UK businesses are failing to utilise the skills of older workers as a result of image-conscious hiring habits, according to the latest findings from leading specialist on ageing, Dr Lynda Shaw. The expert argues that “highly regarded men and women” in industry are displaying a “total disregard for potential employees nearing retirement age”, and says that it is now “vital” to confront ageism.
According to Shaw’s research, managers are worried that being seen to employ an older worker will lose them respect in the eyes of others, thanks to plain-old ageism coupled with society’s preoccupation with youth and “potential”. However, that has led to a climate in which “a strong set of skills, expertise and loyalty are being overlooked and lost to industry”.
Even when older workers are hired, Shaw points out, it is often as “interims just to exploit them for their contact list within their business network. This information has a ‘shelf life’, as contacts move on … this may result in a quick fix for employer and employee, but there is no thought of what else they can bring to the table. If we continue to treat people like this, they will lose interest and either retire, start a business of their own or change course completely. This is dangerous for industry.”
As Professional Manager reported in May, Shaw has already extolled the virtues of having a lively age mix in the workplace: the loyalty, experience and know-how of older workers, blended seamlessly with the freshness, enthusiasm and new ideas of younger ones can only be of great benefit to a company’s performance. However, her new findings are genuinely worrying, as she goes as far to say that “we are just beginning to witness a massive brain drain as the ‘baby boomers’ start heading to retirement.”
Managers would be well advised to note that, ultimately, reputations are forged on good results and performance, rather than adhering to other peoples’ expectations of who they should be hiring. A good mix of ages, and teamwork between employees who all have something to offer, is far more likely to help them achieve this.