Jodi Kovitz is the chief executive officer of the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA)
For the first time in history, six generations are working side by side. In a single Canadian company, you might find an 18-year-old Gen Alpha learning from a Gen Z manager, who reports to a Gen X executive, who consults a semi-retired Boomer founder who is still shaping the company’s legacy.
This is not a novelty. It’s one of the greatest competitive advantages Canada has ever had. It’s an advantage that we must choose to design for in our organizations to drive economic impact.
Around the world, aging populations and productivity stagnation are placing immense pressure on economic growth. But Canada has a unique opportunity: a diverse, multigenerational workforce that can drive innovation, continuity and resilience. Generational inclusion is not a human resources imperative, it’s an economic one. Driving strategic multigenerational strategies is how Canada will compete, grow and prosper.
Canadians are working longer than ever. The average age of retirement has climbed to 65.1 in 2023 from 60.9 in 1998, according to the Vanier Institute. As a result, older adults are participating in the workforce at record levels, adding nearly 1.1 million experienced workers to Canada’s talent pool. There are two primary drivers of this trend: a desire to have purpose and improving financial stability in preparation for retirement. Retiring later isn’t just a lifestyle choice, it’s a structural shift that will define our economy for decades.
Nearly 60 per cent of Canadians reported to Benefits Canada they are stressed about money. This translates to $53.9-billion annually in lost productivity as a lack of overall engagement and feeling job secure. Meanwhile, younger generations are entering the workforce facing unprecedented financial pressure. Among Gen Z, nearly one in three describe themselves as financially unstable, and more than 40 per cent feel only “somewhat” secure. When employees operate in survival mode, creativity, innovation and collaboration suffer.
This dual reality – older Canadians working longer and younger Canadians struggling to gain their footing –creates a new kind of interdependence. To remain competitive but moreover optimize their workforce in a way that provides stability, drives productivity and create a highly engaged culture, businesses must design systems where experience and innovation coexist.
When organizations get this balance right, the benefits are profound and proven. The World Economic Forum showed that companies that intentionally integrate institutional memory with digital fluency across generational workforces outperform in agility, competitiveness and growth. With the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) estimating that countries with age-diverse workforces could see GDP per capita rise by up to 19 per cent by 2050.
The data is clear: generational inclusion is not a feel-good initiative. It is a strategic growth lever for businesses and our nation’s economy.
But to realize that potential, leaders must move beyond one-size-fits-all management models. Traditional structures such as linear career paths, rigid retirement strategies, uniform benefits plans were largely built for a workforce of two or three generations, not six. Today’s people leaders must think architecturally.
That means creating systems that flex to different life stages and values: phased retirement for experienced professionals who want to contribute without burning out, allowing organizations to apply knowledge and experience; early-career roles that provide financial literacy and transparent advancement opportunities that capitalize on innovation; and cross-generational teams that blend digital and relational intelligence to solve complex problems.
It means embedding intergenerational collaboration into how we design work. Not as top-down decision-making mentorship, but rather in reciprocal learning systems to drive business outcomes. It means measuring the return on investment of inclusion in terms of innovation, retention and productivity.
And it means HR leaders must see themselves not just as people strategists but as economic architects. They must design the workforce systems to drive better economic outputs for the organization and map skills across generations to drive short- and long-term growth.
Business Development Bank of Canada has recognized one opportunity to drive generational prosperity with its recently announced Thrive Entrepreneurship through Acquisition fund designed to help younger generations of women access capital to acquire established businesses. This type of thinking in how we bring generations together and create systems for longevity and inter-generational productivity is vital to the future of our country and one example where our people leaders can draw inspiration from.
At the HRPA, we see every day how the future of work depends on our ability to harness human potential across all dimensions of our workforce. This includes age. Shaping organizational design and rethinking how we approach talent, benefits, leadership and innovation needs to lead the change for Canada’s changing economy.
This is Canada’s moment. We have the diversity, creativity and cultural DNA to lead the world in building inclusive economies. Our challenge and opportunity is to turn that into a strategic advantage. Generational inclusion is not about accommodating differences. It’s about investing in it. It’s how we build resilient businesses, empower people at every stage of life and drive Canada’s economic future.
Our country’s prosperity not only depends on it – it thrives on it.
This column is part of Globe Careers’ Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about the world of work. Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab and guidelines for how to contribute to the column here.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the name of Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).