Much more than a baby boom

These days we often hear about our ‘ageing population’, but this demographic shift is about so much more than simply a baby boom. 

It is true that the numbers of retirement age people will double in the next 10 years, and those aged 85 years and over are the most rapidly growing group of all (160 per cent increase in the past two decades), and still growing.

It is also true that this demographic rearrangement will have an enormous effect on our societal culture, business behaviour, the relative size of the workforce, services, systems and infrastructure.

What does this all mean for us in Western Australia? There are two sides to the coin.  We hear a lot about the ‘economic time bomb’ as baby boomers grow old – the notion that older people will be unaffordable for the community because of their burgeoning health and medical needs.  The fact is that older people will be contributing as much into the community as they may later need for themselves.

Over the next three decades as people retire they will be spending their accumulated wealth on themselves, in recreation, leisure, entertainment, tourism and myriad products and services. 

Their volunteering contribution will be without peer – as grandparents, caring for family members in need (more than 250,000 in WA), and a multitude of contributions to sporting groups, arts, human services and community efforts of all kinds – adding up to literally millions of dollars worth of value. 

The business implications of baby boomer spending will redefine how companies develop and market their products and services. 

From customer service design to product choice, this new market will be prepared to pay a little more for top quality and service. Loyalty will move away from predominantly brand purchasing to personalised customer service, both before and after purchase. Tomorrow’s customers will be discerning, demanding, educated, and market savvy.

Successful business will also depend on meeting the shrinking workforce challenge. During the next few years there will be significant shortages. There will be an increasing competition between employers, and a new era of relationships between employers and employees.

Society must change its attitudes to embrace the growing number of people over 65 years. These people do not see themselves as old and will ignore any attempt to be so treated. They are fit, healthy, and active, and they know their political and economic influence. 

How should we be preparing for the future? We need to plan for well designed buildings, transport systems, communication systems, health and aged care systems to sustain people of all ages through the next two to three decades.   Health and aged care will be increasingly designed to support people in their own homes; services will come to people where they choose to live, not the other way around. 

The shift in service from nursing homes to care at home has already begun and the shift will continue to move that way. It will, however, become crucial to surround people in their own homes with social contact – friends, neighbours and opportunities for community participation – to ensure that isolation and depression do not become unwanted consequences.

Ageing is not the only challenge for society. There will be many people of all ages who live with ongoing conditions, requiring care and support services. While diabetes and depression loom as modern epidemics, there are many other challenges. 

Brightwater, for example, specialises in providing rehabilitation and accommodation for young people with brain injury and neurological conditions. These young men and women work very hard to lead a normal life, and their parents strive to provide support, as they age themselves. 

Support networks are vital; we must take an intelligent and inclusive approach to developing real communities so that whether young or old, all can enjoy life in the 21st century.

We are moving into an exciting time in history, where the mix of all ages can bring so many opportunities at all levels – personal, business, community even globally.

Instead of worrying about an ageing society and the perceived problems it may bring, we should embrace the valuable contribution that older people make in so many ways, and welcome all the opportunities they bring.

• Dr Penny Flett is chief executive officer of Brightwater Care Group.