Sometimes life sends you a message.
Yesterday for instance, I wanted a “nosh” so I grabbed a piece of candy even though I’m trying to eat healthier. Lo and behold, when I opened the wrapper there was no candy in it – it must have missed the quality assurance test. So I took it to mean that I should not be eating the candy.
In the last few weeks, another message became clear. This time, it was about older workers in the workplace.
It happened when I went to my high school’s 50th anniversary… which corresponded with my 38th graduation… where I helped celebrate the 60th and 65th birthdays of a couple… who have been dear friends for 22 years.
That’s a lot of milestones.
And through it all, I was struck by a couple of things. First, 60 and 65 don’t seem quite as old as they used to be. Now, that may have something to do with the fact that I’m 55 and have no intention of slowing down, but I also think it’s because people today are living longer, healthier and better than ever before.
I was also struck by the fact that people are more productive far longer. And with the economy faltering of late, these folks will be in the workforce even longer than in the past.
In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted that the number of workers between 65 and 74 years old will grow by more than 80 percent between 2006 and 2016.
As an employer, this brings up some interesting challenges and opportunities, like learning to communicate with a multigenerational workforce, understanding how to recruit older workers and providing a work/life balance that suits people at every life stage with very different responsibilities to family.
But we’re also finding that diverse workplaces create environments where organizations really thrive, grow and succeed. Older workers can bring experience, maturity and stability to the mix as well as strong values around customer service and company loyalty.
Furthermore, many negative perceptions about older workers are outdated and simply not true.
A report by Taleo Research in the UK, called “Tapping into the Older Worker Talent Pool,” identified two major misconceptions about older workers: 1) that sickness is a big risk in employing them and 2) older workers can’t adapt to technology. The report cites sources that find 16- to 24-year-olds have higher sickness/absence rates and mature workers might actually be better at applying technology to their jobs because of their experience.
This is no knock on younger workers who also bring tremendous value to organizations. But it does demonstrate that the concept of the “older worker” has changed. Today’s older workers pride themselves on maintaining their health, remaining physically and intellectually active and continuing meaningful careers.
I get it, and I hope that other organizations do too. There is a new “older worker.”
Tags: multigenerational workforce, older worker, Taleo Research, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, workplace
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Another concern with this, even though it doesn’t affect employers as much as employees, is what it means for recent graduates and other young workers. These people are extremely valuable to bring energy and a fresh perspective to the workplace, but they are being left out since less retirees in the 65-74 demographic means less jobs opening up in an already tight market.
Are these young members of the workforce being overlooked, and thus not being well-trained to be valuable members of employers workforces? It raises a whole other set of questions.