CHART OF THE DAY: The Aging Global Population

I am just back from an extended trip that included stops in China for HR Tech China as well as Japan - two places, Japan in particular, who are dealing with the economic and social challenges of an aging population.

Usually the 'aging' statistics of a country's people is represented by two statistics. One, the percentage of the population age 65 or older. And two, the ratio of people aged 18-64, (and expected, mostly, to be in the workforce), to people 65 and up, (who, mostly, are no longer in the workforce). This ratio is called the 'dependency ratio' and reflects about how many workers and contributors to a country's social insurance schemes are there for each possibly retired person, many of who need income support from these social programs. 

Said differently, the higher the ratio, the more workers for each older person, the easier it is for a country to keep their social insurance programs funded and solvent.

With all that said, I was thinking about this more lately after spending time in Japan, where this challenge is especially acute. But as the data below shows, this challenge of an aging population is more widespread than you might think - and, in time, will surface here in the US as well.

Take a look at the data below on the dependency ratio worldwide, courtesy of Visual Capitalist, then some FREE comments from me after the chart:

While many countries face obstacles with aging populations, for some the problem is becoming severe.

A dependency ratio below 5.0 is generally considered to be the mark by which a country has an 'aging' challenge. Countries like Japan, Italy, Germany, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom all fall below this level.  The United States sits in a slightly better situation with about 27.9% of its population expected to hit 65 or higher by the 2050 – and a dependency ratio of about 9, but in time the US (and the 2nd largest global economy, China), will both face looming demographic issues.

What does this mean or suggest for organizations and for HR pros?

Well, depending on the location, industry, and global nature of your business, chances are pretty good that the average age of the workforce is trending up. And it is also likely that since your competitors will be facing these same kinds of challenges that the competition for newer/younger workers to replace retirees or folks transitioningto fewer working hours will become more intense. Lastly, you may sooner than later be forced into thinking about and implementing changes to work practices, structures, and technologies that can better support an older workforce.

It is an interesting time for sure. I am feeling a little older each day. Good to know it is not just me.

Have a great day!

Notes from the road #22 - A long, strange trip it's been edition

Writing this (brief) dispatch from the Delta Sky Club (again), as I wait for the final leg on the trip back from what has been a long, interesting, challenging, and incredibly rewarding two-week trip Phoenix - Shanghai - Tokyo - (back to) Phoenix - and then finally home.

In Phoenix, I attended the Virgin Pulse Thrive Summit, which was a really fantastic event. In case you have missed them, you can listen to two HR Happy Hour Shows that Trish McFarlane and I recorded from the event here and here. Virgin Pulse is the leader in employee wellbeing, and unlike some other solution providers in the space, Virgin Pulse is making real strides on showing (with data), the connection between wellbeing and improved business results. Thanks as always to them for having myself and Trish out at the event, and for supporting the HR Happy Hour Show.

Looking forward to a great #thrivesummit with my friends from Virgin Pulse #HRHappyHour

A post shared by Steve Boese (@steveboese) on May 30, 2017 at 3:09pm PDT

From there, we headed to Shanghai for the 2nd Annual HR Tech China Conference. The 2nd event was even bigger and better than the first. And I am convinced Shanghai is my new favorite city. You can read some of my thoughts about the event here, and later this week Trish and I will share even more from and about the event on an HR Happy Hour Show we will record later this week. All I can say to my Chinese friends, old and new, is "xiexie" - Thank You!

@trish_mcfarlane and I Heading in to present at #HRTechChina

A post shared by Steve Boese (@steveboese) on Jun 5, 2017 at 5:42pm PDT

From there, I headed to Tokyo for some business as well as some time to do some touring and sightseeing. Another amazingly interesting and fun place, great and welcoming people, and lots of opportunity to do more in the future. I liked it so much I may have to go back again soon!

#tokyo

A post shared by Steve Boese (@steveboese) on Jun 9, 2017 at 8:06pm PDT

It has been the longest business trip I have been on in ages, and while I sit here in the MSP Sky Club anxious to get home, I also anticipate the next trip back to Asia - it truly has been, professionally and personally, the most incredibly rewarding trip I have taken in years.

And to everyone who is waiting to hear back from me about something or other - I promise to dig in to the backlog of emails and texts and get back to you soon.

That is if I actually get home tonight. If I get stuck here in MSP, then all bets are off.

NOTE: In the time it has taken me to post this, I am delayed another hour...

