The world's population is aging and by 2050 it is predicted that "the global elderly population will have more than doubled, reaching 2.1 billion", according to the Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030). A fact that is already causing changes in the job market, according to a report by Dinheiro Vivo.

To shed some light on the national reality, the Ethics Forum of the Católica Porto Business School carried out the study "Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work", which, according to Helena Gonçalves, coordinator of the forum, also appears to "support the organizations in identifying opportunities".

The report - which received 1074 valid responses - was carried out based on the premise that "a company that has a percentage of workers aged 50 or over, 10% higher than the average, is 1.1% more productive", according to an OECD report from 2020.

With regard to work, the majority (95% or more) of respondents consider themselves capable of responding effectively to the demands of their work, whether physical, mental, relational or technological. At this point, it should be noted that 27% of participants say they frequently have to prove that they do not fit into negative images associated with workers their age, suggesting the existence of stereotypes in relation to age.

Still in the field of work, it is younger people who are concerned with all age-related work issues (those that were addressed and carried out to carry out this study). Given this data, those responsible for the study consider it important to highlight that "70% of the participants in this study who belong to generation Z claim to have felt pressure to overcome ideas made about the capabilities underlying their age and 48% (almost half) reveal to have felt the need to prove that their professional performance does not fit into the negative images associated with workers their age".

Thus, as a final conclusion, the study "Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work" reveals that the attention that needs to be paid to younger generations must be paid to older workers. This is because the majority of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 "feel pressure to show what they are worth because of their age". In the same way that people over 60 work harder "to exceed the expectations that people have of themselves, as representatives of a generation".