Why is it that chronological age has such an impact on the way in which employers view that employees?
Amy Meadows, 18 August 2010It seems that regardless of how your body and mind function and how successful you are at doing your job, that once your birthday has been round 50 plus times that people start to see you in a different light.
Age UK has highlighted that many of the people who have been unemployed for over 12 months are aged over 50. With two out of five people over 50 unemployed for over a year (and three-quarters of them are men) this appears to be strong evidence of the age discrimination that existing in many workplaces. The government's recent announcement to raise the compulsory age of retirement is therefore an irrelevant policy change for many older workers who don't make it to anything like official retirement age before being put on the working scrap heap.
You can replace old with young when there are skilled motivated young people available. But there are fewer and fewer of those around. The UK's demographics are such that there are now more people of active working age in the over 50s than under 30s. And we've all heard, and many of us have seen the consequences, of a skewed education system that see young people entering the job market with too few of the basic skills that are needed by today's employers. So the business imperative to ensure that older people stay within the workforce is here to stay.
There are excellent examples of employers who recognise the advantages of both recruiting and/or retaining older workers. B&Q have been doing it for years. They recognise that regardless of whether is individual is 30, 50 or 70 the most important factor is whether they know their stuff and can help deliver the business's promise to customers.
Managers need to see mature workers as an asset and not a liability. The vast majority of people over 50 have acquired considerable experience over their working life that enables them to bring knowledge and skills to their work. You hear companies say they need fresh young blood to bring innovation and creativity but that needn't be the preserve of youth. Prince Charles recognised this when he established the Princes's Initiative for Mature Enterprise to help support new businesses of older people.
If you're a HR Manager and you want to take a new look and old age then come and speak to us at Forster AGEncy. We can share a wealth of positive examples and help ensure your company is age positive.