Problem

Aging and knowledge loss

The aging of the population is leading to the loss of human capital. This is a significant problem (Bhavikatti et al., 2023). In many countries, the outflow of knowledge within an organization is greater than the inflow of knowledge. Older generations (55+ years) often have not had the opportunity or the means to transfer their knowledge and experience to younger generations. As a result, a substantial amount of knowledge and experience is lost when the older employee retires, to the detriment of the company.

Global scale

The problem is particularly prevalent in developed countries/regions (Burmeister & Deller, 2016), such as North America, Europe, China, and Japan. More than 12.3 million employees will turn 65 between 2024 and 2027 in the United States, which amounts to nearly 4% of the U.S population (Konish, 2024). Europe is also facing significant aging, compounded by the phenomenon of population decline. Population decline means there are fewer births, resulting in smaller younger generations to care for the older generations. In the figure, you can see the number of retirees per 100 working people in different countries. The graph shows the difference between 2020 and 2050.

A chart showing the projected evolution of retirees per 100 working people in selected countries between 2020 and 2050, including the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, and Japan.