Knowledge economy

To quote from the Harvard Business Review, "Older workers are often seen as a burden, with younger candidates preferred in recruitment decisions. But in economies where knowledge rules, the experience of older workers grows in value. Employer surveys commonly reveal that the over 60s are seen as more experienced, knowledgeable, reliable and loyal than younger workers".

With millions of older workers leaving the workplace in the next 5-10 years it will become increasingly important for employers to ensure that this knowledge is passed onto younger workers to enable them to compete more effectively. Inter-generational mentoring schemes are just one of the ways to do this, helping to build links between generations, improving understanding, respect and performance.

National Retirement Initiative

Lord Wei has recently called for pensioners to be involved in a "national service" of volunteering when they retire. It's great that there is now some recognition that those of retirement age still have something to contribute to younger generations, to society and the economy with their masses of experience and knowledge. It's disappointing that the announcement did not launch a national retirement service to spur employers into action by providing their employees with much needed support and advice about making the transition from permanent full-time employment and the many option open to them, including continuing to earn an income through part-time work or self-employment. Masses of retirees will not have excess time on their hands as they still need to supplement their pensions and may well be involved in the care of granddchildren and their older relatives. More recognition of the existing "volunteering" that older people provide within families as carers would help to create a bit more realism to this initiative.

SOS: Employers needed to support older workers

The ILC has recently published a report entitled "Retirement in Flux". It suggests that retirement is a process not an event claiming that older workers have responsibility to remain in the labour market where possible to retain their skills and ease the fiscal burden on the tax payer. In fact European Commission research earlier this year revealed that 65% of respondents want to retire gradually. The positive news is that most people can now expect to live 20 years in retirement. Working for longer has a positive well-being effect, way beyond the financial, with improved health in later life meaning there are more opportunities to enjoy leisure pursuits and money to enjoy them. This all sounds pretty fine and dandy BUT the ILC "Thinkpiece" states that gradual retirement will not emerge organically, it requires employers to support their older workers and to reorientate career structures so that the experience of older workers is most effectively utilised. Employers just reflect our current society where if older workers are not asked to work longer, participate in society or continue to learn, then they can assume their skills and talents are not needed. Writing-off the skills, experience and talents of older workers does not make good economic sense for society and the individual so it's time for employers to rethink their approach and start the cultural change needed to create recognition and fulfilment for the increasing numbers of older people in our society.

Older Women Stand-out

The Work Audit April 2012 report published by the CIPD with the title "Age, gender and jobs recession" reveals two "stand-out" groups. Firstly there are 271,000 more women aged between 50-64 in the labour market than at the start of the recession and secondly 200,000 more women aged 65 and over, actually in work.

Some of the reasons for this, the report claims, is a combination of population ageing and fewer workers retiring early either for financial reasons or a desire to prolong their working lives.

It would be good to attribute these changes also to the removal of retirement age in employment, increasing employer awareness of the skills and experience older workers can provide plus the workers themselves not writing themselves off too soon.

Clearly the so called "Madonna generation" still has a great deal to offer and a lot more besides!

65 and still buying

The ONS today published figures to show that of the 395,000 men and 417,000 women aged 65 in 2012, 10% and 14% respectively are expected to survive until the age of 100.

That's another 35 years of these age groups wanting and needing all kinds of existing and new products and services. It presents a massive marketing opportunity for anyone willing to research, develop insights and understanding, segment and target. It is still such an under-serviced market and one that will become increasingly relevant as families experience multiple generations growing older together!

Dignity for older people

In today's news there is coverage about the need for dignity for older people within the NHS as some older pateients are reported as being patronised and treated without compassion or understanding. The report suggests that this behaviour lies deep within the organisations' culture and ageism needs to be addressed in the same way as sexism and racism were tackled. Bearing in mind the rampant ageism still within the UK and the West, even with the recent age discrimination legislation, this deep- rooted mindset is indeed very likely and is set to continue without action.

2012 is the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. One of the objectives is to promote activities to combat age discrimination, overcome age-related stereotypes and remove barriers (particularly from employment).

As the year unfolds, it will be interesting to see which activities (if any) the politicians and policy makers support to ensure that both the spirit and the letter of the law are addressed. Not least because cultural change is a long term problem and everyone is likely to suffer from ageism at some point in the future.

On-going age awareness learning and development within organisations, as part of an equality and inclusion strategy, could be a useful starting point to build sustainable cultural change. This would also add the benefits of improving the pool of workers, improving inter-generational understanding, reducing the cost of potential discrimination claims and doing something socially useful for employers .

More Older Women Marrying Younger Men

In the Harvard Business Review, there is the following report which is quoted here:

"The proportion of male-female partnerships in which the woman is at least five years older than the man increased sharply in the UK and US in the 1980s and 1990s.
Having remained at 3% for decades, it rose 8.3% in 2000 and is likely to be much higher now.

Today's wider career choices give women the opportunity to increase their desirability through financial success, an option that once was limited to males, the researchers say."

Another age boost for women?