Aging & Work Facts Database

Now, for a limited time, the Center on Aging & Work is making this resource available publicly before granting exclusive access to Center Partners & Affiliates, and members of the Center’s research team.

Features of the Aging & Work Facts Database include:

• individual facts searchable by topic
• brief descriptions of studies connected to facts
• powerpoint-ready graphics
• full citations, for those interested in locating the statistic’s source

During this initial period of Beta-testing we welcome your feedback.

The Aging & Work Facts will soon be accessible only through a password protected web page, with exclusive access given to Employer Partners and Affiliates, and members of the Center Research Team. For more information on how to become a Partner or Employer Affiliate, please contact agework@bc.edu.

KEYWORD Search Tips:

• Enter one or more keywords in the search box below. Using “and” between keywords is not necessary. To find only facts with graphs, include the word “graph” in your search.
• If you use more than one word in the search box and no results appear, try removing one or more of the words. 
• If no results appear, you may try alternate forms of the word (for example, if "marriage" does not work you may try "marital")
• To view the facts relevant to your search, click on “more” in the first item.  Then use the “next” button to view each of the facts retrieved by your search.
• At this time, exact phrase searching is not available.

TOPIC Search Tips:

• Topics are arranged alphabetically.  Scroll down to view topics, clicking on a topic to access facts of interest.  To view a specific fact, click “more.”  Click the “next” button for additional facts on that topic.
• To view a print-ready file of all of the facts for a particular topic, scroll to the bottom of the results display.

