While discussing college plans with his 17-year-old daughter, he couldn’t shake off the gnawing uncertainty about his own career path.
“It became daunting, I was 46, on a career break and looking for work,” reflected Srinivasan.
He joined a Noida-based startup in 2022, in a step-down role of a blockchain developer—and with a hefty pay cut.
They are what we call “the unwilling retirees”—people forced to shift from traditional career paths into makeshift roles.
In tech, for example, only a tiny fraction fraction Business Standard Workforce In Indian Technology Sector Read more fraction Business Standard Workforce In Indian Technology Sector (1–1.25%) are still working past 50.
It was the summer of 2019. Srinivasan was at a crossroads. While discussing college plans with his 17-year-old daughter, he couldn’t shake off the gnawing uncertainty about his own career path.
Two decades and seven promotions deep into his journey with Oracle—the tech giant that plucked him from one of India’s top engineering colleges—Srinivasan felt the shadows of stagnation creeping upon him. Soon, he went on a two-year sabbatical.
But reentering the workforce in 2021 meant learning new technologies. “It became daunting, I was 46, on a career break and looking for work,” reflected Srinivasan.
Retirement was not on the horizon for Srinivasan, and he barely avoided one. He joined a Noida-based startup in 2022, in a step-down role of a blockchain developer—and with a hefty pay cut.
Srinivasan’s story is only a reflection of a larger trend in the country. Nearly half of India’s 200-million-strong workforce was over the age of 45 in 2022–23, per the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). For them, involuntary retirement is looming large.
These are the 40- or 50-something “consultants”, “freelancers”, “part-time executives”, or “self-employed” hustlers. They are what we call “the unwilling retirees”—people forced to shift from traditional career paths into makeshift roles.
Dwindling growth prospects, mounting work pressures, and roles becoming redundant—all pushing seasoned professionals in tech, manufacturing, and retail/FMCG into earlier-than-planned career pivots or early retirements.
In tech, for example, only a tiny fraction fraction Business Standard Workforce In Indian Technology Sector Read more fraction Business Standard Workforce In Indian Technology Sector (1–1.25%) are still working past 50.
To better understand the challenge, The Ken spoke with over 30 professionals from different industries like education, technology, manufacturing, retail/FMCG, and took a Career Longevity survey. About 258 of the 303 respondents aged 40 to 60 said they felt like their careers have been sliced in half—now spanning just 20–25 years instead of the traditional 40–45.
Companies, on their part, are also in a bind: struggling to accommodate or provide growth avenues for this expanding demographic (the proportion of 45+ grew to 49% in 2022–23 from 37% six years ago, per CMIE). What this also means is that the numbers are falling in other age cohorts.
