Christine Raneri Industrial Psychology Seminar
Over the last decade, employers have devoted their attention to achieving diversity in the workplace. Efforts have been made to promote not only racial diversity, but also improve opportunities for women and people of different ethnic origin. One component of diversity that has been overlooked is age. No matter what our race, gender or ethnic origin, we all fall within the age component. Older workers, (men and women age 40 or older), as a group, are rapidly infiltrating the corporate world with their massive numbers and significance. Because of this our society is moving from a youth oriented workforce to a mature oriented one.
American culture as a whole is geronnophobic. People fear getting old and therefore, have a prejudice against old people. Society has grown up with the media portraying old people as a mentally and physically deteriorating population, and because of this, the older person is believed to be socially less attractive, less able, and less worthwhile on whom to focus time and effort (Dychtwald, 1990).
When it comes to working, society has engrained the idea that at age 65 people should retire because all their good years have been used. This benchmark age of 65 took root back in Germany in 1889. Prince Otto Von Bismark established the first social security system, and he chose the age of 65 as the age that workers could collect social security. Life expectancy was 45 years old, so the Prince purposely made social security unachievable. One reason retirement in the US was implemented was due to conditions in the 1930�s. One third of young workers could not find work. Retirement helped open up jobs by creating a work cut-off age (Dychtwald, 1990). Today we are seeing quite the opposite. There are numerous jobs to be filled, but not enough young people to fill them (Aging Work, 1999). Over the last 10 years the number of young people age 16-24 has dropped by 5 million each year (Bacas, 1988). On the opposite end of the spectrum is the exceeding number of older people. Today there are 74 million workers over the age of 50. This number is expected to exceed 100 million within 10 years (Emerging, 1999). Half of the workforce is between the ages of 35-54 (in 5 years the average age of the worker will be 41 years old). By next year, one in every three workers will be 45 or older (Aging Work, 1999).
It is estimated that new jobs will exceed the numbers of people in the labor market by 2 million (Machan, 1989). There may not be people in the labor market to fill this mass of positions, but there will not be a shortage of labor. The pool of potential (younger) employees is lessening because of three trends: first is lower birth rate, second is due to the type of jobs being created (Bacas, 1989), and the third trend ties into the second in that there is a skills gap. New job openings are requiring a higher level of skills. High school graduates are not graduating with a complete knowledge of basic skills (1989). On average high school students are not keeping up with the skills required for new positions (Cascio, 1998). The problem with the retirement age is that people don�t grow old at 65 anymore.
There are three factors that influence this change in the age of the upcoming workforce. Ken Dychwald, a gerontologist, who has been studying the new image of the aging in corporations for 16 years, explains that life expectancy, the baby boom generation and the decline in birth rate are the three main factors influencing how our workforce will age (Dychtwald, 1990). In the 1940�s life expectancy was about 60 years old, today it is estimated to be about 75 years old (estimated in 1990). Due to advancements in medical technologies and medicine, people are living longer, staying healthy and are wanting to work for both financial and social aspects. The baby boom (those born between 1946-1964) generation, making up 76 million people, is progressing through their lives. Today the oldest baby boomer is in his/her mid fifties. In the next 10 years, baby boomers will be approaching 65, and will be thinking about retirement. The third factor is that baby boomers are having fewer children than their parents causing a decline in birth rates. Because of this there are more middle age people than there are babies being born (Dychtwald, 1990). Due to these changes, the older population wants to continue working rather than taking the route of a traditional retirement: moving to Florida to lead a sedentary life.
Because of these trends, older adults blessed with longer, healthier lives, looking for a more fulfilling life (not the typical retirement), will be staying longer or entering back into the workforce. The demand for workers is so great that corporations have to look past their stereotypical notions regarding older workers and start re-recruiting the same workers they pushed out the corporate doors in the eighties and early nineties due to layoffs (Aging Work, 1999).
Over the last four years, there has been a twenty percent decrease in workers age 65 and older due to those who have been looking forward to retiring, whether it be due to health reasons or for leisure plans, and those who have been nicely bribed by corporations offering retirement incentives (Lefkovich, 1992). Retirement incentives, also known as the �golden handshake,� were introduced as a more friendly way to lay off older workers when downsizing was an issue. They wanted to get rid of the older worker because corporations believed the older worker�s paycheck to be an area where the corporation could cut costs. Corporations believed that filling positions with younger people at entry-level wages would remedy its money problems (1992). Geronnophobia is most destructive in the workplace. A number of myths and misperceptions are held by business and industry regarding aging and the older workers. Some of the main misperceptions and stereotypes are that older workers are less reliable, are absent more, are more accident prone and are inflexible, unwilling to learn new ideas and are less productive than the younger worker. Several studies, Farrimond (1989), McEvoy & Cascio (1989), Rosen and Jerdee (1976) to name a few, have researched these beliefs and revealed that these beliefs are unfounded ideas that society has conjured up and ingrained into reality at the expense of a growing population. Regarding the belief that older workers have a higher incidence of accidents was found to be false in a study by Farrimond (1989). He found that accidents due to performance of skilled tasks (using tools and machinery) decreased with age. A study by the Department of Health and Human Services found that workers 55 or older were responsible for 9.7% of all workplace injuries where 50% of all on-the-job accidents were from the age group ranging between 20-24 year olds (Cascio, 1998).