UPDATE: HR Tech China Day 1 - #HRTechChina

Quick dispatch from Shanghai, China the site of the 2nd Annual HR Tech China Conference and Exposition which just completed a fun and successful first day. This is my third time in China and with each trip I come to love this place more and more. And Shanghai, so far, has been my absolute favorite place to visit in China. It is a combination of ultra-modern and high-tech, along with very traditional and historical. Kind of like the country overall.

As for the event, it got off to a great start yesterday with a series of keynote speeches on a wide range of important topics for the HR and business leader in China - and for HR and business leaders anywhere I would suggest. We covered Artificial Intelligence, Data and Analytics for HR, Modern HR Technology in the Cloud, the Consumerization of HR and Enterprise Technology and more. It was a set of talks that would have fit in any HR Tech Conference in the world, and I was really honored to be a part. 

China is the world's second largest economy, has over 700 million workers, and over 25 million enterprises. The numbers are staggering. And so is the opportunity for HR and for HR Technology, to make a significant impact on the wellbeing of those 700 million workers and the success of those 25 million enterprises.

In our welcome dinner on Monday night, one of the local Shanghai officials said that by choosing Shanghai as the site of HR Tech China that the Conference organizers were "choosing the future" - for China, and I would argue the world as well. In my opening remarks on Tuesday, I shared that line with the attendees, and added that by choosing to attend HR Tech China, that they were also choosing the future - for their organization and for themselves as HR professionals.

Ok, need to get ready for Day 2 in Shanghai - since Twitter/Instagram service has been a little spotty here, wanted to share a few pics from the trip and event so far. More to come....

SMB opening the ConferenceTrish McFarlane from Infor speaking at HR Tech China

Officials from LRP, China Star, Shanghai Foreign Service Center, and GuestsPanda makes an appearance in the HR Tech China ExpoSlightly foggy view from Shaghai Tower - 2nd tallest building in the worldThis has been an incredibly interesting, rewarding, and fun event. Look for more as the Conference wraps later today.

Thanks to all my friends, old and new, (especially all the new followers on WeChat) in China for making this event so fantastic.

PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 287 - The Business Value of Employee Wellbeing

HR Happy Hour 287 - The Business Value of Employee Wellbeing

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Guest: Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Medical Officer, Virgin Pulse

Listen HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour show, Steve and Trish are live at the Virgin Pulse Thrive Summit and are joined by Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Medical Officer of Virgin Pulse to talk about employee experience, wellbeing, and the business value of investing in employee wellbeing.

Virgin Pulse has now become the leading provider of employee wellbeing solutions, and their commitment to the overall employee experience, the central role that employee wellbeing plays in shaping that experience is evidenced by their approach to creating engaging solutions that focus on the employee and their health.

Rajiv shared his thoughts on how wellbeing initiatives not only drive benefits like increased retention, decreased absenteeism, and reduced employer health care costs, but also have been shown to lead to positive business outcomes - sales, productivity, market capitalization and more. He also offered some ideas to help HR and business leaders make the business case for investing in employee wellbeing programs.

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or by using the widget player below, or on your favorite podcast app.

Treat your employees right and they will treat your customers right - that idea is at the core of what Virgin Pulse is all about.

This was a fun show and many thanks to Virgin Pulse for having us at Thrive, and for supporting the HR Happy Hour Show.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts - just search for 'HR Happy Hour'.

PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 286 - Why You're Wrong About Steve Harvey

HR Happy Hour 286 - Why You're Wrong About Steve Harvey

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Recorded live at Thrive Summit 2017 by Virgin Pulse

Listen HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show recorded live from Virgin Pulse's Thrive Summit, Trish and Steve talk about the recent Steve Harvey 'Don't look at me memo', Zappos, Culture,  Strategy and Talent, the NBA finals and more. Of course Steve and Trish didn't quite see eye to eye about how the now infamous memo that Steve Harvey sent to his staff admonishing them not to 'ambush' him in his dressing room, in the halls, near the elevator, or anywhere else for that matter. THIS MEANS YOU. Harvey was lambasted by most commentators for this approach, but did he have a good point after all?

Also, Steve talked about his famous, (in his mind anyway), Rock-Paper-Scissors / Culture-Talent-Strategy analogy and what it suggests about culture, we had another Zappos re-set, and Trish burned Steve about his new tie.

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or by using the widget player below:

This was a fun show and we hope you think so too.

Thanks to show sponsor Virgin Pulse - www.virginpulse.com for all their support and for having us out at the show.

Remember to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour Show on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for 'HR Happy Hour'.