Artificial intelligence has been credited for many of the changes in the workplace today, but AI’s effect on older workers could be particularly worrying. Doing the work of exploring the matter further, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College recently conducted its own study on the impact of AI and whether the technology was pushing older workers out of their jobs sooner than planned. As expected, there is evidence to support this theory. The analysis showed that while this wasn’t the case for all occupations, in jobs with greater exposure to AI, older workers have been subjected to a relatively larger number of exits since the launch of ChatGPT, a benchmark period for when the technology truly became a global phenomenon.
At another time, when older workers had their sights set on retirement, the news might not have elicited as much of a reaction. Given their own struggles with insufficient retirement savings and their desire to continue working for their futures, however, many of these workers cannot afford to be out of work. Whether as a result of voluntary exits or forced removals, workers who possess the skills and desire to work must be allowed to try their hand at employment, regardless of their age or how close they are to stepping down. With AI simplifying a number of aspects in the performance of any given role, the technology can certainly also help make things easier for these older workers, but we must still keep an eye on how the advancements of this technology may be holding back sections of the workforce.
Older workers in AI-exposed jobs are at higher risk of being pushed out of the workforce thanks to the new technology. (Image: Pexels)
Studying the Imapct of AI on Older Workers: Leading Change with Careful Planning
A paper published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, led by author Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, set out to understand the experience of the older workforce under the new conditions of employment, and it had some interesting data to offer. The research compared Current Population Survey (CPS) labor data with an AI exposure index from the Digital Planet Initiative at Tufts University that tracked how much a role could be performed by AI. It found that workers aged 55 or above working in AI-exposed industries were 25% more likely to leave their jobs than in the time before ChatGPT’s November 2022 launch, either voluntarily or involuntarily. This shift was most evident among computer programmers.
The data hypothesizes that not all of the job displacements occurring due to AI can be attributed to employer-led firings in the workplace, as many workers may have also opted to leave roles they don’t feel welcome in. Consequently, in low AI-exposed jobs, almost no changes were seen before or after the grand arrival of AI, suggesting that the shift wasn’t just a result of a general desire to exit employment or other similar factors.
AI’s Impact on Those Drawing Closer to Retirement Is Unfortunate
Jobs with high AI exposure tend to be the ones that offer longer careers and pay white-collar workers the best, which means that workers who have limited time to save for the golden years are also increasingly being locked out of better-paying jobs. Low-exposure roles are also more taxing and physically demanding, making long careers in these industries harder to achieve as a late-stage alternative to white-collar work.
“Jobs associated with longer careers before ChatGPT will not go away. After all, the more exposed jobs still have lower transitions out of work than the less exposed jobs, even after the predicted increases,” the paper explained. “This finding is likely due to their higher educational requirements and correspondingly lower physicality and higher pay. But, AI exposure may reduce the gap in career length between low- and high-paying jobs.”
The paper also suggested that the career impacts of AI could now include automation and updated systems that could cause the direct elimination of older workers, additional pressure to “keep up” pushing out older workers, or the technology having the opposite effect by increasing productivity and wages while allowing workers to do more with their time on the job. As is evident, not every impact of AI has to be a negative one, but there is room for the technology to have an unwelcome effect on one’s career unless the matter is addressed.
Supporting Older Workers in Balancing AI-Enriched Careers
Much of the conversation around AI and the resulting job displacement has centered on young grads vying for, and being denied, entry-level roles in the workplace. Not as much has been said about how workers on the other end of the spectrum are impacted until now. Other reports have shown that the AI has a disproportionate impact on women, and as one might guess, it can also negatively affect older workers, making it harder for them to hold on to their spots in the workforce.
With the capabilities offered by AI, workers across age groups and backgrounds uniformly require training and upskilling efforts to keep up with the shift in technology. Ensuring that all employees have access to such support and the relevant resources can dull some of this impact and allow older workers to channel their skills and experience back towards the organization.
With AI supervision becoming such a key part of operating with the technology, installing these experienced workers in such roles may unlock a new degree of success with the tech for both the employee and the organization. When studies like this one expose a problem, employers who listen and react with changes of their own don’t just win the trust of their workers but find success in unexpected ways.
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