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Refuting Perceptions of Older Workers
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? The conventional wisdom about older workers' attitudes about work is being challenged by a series of new reports that find older workers are more eager to learn on the job and more willing to go "the extra mile" than younger workers.
A series of newly issued reports based on recent surveys challenges the conventional wisdom many HR and hiring managers still have about older workers. The reports find that these workers tend to have a more positive attitude about the workplace than younger generations (including baby boomers), are eager to enroll in training courses and expand their knowledge and, in many cases, are more than willing to devote their later years to full-time jobs in fields that matter to them. "There continues to be this perception, especially among younger managers, that older workers aren't willing to learn new things and are not interested in training," says Deborah Russell, director of workforce issues at Washington-based AARP, adding that AARP's past research has revealed that the younger a manager is, the worse his or her perception of older workers tends to be. "These negative perceptions extend to older workers' supposedly being unwilling to work with a younger boss and being inflexible." And yet, a recent survey from AARP revealed that 79 percent of workers age 50 and over are satisfied with the employer-based training programs offered to them and that they participate in those programs in large numbers. The study also found that nine in 10 (93 percent) of respondents said they enjoy learning new things, and 77 percent expressed interest specifically in work-related education. "The passion for knowledge does not disappear or diminish simply because a worker passes the age 50 threshold," says Russell. The AARP cited U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections showing that one in three people in the U.S. labor force will be age 50 or over by 2016, compared with 28 percent of the workforce last year. Meanwhile, a new report from Purchase, N.Y.-based Sirota Survey Research finds that older workers bring a higher level of satisfaction, pride and willingness to go "the extra mile" for their jobs than younger generations, while simultaneously expressing the strongest satisfaction with the fairness of their compensation. The survey defined as "Traditionalists" those ages 63 and older. Other categories were baby boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. The study found that Traditionalists were more likely than the other age groups to be willing to "go the extra mile" for their employers (85 percent, tied with boomers, compared to 77 percent for Generation X and 72 percent for Generation Y) and have the highest satisfaction with their employers (85 percent, compared with 74 percent for boomers and 77 percent for Xers). The survey also found that older workers tend to have the most pride in working for their employers (89 percent, compared with 85 percent for Yers, 81 percent for Xers and 79 percent for boomers) and feel that they are compensated fairly for their work (61 percent, compared with 55 percent for Y and 53 percent for both boomers and Xers). Older workers may be more satisfied with the workplace than their younger counterparts simply because they have a more realistic attitude, says Douglas Klein, president of Sirota. "Traditionalists have already factored the realities of work into their overall strategies, and have tempered their expectations," he says. "As a result, they are more resilient, and most likely to be satisfied with the work situation." HR leaders should also take note of the nine-point difference between Traditionalists and Generation Y workers in the former's willingness "to go the extra mile," says Klein. "It's not because Gen Y workers are inherently lazy; rather, it takes them years to readjust their expectations to match their real-time experiences on the job," he says. Klein suggests that HR leaders consider focusing their efforts on attracting and retaining a higher percentage of older workers, based on the positive attitudes they bring to the workplace. Employers in the social-service, healthcare and education fields may be especially well-positioned to lure those older workers, according to the 2008 MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates. The survey estimates that between 5.3 million and 8.4 million Americans between the ages of 40 and 70 have already launched "encore careers" -- second careers that "combine income and personal meaning with social impact." Of those workers ages 44 to 70 not already in encore careers, half are interested in them, specifically jobs in education, healthcare and the nonprofit sector. And those respondents most interested in social purpose careers tend to be the youngest: 50 percent of boomers ages 44-50 say they want to join the 7 percent of their group already in such careers. "Unexpectedly large numbers of boomers are looking for purpose-driven jobs that provide them with both means and meaning," says Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures, a San Francisco-based think tank on boomers and aging. The report found that a majority of Americans in this age bracket express a desire to use their skills and experience to help others. Of those currently in encore careers, 84 percent report a high level of satisfaction and 94 percent say they see the positive results of their work and know they are making a difference. The report was based on two surveys of people between the ages of 44 and 70, one a telephone survey of 1,063, and the second an Internet survey of 2,500 people. Civic Ventures has recently launched a project in Silicon Valley called "Encore Fellows" that's designed to attract older workers who are interested in careers in the nonprofit sector. Among those targeted are HR professionals, says Freedman. "The nonprofit sector has grown rapidly in the past decade and it's trying to become better-managed," he says. Many nonprofit organizations have hired full-time CEOs and CFOs, but continue to struggle in improving areas such as HR, marketing and legal, he adds. The new program will provide six-month fellowships for HR managers and others who are interested in starting encore careers in the nonprofit sector, says Freedman. A change in the perception of older workers is overdue, he adds. "Even the term 'older workers' sounds kind of musty -- it brings to mind this image of people not entirely vital and past their prime," he says. "Here, we're looking at people who are still at the top of their game but they're hindered in their efforts to launch an encore career by some of these outdated perceptions. "The oxymoron we commonly hear is the 'working retired,' which creates this impression that people are essentially halfway between the end of real work and the beginning of real retirement. But our survey shows that for many, an encore career is a 10- to 20-year career plan. Even though flexibility is a priority for these folks, their commitment is very high and most plan to work full-time."
July 16, 2008 Copyright 2008© LRP Publications |
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