While some people long for the official retirement age as the end of their career, others want to continue working. However, they have requirements and wishes.
More than half of employees in the 50+ generation can imagine working beyond retirement age. This was stated by 53 percent of respondents in a survey commissioned by the career network Xing, which was made available to the German Press Agency. They cited money as motivation, but also contact with people or “self-fulfillment”.
A good 62 percent of those surveyed said that they would theoretically be able to work at this age. 34 percent could imagine working 11 to 20 hours a week, while 25 percent would prefer 6 to 10 hours a week. Around 17 percent would prefer working 21 to 30 hours. Only around 12 percent could imagine a full-time job.
Since significantly more people are retiring than are joining, the German labor market will shrink by at least 1,000 employees per working day by 2035, the statement said. This poses problems for many companies and industries, as well as for the economy. “In times of a shortage of skilled workers, we cannot afford not to use this potential,” says XING labor market expert Julian Stahl. The experience of older employees is indispensable, especially in industries where there are bottlenecks, Stahl continued.
63 percent of respondents said that the motivation for wanting to work beyond the official retirement age was financial. But 56 percent also wanted to maintain contact with people. Around 33 percent cited self-fulfillment as a reason. Around 24 percent would even do something completely different with a new employer, such as freelance or volunteer work.
For the survey, 1,000 people in Germany aged 50 and over were interviewed by the market research institute Appinio in a representative online survey at the beginning of March.
Source: Stern
