The Dynamic-Grit Mindset: Flourishing in the Future Workforce

Abstract

In Singapore, the local workforce is expected to plateau from 2020 onward, indicating that there will be little or zero growth in the local workforce based on current employment and retirement rates. Although credited for their contributions, Singaporean older workers are perceived by many employers as liabilities and thereby confined to secondary labour markets. This research study aims to challenge prevailing narrowing attitudes towards older workers above the age of 50 by discovering their appreciative factors through the involvement of key stakeholders in Singapore’s employment sector. Through the appreciative inquiry methodology, the concept of ‘dynamic-grit mindset’ was developed from a detailed thematic analysis of the data. The findings indicated that older workers were disadvantaged by the systemic inequities within Singapore’s workforce and revealed that older workers in Singapore use the dynamic-grit mindset to mitigate and overcome the pressures of these systemic inequities within the workforce.