SEARCH BY TOPIC: Age Bias and Employment Discrimination Business Strategies & Workforce Development Recent survey data indicate that 45 percent of HR professionals in private businesses feel that their workplaces are 'just becoming aware' of issues related to the pot...  more Approximately one-quarter (26.2%) of the employers in a 2007 national study stated that it was "very true" that their organizations clearly communicate the importance that wor...  more Only 19.0% of respondants in a 2007 study stated that it is "very true" that their organizations acknowledge supervisors who support effective flexible work arrangements. (p....  more Among organization metrics reported as "very important" to employers in a 2007 national survey, 27.3% indicated that employee satisfaction ratings are second in importance aft...  more Among the organzations responding to a 2007 national survey, the return on investment (ROI) is measured on the following HR priorities: initiatives to increase retention (52.6...  more The top ten human resources challenges indicated by employers in a 2007 study as being challenges to a "great extent" included: encouraging early-career employees to remain wi...  more When employers were asked in a 2007 study about the extent to which their organizations had implemented flexible work options, 7.6% stated that they had "not at all" establish...  more According to a 2007 study of employee benefits trends, "only 18% of employers have supplemented their [benefit] plans with resources and programs specifically geared to the ne...  more In a 2007 national survey, 400 employers were asked about the likelihood of retaining older workers*. On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being "highly unlikely" and 10 "highly li...  more According to a 2008 survey of small business owners, twenty-eight percent of the small-business owners report that they "have planned for knowledge transfer from experienced o...  more According to a 2008 survey of small business, 28% of the business owners recognize the importance of having in place a plan to retain institutional knowledge and 17% say it...  more According to a 2008 survey of small business, 65% said transferring knowledge from their older workers before they retire is not yet an issue for our company and 7% said "they...  more According to a 2008 survey of employers, "60% of respondents report that they have a leadership talent shortage right now that will impede their organization's performance...  more According to a 2008 survey of employers, 11% of the respondents indicated that talent management and succession planning in their organizations is not effective; 31% report th...  more In a 2007 McKinsey survey of business executives covering 93 countries in all the main regions of the world, 47% of the respondents indicated that the single biggest organiza...  more In a 2007 national study, approximately 4 of every 10 employers (40.7%) report that they had assessed their employees' career plans and work preferences to either a "moder...  more Among employers responding to a 2007 national survey, 39.9% of employers reported that they anticipate talent shortages in management skills, while 31.2% reported shortages i...  more Employers responding to a 2007 national survey estimated that, on average, it costs $12,092 to replace an employee. (p. 10)...  more Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 40% of the HR professionals responding to its recent Future of the U.S. Labor Pool Survey states that their companies o...  more According to the "A Work-Filled Retirement" survey, "when asked if government should have programs (such as job training or career guidance) to help older workers find or keep...  more According to the 2003 SHRM Older Workers Survey, organizations are preparing for the possibility of a shortage of workers due to the retiring baby boom generation by: increase...  more About one-fourth (25.8%) of the employers participating in the National Study of Business Strategy & Workforce Development stated that their organization had n...  more According to analysis of the National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development, about one-third (33.8%) of the employers reported that their organization had made...  more According to analysis of the National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development, the top five business strategies that were very important for organizations were in...  more According to analysis of the National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development, over 40% of the organizations reported that recruiting competent job applicants (59...  more According to analysis of the National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development, one quarter (25.5%) of respondents felt it was "very true" that their organizations...  more According to analysis of the National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development, less than one-fifth (18.9%) of the employers indicated that their organizations lin...  more According to analysis of the National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development, over 40% of employees reported that pressure in their business environment that hav...  more In the 2007 National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development, "only 36.7% of employers reported that their organizations had assessed the variance in health care...  more According to the 2007 National Study of Business Strategy & Workforce Development, more than 50% of respondents measure the return-on-investment (ROI) of marketing initiat...  more In a 2007 national study of employers, only 19.0% of the respondants stated that it is “very true” that their organizations acknowledge supervisors who support effective f...  more Respondents in a 2007 national study of employers reported that "the average retirement age at their company is 59.8 years, and that they expect 10.8% of their employees will...  more In a 2007 McKinsey survey of business executives covering 93 countries in all the main regions of the world, 72% report that they are looking externally for the right people t...  more      back to top For a print-ready file of all statistics for this topic, click here. Caregiving: Elder Caregiving: Employer-sponsored benefits for Caregiving: Other (grandchildren, spouse, dependents) Demographics: Age Distribution, Life Expectancy Education and Training Educational Attainment Employee Engagement & Job Satisfaction Employer-sponsored benefits (see also Caregiving) Employment Preferences Flexible Work Options (general) Flexible Work Options: Bridge Jobs Flexible Work Options: Consulting, Contract Work, Self-employment Flexible Work Options: Flexible Schedule Flexible Work Options: Leaves of Absence Flexible Work Options: Part-time Employment Flexible Work Options: Phased Retirement Flexible Work Options: Remote Work, Telecommuting, Telework Flexible Work Options: Work Redesign Gender Health: Health Behaviors Health: Health Care Costs Health: Health Insurance Health: Health Status Health: Workplace Injuries Income Knowledge Transfer Labor Force Participation Marital Status Medicare & Medicaid Mental Health Multi-generational Workplace Older Workers, Advantages of Older Workers, Costs of Older Workers, Job Skills and Demands Older Workers, Perceptions about Peformance, Productivity, Absenteeism Pensions and Retirement Accounts Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration Reasons for working Recruitment , Retention, Tenure, Turnover Retirement Income & Expenditures Retirement Planning Retirement Statistics Retirement, Timing of Social Security Unemployment Voluntarism

DOWNLOAD A FACT SHEET: The following Fact Sheets contain selected facts and statistics from the database ( PDF format): "Mental Health" (Sep 2007) "Bridge Jobs" (Aug 2007) "Part-time Work" (Jul 2007) "The Multi-Generational Workplace" (Jul 2007) "Phased Retirement" (Jun 2007) "Age Bias And Employment Discrimination" (Feb 2007) "Employer Sponsored Pensions" (Feb 2007) "Age and the Labor Force" (Jan 2007) "Social Security and Older Workers" (Jan 2007) "Voluntarism Among Older Adults" (Jan 2007) "Older Workers’ Preferences for Work & Employ-ment" (Oct 2006) "Elder Caregiving" (Oct 2006)   SEARCH BY keyword: back to top