labor force mean for employers in travel and other industries?
Rix: Employers should expect that more of their workers are going to be remaining on the job longer. As the boomers move into their 60s and beyond, employers will have a fairly well-educated population of workers. This is something that employers should take advantage of; they've got skilled, experienced, mature workers out there wanting to remain on the job.
Employers also can expect to see a greater number of older job seekers.
Merlino: Is the trend for older workers to remain on the job full time, or is there a demonstrated preference for part-time work?
Rix: They very much like part-time work or phased retirement. In this economy and in this society, part-time jobs tend not to be very good jobs. They're demanding, they don't pay well, and the benefits are not very good. Older workers like good part-time jobs, so many of them would like to see their current jobs transformed into part-time jobs or job-sharing opportunities.
Phased retirement, more flexible work opportunities, and part-time work are among the ways that employers who value older workers can retain their older workers and attract new older workers.
Merlino: So the employment trend for older workers is toward part-time work and more flexibility. That seems fairly predictable.
Rix: Of course, it isn’t a surprise that older workers are more likely than prime-age workers to work part time. It’s interesting though that in recent years the proportion of older full-time workers has increased. I don't know how much of this is voluntary and how much of it is due to the fact that they wanted to stay on the job and employers were not willing to negotiate fewer hours. Or maybe they just love what they're doing.
Merlino: Are there many self-employed older workers?
Rix: Self-employment increases with age. This is very significant. We have a sizeable and growing number of older, self-employed workers.
Your readers might not think they have a vested interest in older self-employed workers but they do, because older self-employed workers are going to be among the business travelers. They already are. So the travel industry is going to be selling or trying to sell more to this population.
Merlino: That’s surprising — that self-employment, which can carry more financial uncertainty than a salary position, increases with age.
Rix: Many older wage and salary workers express considerable interest in becoming self-employed. Not all of them, because there's a lot that goes into starting a business in particular. But in many respects, older workers are just like their prime-age peers in terms of what they're doing in the workforce.
And contrary to what people might think, many of these self-employed older workers did not turn to 
self-employment during the recession because they lost their jobs. They're the doctors, the lawyers, the accountants. They’re the affluent, well educated, self-employed who are remaining in the workforce because they love what they're doing and like having money to spend.
Merlino: What should employers in the travel industry keep in mind about this growing cadre of older workers?
Rix: Many older workers already have the skills that travel industry in particular wants. They are mature, they have the ability to make decisions based on experience and they have many of the social attributes that are so important in the travel industry.
They are a tremendous resource, but that like younger workers they, too, would benefit from training and retraining to ensure they have the skills your industry needs. A lot of employers don't realize this, or they have stereotypes about the ability of older workers to learn, particularly when it comes to new technology. But there is solid evidence about the capabilities of older learners, and specifically about their ability to learn new technology well into old age.
Merlino: What other characteristics of older workers will have an impact on the travel industry?
Rix: As more people work longer, more of them will have the financial resources to spend on things like travel. There's often a stereotype that all older people are poor. It is the case that we have pockets of considerable poverty in the older population, as we do in the younger population, but there are people with money to spend if there are services and products out there that appeal to them.
Manufacturers and others who make cell phones and all sorts of high-tech equipment are opting to appeal to the 18-to-49 age demographic. It’s not that they necessarily have more money than older people, but young people tend to spend their money more indiscriminately, so that gives retailers and manufacturers the misperception that older people aren't buying.
Older people are buying, and they want products and services targeted to their interests and their stage in life. There’s tremendous potential for the travel industry in that older population. We're out here waiting.
Merlino: Sara, we have been talking about close-term trends that are transforming the workforce. What about further out? What’s the picture?
Rix: Looking ahead 20 or 30 years, the older workforce will become increasingly diverse in terms of ethnicity, as the younger, more diverse population ages. So we can expect to see more minorities in the older population. You’re going to see an older population that in many respects reflects the total population and the younger, up-and-coming population.
ALSO SEE, AARP’s Sara Rix on The Aging U.S. Workforce: What Business Needs to Know