Foreword

Attracting and retaining talent at all ages is crucial for the success of businesses and our economies more generally. Excessive staff turnover is not only costly for employers but also for the workers involved, especially those with more experience, who may not always be able to fully use the skills they have acquired in another job. Indeed, earnings losses tend to be greater, and time out of work longer, for older workers who lose their jobs than for younger workers.

The unprecedented levels of labour shortages and recruitment difficulties that employers are experiencing in the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis only underline further the importance of taking further action to improve worker retention. This includes a mix of promoting better working conditions, greater investments in training, and tackling difficulties in reconciling work with health issues and caring responsibilities. Doing this is ever more important as millions of workers across the globe are demanding better quality and more meaningful jobs regardless of their age. According to the 2022 AARP Global Employee Survey in 12 countries, around 30% of workers switched to a new job due to low pay, lack of advancement in their career, and feeling undervalued in their former jobs.

This report presents evidence on recent international trends in job tenure and employee turnover, how they have changed due to the COVID-19 crisis and sheds light on why employees quit their jobs. It identifies key employer and public policies that can support increased employment retention through better working conditions, health at the workplace, and training and skills.

In the context of rapid population ageing and longer working lives, we can and must do better to ensure that the talents and skills of a multigenerational workforce are put to best use.