Experience is thought to be the key to avoiding accidents. This means that older workers may be more advantageous to corporations since accidents cost money (absenteeism, replacements, training, paid leave etc.) (Farrimond, 1989). The belief that older workers have a higher incidence for absenteeism and are undependable than the younger worker was also unfounded. Like accidents, absenteeism was found to be higher among younger employees (in regards to no illness absences) (Cascio, 1998). In regards to older workers being undependable, the findings speak for themselves. Workers between the ages of 50-60 average 15 years at a job, and only 3% voluntarily change jobs, whereas the worker between the ages 20-24 average 3 years at any given job (Lefkovich, 1992). Since older workers stay longer at their jobs, turnover is lower, which is beneficial to a corporation, which does not have to spend on recruitment, selection, training etc. of new people. It is believed that the older one gets the more set in his ways he becomes. This belief would make it harder for one to adapt to change. This may be true to an extent for the older worker, but it doesn�t mean that the older population cannot change. In fact, older workers have an easier time adapting to changes and adapt more quickly than the younger workers since they have lived through some major technological advancements and social changes in their lifetime (Lefkovich, 1992). There is also little evidence proving a change in the ability to learn as one gets older. Intelligence has been found throughout research to remain stable into one�s 70�s (Schaie, 1990). It may take a little longer, but a 70 year old can learn and accomplish new tasks just as well as any younger employee and studies show maybe even more accurately, since older workers demand high quality in their work (Schaie, 1990).
The biggest barrier keeping older people from being retained or rehired is the belief that job performance decreases with age. For the past 30 years, society has believed this even though researchers have continually proven there to be no correlation between the two (Sterns & Miklos 1995). In a study by McEvoy & Cascio (1989), there was found to be no relationship between job performance and age but also no relationship between type of job and performance as one ages. Whether professional (engineers, scientists, and supervisors) or nonprofessional (sales, clerical, blue-collar), older workers still performed as well as their younger colleagues. Since age is a poor determinant for job performance, it is wise to use job analysis to determine requirements of a particular position and conduct appropriate tests (McEvoy & Cascio, 1989).
Another false belief when thinking of the older worker is that he/she must cost the employer when it comes to benefits because he is old and therefore goes to the doctor more. In actuality health care is less for the older worker since they no longer have children to support etc. Older workers were also found (a survey completed by managers) to have more positive attitudes, higher work ethic, and increased number of experiences that are seen as beneficial to employers (Barth, McNaught, & Rizzi, 1993).
Research supports the notion that older workers have the capacity to continue making contributions at work. Corporations who fail to see errors in their perceptions and continue to use incentive plans (golden handshake) as a way to control their operating expenses are missing the more important picture. Corporations need to look at the growing numbers of this age group and look at the research and come to a new conclusion that these workers may be their best performers. Losing older workers will be like losing your most valuable asset. Certainly not all older workers are model employees, just as they all don�t fit traditional stereotypes, but we do see a trend in an increase in supply and demand of older workers, which will need to be tapped by corporations. Because all people within a certain group are not the same, corporations need to focus their attention on the individual instead of on the group. Older workers should be evaluated on their own individual potential, not by assuming a blanket potential for those who fall within a particular age group (Waldrum & Niemira, 1997).
The sooner employers see the older worker as an asset, the sooner it will be able to capitalize on this untapped supply of workers. Looking specifically at the older worker, corporations need to recruit from those who would otherwise retire, retain the skilled older workers who are thinking of retiring and make working more attractive than retirement. Whether young or old (in this case old), corporations attract people to them using different strategies.
When it comes to recruiting, employers need to be aware and sensitive to retirees concerns and apprehensions in seeking employment. These concerns range from feeling inadequate and unskilled compared to today�s young people, to questioning how they will get to and from work (transportation). Corporations can increase potential employees self-esteem by using recruitment strategies that are directed specifically to the older generation. Messages should link skills as valuable resources. They should also communicate phrases such as �Your good judgment and maturity will make a difference, join other older persons, here�s a chance to make new friends (Lefkovich, 1992), retired from other jobs (Bacas, 1988).� Messages like these need to be posted where older persons will look. For example, it has been shown in numerous reports that the older worker or retiree does not look in newspaper ads for jobs (Bacas, 1988). Retirees look to job banks, job fairs, clubs and employment agencies specifically targeted towards seniors (Lefkovich, 1992).
