Wisdom in older heads

Retirement is no longer determined by a birth date, and organisations need the skills of older workers, writes Sophie Toomey.

THE painter Goya worked until well into his 80s. Michelangelo died at 89, still painting. Sophocles was still writing plays at 89. The concept of being too old to work is a relatively recent one, and retirement at a set age was an anomaly.

Compulsory retirement is a thing of the past in Australia, abolished in all states during the 1990s and in the Australian public service in 1999. Sol Encel, research fellow at the Centre for Social Policy Research at the University of NSW, says that longer life expectancy has made the idea of clocking off at 65 (or in certain circumstances at 55) somewhat outdated.

"Older workers are realising that it is no longer viable to retire at that age. They need the money, and enjoy working.''

Australia's workforce is getting steadily older. By 2020 most workers will be over 45, and in the decade from 2020 to 2030 only 125,000 new workers will enter the workforce. The implications are far-reaching. Today's employers have the luxury of employing young workers, tomorrow's employers are going to be in no position to choose as the older generation of workers will be the main pool of employees.

Attitudes, however, have not caught up with reality. Professor Encel has conducted research on the problems of an ageing workforce in Australia. He says research universally indicates reluctance on the part of employers to consider older workers over younger. "It is a universal attitudinal problem and employers have many rationalisations for it. Everything from `it's not worth retraining at that age' through `you can't teach an old dog new tricks and `younger workers are more mobile'. Employers believe that investing in older workers is not as financially worthwhile as in 25-year-olds.''

Recent research conducted by Hudson, the recruitment agency, supports Encel's findings. Its survey of 7,500 companies nationally found that fewer than one in three Australian employers seeks older workers. Anne Hatton, Australian CEO of Hudson, says that employers clearly need to revise their HR policies. "Older workers have borne the brunt of restructuring over the last decade, but with a diminishing pool of younger talent older workers are the only segment of the workforce where participation rates can be increased.''

Hatton agrees with Encel that an ageist workplace culture is the biggest barrier to employment faced by mature workers. "There is a perception that mature-age workers are too tired, that they are not up with the latest trends, that they are physically unfit and that it is too difficult and costly to retrain them.''

In addition Hatton says there are beliefs about the management styles of older workers. "Today's work environment is seen as a collaborative place where consultative management practices are the norm. Older workers are perceived by many as being old-school autocratic managers.''

William Brown currently works in executive and managerial roles for a number of large companies after 30 years with the Italian company Pirelli, and then German company Hagermeyer. He runs a consulting business and mentors young executives. Brown says he certainly encountered a lack of respect for age and experience in the corporate world. "The attitude towards grey hair and wrinkles in full-time corporate life was that anyone over 50 is to be avoided like the plague. I find that in mentoring and consulting, grey hair and few wrinkles are actually valued.''

Brown says he was fired from his last job by a younger executive. "Age discrimination can be a hard thing to prove, but I think it is a fact that some executives feel uncomfortable having older executives reporting to them. I am not sure why this is, but it might relate to feelings of insecurity on the part of the younger executive.''

Hatton says negative perceptions of older workers are a reality, and must be dealt with by both employers and employees. "Employers need to start understanding the value of experience and to change their perceptions. They must be prepared to adapt to the needs of older workers, just as older workers must update their skills to fit into the current workforce.''

Hatton says employers must work harder to create workplaces where younger and older workers can interact informally. "Employers need to encourage younger and older workers to exchange ideas and learn from each other. That is better done out of the context of employee and manager in a social environment.''

Hatton stresses that flexibility is another essential, with many older workers unwilling or unable to work full time. "Employers will have to get their head around the idea of flexible work for older workers, job sharing, and home-based offices. It isn't just young families who want or need these things. Many older people have caring responsibilities too.''

By hiring himself out as a consultant Brown has deliberately built flexibility and variety into his working life. "I now have much greater variety in the work I do than anyone who works for a company. I don't work full time so I have good thinking time in between the various things I do.''

While employers are partly responsible, Encel stresses the need for government action. In NSW retaining older workers is vital.

The NSW Department of Ageing has invested in research aimed at developing strategies to retain older workers in five key NSW government agencies. Pam Rutledge from the NSW Department of Ageing and Disability says that the NSW public sector has a higher proportion of older workers than the national average.

"The major issue for the NSW public sector is that large numbers of workers such as nurses, technical workers, and professional staff could be planning to retire in the next few years and take their knowledge with them. That could create pressures for delivery of community services. Some of the strategies might include retraining, phased retirement and more flexible working arrangements.''

Louise Rolland, of Swinburne University in Melbourne, says "the barriers to continuing employment are diverse, but, they are driven by erroneous stereotypes of people at this stage of life.''

Professor Rolland says one problematic perception on the part of mature workers is that formal qualifications last a lifetime.

"The older you are the more likely it is that your formal qualifications are out of date. As a society we still adhere to the traditional model of acquiring our formal skills at the start of our working life, even though they remain current for progressively shorter periods of time in a fast-paced business environment.''

Hatton agrees that retraining is vital to career longevity. "You must be prepared to learn, retrain and keep your skills current. That might mean formal training, or it might mean talking to those who know more about current skills.''

Why do people want to keep working into later life? Encel says for many a longer lifespan makes it a financial imperative. "They can't afford to stop.'' There are just as many for whom the idea of a long retirement is quite simply an unattractive prospect.

It's not money that keeps Brown working. "It is financially rewarding, but I have to say that this is not the most important issue. I have an ongoing opportunity to add value to organisations by utilising my skill sets and that is very good for one's morale. I plan to work for a long time to come.''

By Sophie Toomey, The Weekend Australian, April 1 2006.