Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating relationship between organizational culture, informal learning and work engagement of older workers in a public organizational setting. More specifically, this study aimed to investigate if informal learning is a pivotal component connecting an organizational-level factor (culture) to work engagement, which, in turn, directly influences business performance in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach: After a careful review of the selected and relevant literature, four hypotheses were developed to test the structural relationships between the selected variables. Findings: The data analysis indicated that informal learning mediated the relationship between organizational culture and work engagement for older employees working in a public organizational setting. Practical implications: The findings from this study provide a solid justification for promoting informal learning in organizations to ensure knowledge transfer between younger and older generations while minimizing knowledge and financial loss for organizations. Originality/value: In previous research, little emphasis has been placed on the impact of informal learning on work engagement. This study presents a valuable finding about the role of informal learning to facilitate work engagement for older workers.