Most Companies Not Offering Semi-Retirement Despite Ongoing Labour Shortages

London, ON — Canadian companies dealing with ongoing labour shortages are overlooking a significant source of labour – retired workers, according to a survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals. 

Only one quarter (25%) of Canadian companies offer semi-retirement, despite the growing number of employees retiring. Indeed, nearly one in four companies (23%) say retirements are one of the main reasons they expect increased employee turnover in 2023.

Of companies that offer semi-retirement, about one-third (33%) report an increase in the number of employees choosing semi-retirement over the past two years.

While keeping or bringing back retired workers might be seen as a temporary solution to labour shortages given age-related issues, more than half of the employees (53%) that have retired in the past two years have been under the age of 65, with more than a quarter (27%) retiring under the age of 60.

“With the economy still in full gear and consumer demand remaining steady, companies have not considered shedding jobs through semi-retirement in the past few years. Companies that did extend this offer to its aging workforce, retracted quickly by bringing back the semi-retired to mentor the less experienced staff,” said Michael Elliott, franchise owner of London and Kitchener Express franchise offices. “It would be great to see more companies and early retiree candidates work out arrangements to ease the transition for both parties."

“As baby boomers continue to age and consider retirement, the labour shortage is only going to get worse,” said Bill Stoller, Express Employment International CEO. “Semi-retirement is one solution to allow experienced workers time to train their successors, ensuring a seamless knowledge transfer and business continuity.”

Survey Methodology

The Job Insights survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, 2022, among 506 Canadian hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in Canada who are employed full-time or self-employed, work at companies with more than one employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 4.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. 

The omnibus survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals from Dec. 13-15, 2022, among 1,050 adults ages 18 and older. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income and propensity to be online, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 3.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.

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About Express Employment Professionals 

At Express Employment Professionals, we’re in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing 586,000 people globally in 2021 and 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com/CA. 

The London, ON Express office is located at 300 Dundas St and serves the greater London region. Local businesses and applicants are encouraged to visit www.expresspros.com/london or call (519) 672-7620. 

The Kitchener/Waterloo, ON Express office is located in the Frederick Mall at 385 Frederick St, Unit 3 and serves the greater K/W region. Local businesses and applicants are encouraged to visit www.expresspros.com/kitchener or call (519) 578-9030.

About Bill Stoller 

William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment International. Founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing franchisor supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.