from WorldChanging

Getting Smarter About Getting Older

The programs examined in the FT article are in their early stages, and a real culture shift around the role of older workers is still gathering momentum. But in the Finnish experience, we can see some signs of what the future could hold: a system that recognizes that healthy, employable lifespans are increasing, and that conditions have to co-evolve with longevity; a transition from full-time work to retirement stretching over years, rather than an abrupt loss of employment; an emphasis on social relationships and long-term planning in the roles adopted by older citizens; and perhaps most importantly, a shift away to a workplace culture that better integrates work and non-work needs over one’s entire career, and that looks at career trajectories over a much longer-term.

It’s possible that the work-life culture that emerges will be one where retirement happens multiple times throughout one’s life, giving time to raise a family, gain new education, or explore new skills. Such retirements would usually be temporary, and would include transition periods both out of and back into the workplace. This kind of life and career structure could function reasonably well whether lifespan was 100 or (eventually) 1,000 or more.

Longevity is already forces our societies to change. We should take advantage of the moment to think about what we’d like a long-lived world to look like.