BENEATH THE SURFACE Older Employees Bring Special Value T he theme of this issue of Deep Foundations magazine is “Preserving History.” It is most fitting, therefore, to consider that an important part of not only preserving the past, but also moving into the future is the contribution that older, experienced employees can bring to a company’s success. Not too long ago the conventional wisdom was that older workers didn’t have much to offer as companies moved ever-faster into the digital age, therefore placing a premium on the experience of seasoned employees was of minor significance. In addition, it was assumed that older workers were not only more expensive than newbies, but also that their age in and of itself was a hindrance due to the inevitability of failing health, diminished energy and so on. Well guess what, it turns out that just the contrary has proven to be true. Of course there is older and there is too old, although if Warren Buffet is any example, being 85 is no problem at all. While running out and looking for octogenarians to fill job openings isn’t the point here, there are points to be made. Ultimately it boils down to good old supply and demand. Here are some key things to consider: Supply The pool of able, motivated, experienced workers is vast. There are 76 million baby boomers in the U.S. These are folks between the ages of 49 and 65. U.S. census data tells us that in the next 15 years there will be twice as many Americans over 65 as there are today. According to the American Association of Retired People (AARP), “Every day 10,000 baby boomers turn 65. And further, they are responsible for at least $7.1 trillion in economic activity.” According to Paul Emrath of the Home Builders Association, “In every state, at least one third of the households are 55 or older. This market is growing not just in numbers, but as a share of the U.S. population.” These statistics as a key indicator are instructive. Of course, not all folks reaching retirement age are interested in remaining in the work force but certainly a significant proportion of them do. There are many reasons for this. People are just plain living longer, living healthier life styles and want to remain engaged intellectually. Of course there are financial considerations. With the demise of a viable pension culture in the U.S. many seniors are realizing that they need to work in order to maintain a desirable lifestyle. Americans are not known as aggressive savers, and many find that when the time comes to retire there just aren’t enough feathers in their nest egg. It is interesting to consider, how over AUTHOR S. Scot Litke, Hon. D.GE “Older is not necessarily a bad thing.” consolidated office equipment stations, fluid traffic flow environments and the like. To an increasing extent, by virtue of advances in automation, this applies to workers in the industrial sector as well. So on the supply side, there are lots of talented, motivated people who want to remain in the workplace. the years, the dynamics of retirement have tended to fluctuate, often dramatically. A study conducted by Alicia Munnell at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College reviewed retirement trends dating back to the 19th century. The study revealed that between the 1960s and 1990s the retirement age of men and women tended to decline. For example, from the early 1900s to the 1960s men tended to retire, on average, at age 65. Then during the next several decades the average retirement age for men and women went down significantly, with the average age for leaving the workforce coming in at 62. Over the past five years the trend has reversed with 65 being the average for both men and women. Several reasons have been posited for this change. In addition to the demise of traditional pension plans as stated above, the Social Security System itself has encouraged people to work longer into life by providing higher benefits for those who do so. In addition, in the case of white collar workers, advances in technology have rendered the workplace less physically demanding with stand-alone work spaces, Demand Employers are beginning to see the benefit of having people on board who have institutional knowledge and who can serve as mentors to younger workers on the way up. A side benefit is that older workers, those who are close to or have reached the traditional retirement age of 62-65, are not all that interested in moving up the chain or playing the political games that consume so much of the energy and attention of those on the rungs of the upward ladder. In addition, employers are seeing that the issue of loyalty to a company does not necessarily apply to the labor pool coming from the millennial generation, those in the 18-34 age group. Metaphorically speaking, these folks tend to “jump ship” at the “drop of a dinghy.” The horizontal mobility that characterizes the job-hopping patterns of millennials can play havoc with trying to maintain a stable workforce, particularly at the managerial level. Here is where experience, loyalty, dependability and motivation of senior type employees comes into play. It turns out that when it comes to the issue of reliability, the pundits (whoever they are) have turned out to be wrong. As recently as 10 years ago, those who predict worker behavior told us that older workers DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAY/JUNE 2016 • 121
