Older Workers - Assets or Liabilities?
All generations should be considered in workplace planning. The construct of retirement was really designed for a population that had an abundance of younger folk and far few older ones. Well, we already know that’s not the case today. If nothing is done to create age-diverse work-places, a great deal of talent and experience will exit, many without choosing to do so. This loss will certainly decrease economic opportunities for businesses. But even more problematic may be the loss of taxpaying people for our city, our health and social systems, and our economy in general.
Nearly every company in the world has a “multi-generational” workforce – just a simple fact. And it isn’t unusual to have 4 generations under the same roof today. This kind of diversity presents some unique challenges for business leaders and HR professionals. The good news is that there are a number of “inter-generational” strategies to maximize the opportunity and increase collaboration.
The truth is all generations generally want the same thing; work life balance, personal achievement, flexibility, purpose, financial security and the chance to become the best they can be. And they all want support over time as their needs shift. Understanding the differences and leveraging them effectively can produce remarkable and sustainable results. Some subtle changes can create massive change – something like changing the unintentional ageist language such as “years of experience”, which in my estimation is one of the worst measurements of potential ability. And asking for a birth date or university graduation date serves no purpose in finding the best-fit individual to fill any role.
When we work with organizations that are keenly interested in planning for their own journey into this new age, they are willing to challenge conventional thinking and accept that generational differences exist and the possibility that older workers might just be assets, not liabilities.
Are you ready to challenge this new paradigm?