The Untapped Potential of Senior Employees
Experience, empathy and well-being – unlocking the untapped potential of senior employees
How do we create working lives where experience becomes a strength rather than a limitation – and where senior employees are supported in continuing to learn, contribute and thrive?
Across many organizations, employees aged 55+ represent a growing and highly experienced part of the workforce. Yet assumptions about motivation, learning ability, flexibility and change-readiness still shape how senior employees are developed, supported and (too often) phased out.
One clear pattern is that participation in learning activities drops significantly after the age of 55. Traditionally, this has been explained as a lack of motivation among older employees. At the same time, research constantly shows that the more senior employees participate in learning and development, the longer they tend to remain in the workforce.
In this webinar, Aske Juul Lassen from the University of Copenhagen explores what research actually tells us about senior employees, competence development and well-being in the later stages of working life. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research, he shows that many senior employees do want to continue developing – but are often hindered by workplace structures and persistent prejudices about age and learning.
Some of you may already be familiar with these perspectives from Aske’s presentation at NOCA’s Employee Experience Day 2025. In this webinar, Aske revisits and deepens key insights on ageing, lifelong learning and work life, bringing together research on ageism, learning and senior competencies – and connecting it directly to the everyday decisions leaders and HR/People professionals make.
Aske challenges common stereotypes and highlights what often improves rather than declines with age: perspective, judgement, emotional regulation, professional empathy and long-term thinking – competences that are increasingly valuable in complex organizations.
This webinar will explore:
- Why participation in learning often drops after 55 – and why motivation is rarely the real explanation
- How workplace structures and implicit prejudices can hinder senior employees’ access to learning and development
- How ageism subtly influences recruitment, development and retention
- How learning changes with age, and why many senior employees prefer informal, relational and practice-based learning
- What keeps senior employees engaged and motivated to stay longer at work – and what makes them withdraw
- Why senior competencies such as perspective-taking, professional empathy and emotional control matter for both well-being and productivity
- How age can be understood as a diversity parameter that strengthens organizational culture and performance
You can expect research-based insights, concrete examples and reflective questions, aimed at helping organizations move from seeing age as a risk factor to recognizing experience as a strategic and human asset.
Who should attend?
This webinar is relevant for professionals working with:
- HR, People & Culture and learning & development
- Leadership and organizational development
- Employee Experience, wellbeing and retention
- Diversity, inclusion and age-inclusive workforce strategies
… and for anyone curious about how to design longer, more meaningful and more sustainable working lives – no matter your age.
Speaker:
Aske Juul Lassen, PhD, ethnologist, owner of Den 3. akt and Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen
AAske Juul Lassen’s research explores the intersections of ageing, work life and everyday practices, often with a focus on welfare state institutions and societal perceptions of ageing. Aske has led and contributed to several interdisciplinary research projects, including studies on senior working life, retirement transitions and ageism. His methodological approach is grounded in ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative analysis, and he has published widely in both academic and applied contexts. In addition to his research, Aske is an experienced lecturer and supervisor, engaged in teaching at the university as well as dissemination about ageing for companies, pensions funds, municipalities, NGOs and unions. He is engaged at the Center for Health Research in the Humanities and part of the Collaborative Ageing Research Initiative. Furthermore, Aske is appointed by the Danish Minister of Old Age to the Council for an Age-friendly Denmark to craft a vision for the Danish policy of old age.
Learn more about Employee Experience or other NOCA themes here.