In coming years, it is predicted that there will be increased share of older generation than younger ones globally. In my opinion, this is a negative development which can lead to reduced productivity at workplace and increased need of healthcare services.
One serious problem that can arise from increasing older population is that it can result in decreased efficiency. Now, we have young adults at workplaces that make innovation and develop country’s economy but the older gets workforce, the more government will have labor shortages and this has a detrimental effect on economic growth. To support a rising elderly generation with pensions as well as healthcare expenses, governments may face budget strains, leading to increased taxes. For example, Japan has one of the oldest generations across nations and this trend has caused some problems with social security and healthcare costs.
Another issue is that greater demand for healthcare services, leading to a shortage of healthcare resources. As people age, they typically require more efficient and frequent healthcare services. Elderly people may require access to advanced medical technologies, adding to the demand, as it is more effective and it may result in lack of these techno-instruments. Also, medicine professions may face shortages in skilled workers as the proportion of younger generation is expected to decrease in the future. For instance, Italy has faced issues in maintaining an excellent healthcare workforce causing old as well as young patients to wait longer to get healthcare services.
In conclusion, the growing proportion of older population may cause several issues such as decreased workplace efficiency and rising demand for medical services in the future.