Workforce in crisis: 72% of managers fear productivity collapse as mass retirement strips critical skills 

GLOBAL, 17 March 2025 – A mass retirement wave in retail, manufacturing and other key frontline sectors is threatening to drain industries of critical expertise. New global research from Flip, the frontline employee super-app, in partnership with Workplace Intelligence, reveals that 59% of frontline workers over 55 are planning to leave the workforce in the next five years. 

Almost three quarters (72%) of managers across retail and manufacturing are not confident their companies will be able to retain the knowledge and expertise lost when experienced workers retire.   

At the same time, younger workers feel undervalued and disconnected, with 48% of Gen Z employees considering leaving frontline industries entirely due to poor onboarding, lack of training, and limited career progression opportunities. 

The landmark study surveyed 1,500 frontline managers and employees, offering a critical insight into the scale of the workforce crisis. It uncovered that this coming retirement wave could mean severe brain drain, as experienced workers leave en masse, taking valuable knowledge with them. 

The productivity of the current workforce is already suffering, particularly due to widening skills shortages in manufacturing and retail. Frontline employees spend an average of 14 hours per week—equivalent to 4.5 months annually—helping colleagues compensate for knowledge gaps, instead of focusing on their own tasks. This inefficiency translates to a substantial financial loss, costing the US economy $177.8 billion in the retail sector alone.   

A workforce at a breaking point:  

• 90% of frontline managers miss performance targets each year due to a lack of skills on their team.  

• Frontline managers are struggling to onboard and upskill their teams, with 96% reporting skill gaps in their workplace. 

• Training failures are driving talent away, with one in three (30%) frontline workers saying their company lacks the right technology to support new hires. Gen Z is in the firing line once again, with 89% of managers saying they lack the technical skills required.  

• Meanwhile, Gen Z feels undervalued—while managers question their skills, 50% of Gen Z employees say their work is overlooked because of their age. 

Compounding the issue, Gallup research shows that employee engagement in the US has plummeted to its lowest level in a decade, with only 31% of employees engaged in 2024—matching figures last seen in 2014. Meanwhile, 17% of employees are actively disengaged, further exacerbating workplace productivity challenges. This decline highlights a growing disconnect between workers and employers, making it even harder to retain and develop talent in industries already facing critical skill shortages. 

"Industries that power our economies are facing a critical skills cliff edge," said Benedikt Brand, co-founder and CEO of Flip. "In frontline sectors, expertise is often passed down verbally or stored on paper—unlike office roles, where digital records create a natural knowledge trail. When experienced workers retire, this knowledge risks disappearing entirely. Businesses must act now to capture and digitize critical expertise, ensuring a smooth transfer to the next generation. Without it, productivity will stall, and these industries will struggle to stay competitive." 

Dan Schawbel, Managing Partner at Workplace Intelligence, added: “The new generation gap isn’t just about age — it’s about who has essential work skills and who doesn’t. The research shows many employers aren’t doing enough to transfer knowledge to younger workers before older employees retire.”  

“There’s a lot of goodwill, with experienced workers wanting to support new hires, but no one has the time or tools they need to train effectively,” Schawbel concluded.  

Without immediate action, industries risk a dual-generation talent vacuum, further deepening economic instability. For further insights and the full research findings, visit From Boomers to Zoomers: How to bridge the frontline generational skills gap.

About the research

Flip partnered with research firm Workplace Intelligence to survey 1,500 global frontline managers and employees in the US, UK, and Germany in January 2025.  

About Flip    

Flip is an award-winning employee experience platform designed for enterprises with hard-to-reach workforces. Its secure and easy-to-use app acts as a single digital interface between a business and its employees, helping them streamline everything from internal communication to onboarding to shift planning and task management – at scale.     

From the moment employees are hired, they have what they need to be happier and more productive at work. Flip was founded in 2018 in Germany and featured by Gartner and Wired. Top companies like Bosch, Porsche, Rossmann and McDonald's Germany use Flip to reach, engage, and transform their workforces in over 72 countries.     

Visit www.getflip.com to learn more.    

About Workplace Intelligence 

Workplace Intelligence is an award-winning thought leadership and research agency focused on the world of work. We help companies, and their executives, tell their workplace story in a meaningful, relevant, and impactful way using primary data, insights, and interviews. For more information go to our website and subscribe to our Insider newsletter.