Midlife Workers Are Just Getting Started: Why This Generation is Doubling Down on Upskilling

Midlife Workers Are Just Getting Started: Why This Generation is Doubling Down on Upskilling

Despite younger generations like Gen Z growing in size in the workforce, other generations are still primed to play a pivotal role. A Bain & Company study found employees 55 and older will constitute over a quarter of the global workforce by 2031, meaning tenured employees aren’t exiting the workforce anytime soon. Yet fewer resources are being devoted to these employees’ unique needs. Much of this is due to unfortunate age discrimination that remains pervasive; in fact, industry research shows workers in their 40s are frequently passed over for promotions and career development opportunities. 

So – what should we do? It’s up to leaders to support all generations in their career journeys, both those just starting out and those who may be more well-established. This can take the form of helping to close key skills gaps, building connections, and balancing team dynamics to better identify and leverage all talents across the team. To help leaders better understand how to satisfy employee needs across generations, Udemy conducted research in partnership with the Midlife Fulfilled podcast. This research explores what Midlife professionals are looking for from leadership to learn and grow in this next phase of their careers. 

Midlife professionals are eager to learn new skills and grow their careers.  

• While many Midlife employees surveyed by Midlife Fulfilled and Udemy (74.5%) are content in their current careers, that does not mean they’re ready to stop learning and growing in their roles. 
• The majority (78.5%) of Midlife respondents are actively working to learn new professional skills, and over half (54.3%) are prioritizing professional growth opportunities. 

Leaders can meet this eagerness to learn from Midlife workers head-on, assessing current learning and development offerings and making sure they’re providing resources for Midlife professionals to build skills in areas like GenAI and business strategy to remain competitive. 

Midlife professionals want to collaborate with younger generations – they just need opportunities to do so. 

• The vast majority of Midlife professionals not only regularly engage and collaborate with younger generations in the workplace (77.5%), but they find their contributions meaningful and productive (58.7%). 
• This engagement not only strengthens interpersonal dynamics between generations, but it’s also good business practice; research suggests that intergenerational collaboration adds value to employees’ work and improves their overall processes. 
• Midlife employees can teach Gen Z the essential soft skills they may not have developed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic that, for most, kept them isolated from college classmates or coworkers and limited in-person skills development. Gen Z, in turn, can leverage their digital expertise to help Midlife workers apply critical thinking to new technologies like GenAI, keeping them agile in today’s job market. 
• With soft skills seen as a must-have for organizations navigating tech-driven environments, leaders who prioritize soft skills development across generations can not only meet employee interests, but also build the skills necessary to keep up with innovation.  

Leaders can facilitate opportunities for Midlife professionals to work in collaborative settings with younger generations, such as cohort-based learning programs or interactive workshops, to increase engagement and overall productivity. 

Soft skills or power skills still reign supreme

• While about half of Midlife respondents surveyed (49%) are focused on learning new technical skills, about 40% want to improve their own soft skills like communication and creativity. 
• This desire for soft skills development comes at a time when two-thirds of Udemy survey respondents across generations (66%) have felt misunderstood due to different communication styles at work. 
• Leaders can help with this challenge by facilitating communication workshops that explore and engage different communication styles and preferences, encouraging team members to share their perspectives and experiences to foster empathy and collaboration. Some examples include pairing direct and indirect communicators together on a task, or giving task and relationship-orientated communicators a shared project. Several Udemy instructors teach this, including Deborah Grayson Riegel and TJ Walker. 

The future success of learning and development programs hinges on investing in skills development across generations. The Midlife generation is ready and willing to continue contributing to the workforce – leaders cannot leave them behind when shaping their approach to learning, inclusivity is key. 

Visit this page to learn more about what the Midlife generation is looking for from leaders in this next phase of life and work.