Professor Rose Anne Kenny features in The Irish Times: We are living longer. This is how workplaces need to adapt
Posted on 4 September 2026
In a recent Irish Times opinion piece (https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/08/03/rose-anne-kenny-we-are-living-longer-this-is-how-workplaces-need-to-adapt/ ), Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Regius Professor at Trinity College Dublin, highlights the need to move away from the traditional model of life as three distinct stages - education, work and retirement.
As people live longer and birth rates decline, we need to rethink how we work, learn and retire, writes Professor Rose Anne Kenny.
Ireland, like much of Europe, is experiencing significant demographic change. People are living longer, healthier lives while birth rates are declining, resulting in an increasingly ageing population. This shift presents an opportunity to reconsider how our workplaces, education systems and retirement structures are designed.
Rethinking work across the life course
As working lives potentially become longer, Professor Kenny argues for more flexible approaches to education and employment. Education could increasingly become a lifelong pursuit, while workplaces could provide opportunities for people to retrain, develop new skills and change careers at different stages of life.
An ageing workforce also brings significant benefits. Older and younger workers can contribute different but complementary skills. Younger workers may bring adaptability and problem-solving skills, while experienced workers contribute accumulated knowledge, judgement and an understanding of how organisations operate.
This makes multigenerational workplaces an increasingly important feature of the future of work. Evidence highlighted in the article suggests that organisations that actively embrace multigenerational teams can benefit from greater adaptability, retraining and the effective use of skills and experience.
The importance of purpose
The article also explores the relationship between work, purpose and healthy ageing. Having a sense of purpose is important for both physical and mental wellbeing, although purpose does not necessarily have to come from paid employment.
While retirement can provide new opportunities and purpose for many people, forced retirement can also result in a loss of purpose for some. Professor Kenny suggests that giving people greater choice over working patterns and retirement could benefit both individuals and organisations.
Ultimately, longer lives require us to rethink traditional assumptions about ageing, work and retirement. Creating more flexible, inclusive and multigenerational workplaces could help individuals remain engaged and contribute throughout longer working lives, while also helping organisations make the most of the skills and experience within an ageing workforce.