Corporations can also retain skilled workers by making jobs more attractive than retirement. Corporations are realizing the value of older workers and so are implementing new ways, through training and educational programs and policy modification, to accommodate the needs of older workers. Some changes corporations are implementing are the use of part-time jobs, flexibility, retraining, and sabbaticals.
Part-time work and flexible hours and location are enticing to the older worker who wants to have more leisure time, but who also enjoys working. Corporations have created job banks, which provide older workers short-term and flexible positions traditionally given to younger workers (Lefkovich, 1992). Corporations are also allowing the older worker to create his/her own hours and location (work at home) (Dychtwald, 1990). The problem with part-time and flexible work hours is benefits usually are not part of a part-time worker�s package. In the corporate culture, part-time jobs are regarded as less important and therefore the people who work these positions. Corporations realize they need to change this engrained belief and look into pro-rating benefits, incentives, and bonuses (Bacas, 1988). Kentucky Fried Chicken, for example, gives full benefits to its part-time retirees (Machan, 1989).
Highly skilled employees are still what corporations need to be competitive, but skills are becoming outdated at the same rate for either older or younger workers. Retraining provides older workers with the opportunity to upgrade their existing skills and develop new skills to meet the demands of new technology (Dychtwald, 1990). Corporations are also funding education for its employees as incentives to learn new skills. Through their Retiree Educational Associate Program, IBM, allows up to $5,000 in tuition aid to an employee or spouse for three years before retirement and two years after retirement (1990).
Sabbaticals have been used within the educational system, but are new to the corporate world. Periods of time for �play� with the guarantee of a job upon return is very inviting to the older worker. Corporations implementing this idea have already granted sabbaticals to employees for a semester of fine art training to preparing for a swim competition. McDonalds, for example, offers 2 months paid sabbaticals. The philosophy behind sabbaticals is that it allows the worker to take a needed break with the high assurance that the worker will come back to the job refreshed, committed and ready to work (Dychtwald, 1990). Employers who do not recognize the needs and interests of older workers, and who cannot effectively communicate or modify already existing policies to accommodate these needs, will face a major workforce shortage. The number of new jobs and job vacancies will soon exceed the number of skilled workers entering the job market requiring corporations to recruit from the very source (older workers) they see as burdensome. In order to make full use of the older worker, and attain an age diverse workforce, employers must look at their personal feeling and attitudes toward the older worker and be aware of the influence these stereotypes have on the corporation. Society as we see it is rapidly changing, which will bring with it a new face to corporations. We are becoming an �aging America� (Dychtwald, 1990). An era where people will grow old slower, live longer, and have a fuller life. An era where one may never need to retire, may retire 3 or more times to start new careers, go back to school, or raise a second or third family. �The traditional order of education, work and leisure will come unglued� (Dychtwald, 1990).
Our seniors are increasing in numbers whether society likes it or not. As a culture we can either make it a difficult transition or a positive one. Our society should look to follow in the footsteps of the Chinese when it comes to beliefs about older people. The Chinese hold their elders in great regard. They believe that the older one gets the more wisdom and knowledge one holds (Dychtwald, 1990). Older workers should not be seen and labeled �old workers� but rather �wisdom workers.� These older men and women should be retained and recruited, not for the hours they fill, but for the experience and wisdom they will share.
References
Bacas, Harry. (1988, February). Desperately Seeking Workers. Nation�s Business, 76,16-26.
Barth, M., McNaught, W., &Rizzi, P. (1993). Building the Competitive Workforce: Investing in Human Capitol for Corporate Success. New York: Wiley.
Casio, Wayne. (Ed.). (1998). Managing Human Resources. Boston, MA: Irwin Mcgraw-Hill.
Dychtwald, K. (1990, February). The Age Wave. Training and Development, 22-30.
Farrimond, T. (1989). Accident and Illness Rates For Younger and Older Workers When Employment is Based on Medical Examination. Psychological Reports, 65, 556-558.
Lefkovich, J. (1992). Older Workers: Why and How to Capitalize on Their Powers. Employment Relations Today, 19, 63-79.
Machan, D. (September). Cultivating the Gray. Forbes, 126-128.
McEvoy, G., Cascio, W., (1989). Cumulative Evidence of the Relationship Between Employee Age and Job Performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 11-17.
Schaie, W. (1990). Handbook of the Psychology of Aging. New York: Van Nostrand Reinold.
Sterns, H., Miklos, S. (1995). The aging Worker in a Changing Environment: Organizational and Individual Issues. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 47, 248-267.
Waldrum, H., Niemira, G. (1997). Age Diversity in the Workplace. Employment Relations Today, 67-72.
