There will likely be a number of issues shaping the future of the workforce, but the biggest trend over the next decade will be the retirement of baby boomers, according to a survey.

The survey, developed by Robert Half International, finds that 60% of senior executives believe boomer retirements will most significantly alter the workforce in the next 10 years.

“The looming retirement of baby boomers has captured the attention of business leaders who are concerned about retaining the expertise of their most tenured employees,” says Max Messmer, the company’s chairman and CEO.

He adds that businesses that accommodate valued staff members not ready to retire but seek new work arrangements, such as flexible or part-time schedules, are best able to keep top performers.

Some of the other trends that executives thought would most significantly alter the workforce are global business interactions (15%), outsourcing (9%), and remote work arrangements (7%). Eight percent said “other” while 1% answered “don’t know.”

The survey was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 100 senior Canadian executives.

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