Losing out: why we shouldn't write off older workers

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 12 years ago

Losing out: why we shouldn't write off older workers

First, the good news: the average life expectancy in Australia continues to climb, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data reported in The Age this week. Now the bad news: attitudes towards older workers in full-time employment and in start-up ventures are not keeping pace with the trend.

I keep hearing stories about older workers who lose their job and find it almost impossible to get another opportunity that values their skills and experience, and pays accordingly. And others are “managed” out of their jobs because they are higher paid, or are denied promotions.

Have you suffered age discrimination at work?

Have you suffered age discrimination at work?

This sentiment emerged in reader comments on my blogs ‘Return to corporate life: pleasure or pain?’, ‘Are you unemployable?’ and “What you can learn from Geelong and Manly”. Many complained about ageist attitudes at work.

Yes, it’s anecdotal. If you disagree and believe Australian companies are making a bigger effort to hire older workers – in positions and pay commensurate with their skills – say so by replying to this blog.

If you have seen headhunters make a bigger effort to get job interviews for older displaced workers, or banks lend older workers money to start a venture, let me know.

And also if not enough is being done to break down ageist attitudes in the workplace, or too many companies are too quick to write off their older talent.

If I’m wrong on this issue, tell me.

All I hear are stories about companies paying lip-service to the notion of retaining the knowledge, skills, experience and networks of employees approach or past retirement age – at least in sectors outside resource-related industries. Talk about a shortage of skills and labour seems to have disappeared in industries not benefiting from the mining boom.

As I’ve written before, some of the most productive people I work with are in their mid-sixties or early seventies. It seems beyond stupid to write people off because of their age.

Advertisement

Who is to say someone approaching or past retirement age cannot excel in a new career, or start a fast-growth venture, create, innovate and build great financial and social wealth? Who is to say a young entrepreneur with no experience or a small network has more chance of success, simply because they are younger and supposedly hungrier?

The Ewing Marion Kaufmann Foundation in the US has for several years researched the participation of older workers in start-up ventures. (As an aside, it would be great if Australia had a similar not-for-profit institution that could research and promote the benefits of entrepreneurship in the community).

The Kaufmann foundation found in 2009 that the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity in the US over the years between 1996 and 2007 was in the 55–64 age group. It said: “A steady increase in life expectancy also means that Americans are not only living longer but also living healthier for longer, suggesting that those entrepreneurial 60-year-olds could be 2020’s entrepreneurial 70-year-olds.”

Who is to say someone approaching or past retirement age cannot excel in a new career, or start a fast-growth venture, create, innovate and build great financial and social wealth?

The Economist recently reported other Kaufmann research showing people aged 55 to 64 accounted for nearly 23 per cent of all new entrepreneurs in 2010 in the US, compared with fewer than 15 per cent in 1996. Its Schumpeter column made a similar argument for entrepreneurial older people.

A terrible US economy has clearly encouraged more “necessity entrepreneurs”. Retrenched workers, especially older ones, who could not find a new job were forced to start a venture to earn income. I suspect ageist attitudes towards older workers, especially at big companies, have also encouraged more to have a go in their own venture and leverage their experience, skills and networks.

Will we see a similar trend in Australia where older workers (whatever the definition of “old” is these days) start a venture?

It’s not hard to see more people who work on the non-mining side of the economy losing their jobs, and older, costlier workers, being the first to go in retrenchments. Older, and younger workers for that matter, workers might increasingly have to create their next job rather than apply for it.

According to ABS figures, a 60-year-old Victorian man can expect, on average, to live 83.2 years; a 60-year-old woman to 86.4 years. Surely that life expectancy will rise, as it has done over the past decades, because of new medical technologies and treatments. That’s a long time to be “retired”.

So much needs to change to encourage more entrepreneurial activity among older workers. The starting point is attitudes: this silly notion of retirement at a set date needs to be killed once and for all. Specialist education and training for older entrepreneurs (not small business owners) would also help.

So would more formal linkages between young entrepreneurs and older workers who can mentor them, join their advisory boards, and provide capital if they choose. More networking opportunities for older entrepreneurs starting their first venture is also important.

I’m not sure what the answer is. I just know that an ageing population is a huge long-term threat – and opportunity – for the productivity of the Australian economy. And new thinking and debate about encouraging entrepreneurship in older workers is long overdue.

Most Viewed in Business

Loading