Renuga Nagarajan

University Canada West, Canada

Title: Leveraging the Ageing Workforce for Economic Growth: What Predicts Productivity?

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Biography

Nagarajan specializes in labour economics and workforce inclusion. Her research explores the challenges faced by underprivileged employee groups, including ageing workers, women, and individuals in substance use recovery, in accessing and sustaining meaningful employment. She has published extensively on workforce participation, demographic change, and equity-focused labour policies in journals such as Ageing International and Population Research and Policy Review. Her work integrates economic analysis with social policy perspectives to identify structural barriers and propose inclusive labour market strategies. Her ongoing scholarship seeks to advance equitable employment systems that foster social and economic resilience among diverse populations.

Abstract

Developed countries are rapidly transitioning into ageing societies, with individuals aged 65 and above becoming an increasingly large share of the population. Unlike in previous decades, economic systems are now more dependent on the ageing population for overall sustainability. Their active participation as citizens, consumers, and workers has become essential for maintaining national growth and economic stability. Given that population ageing is unprecedented in scale and speed, it is critical to understand the factors that shape older adults’ productivity in the labor market.

This study examines whether age-appropriate training, perceived discrimination, working for family and friends, comfort with artificial intelligence, and additional income influence Canadian ageing workers’ perceptions of their productivity. Using binary logistic regression, the analysis identifies several significant predictors of higher productivity. Workers engaged in family or friend employment and those with additional income reported significantly higher levels of self-perceived productivity. Workers reporting higher levels of comfort with artificial intelligence also showed significantly greater odds of perceiving themselves as more productive. Individuals who experienced discrimination likewise demonstrated higher productivity perceptions, which may reflect compensatory behaviour in response to biased treatment.

In contrast, age-appropriate training demonstrated a statistically significant negative relationship with perceived productivity. This suggests that such training may often be remedial rather than developmental, provided to workers already experiencing performance challenges or skill gaps.

These findings highlight the multifaceted nature of productivity in later life and reveal both enabling and constraining factors that influence older adults’ work performance. The results add to growing evidence that the ageing workforce is not homogenous and that targeted workplace strategies, including technology support, inclusive practices, and equitable training opportunities, are essential for sustaining productivity among older workers.