For several years, business owners have been complaining that they cannot find enough workers. The lack of potential employees is directly linked to the structural changes of a declining birthrate and an aging population, together with the number of people retiring.
The labor force participation rate for each age bracket over 55 in Taiwan falls far behind that of other countries. In the 55-to-59 bracket, for example, in what is generally below retirement age, the rate is less than 60 percent, far behind Hong Kong, Singapore and the US.
In the retirement band of older than 65, the participation rate is below 10 percent, compared with more than 30 percent and 20 percent in South Korea and Japan respectively, two countries that also have low fertility rates.
In other words, one of the major reasons for the shortage of workers in Taiwan is that a considerable number of middle-aged people are withdrawing from the labor market.
The government should think about how to get more value from these workers and their experience.
Even though the Middle-aged and Elderly Employment Promotion Act (中高齡者及高齡者就業促進法) came into force in December 2020, there has yet to be an appreciable change in this demographic’s labor force participation rate, which is still much lower than in Singapore, South Korea, Japan and the US.
If the government wants to improve the situation and entice people in this group to remain in the workforce, the most direct and effective method would be to create a diverse, flexible environment conducive to their circumstances. This would have to be accompanied by a change in the management of employees.
For example, companies should not insist on maintaining a five-day, eight-hour a day workweek, be open to adjusting the nature of the work itself when needed and perhaps relax the regulations regarding part-time employment, so that conditions are more flexible and tailored to the individual employee’s practical needs.
For its part, the government could introduce subsidies for the provision of flexible conditions for these groups.
In the past, young workers were considered a gold mine, but employers should not overlook the fact that middle-aged workers could be a silver mine. When gold is becoming increasingly difficult to find, why not try to get value from an alternative source?
Dino Wei is an information technology engineer from Yilan County.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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