Older Employees are Untapped Resources

The economy may be at its lowest point, but in the near future, when the economy begins to strengthen, employers need help to make the organization grow. Today, most management prefers the younger crowd for their stamina and possible employment longevity, but organizations should consider taking on older employees, the ‘Baby Boomers’. They have grown up during major wars which give them a greater sense of patriotism. They hold a more traditional belief about authority of respect and trust as-well-as the importance leadership. They also have more training and expertise that organizations need to lift from this bad economy to higher profitability.

Does age lead to low productivity? No. “With their extensive knowledge and experiences, mature workers can compensate, often by filtering out ‘noise’ and focusing on essential decisions or actions” (Dychtwald, 2006). Older employees can focus more on the tasks that are given to them and accomplish more because of that focus. Coupled with their large stores of knowledge and experiences, they can be more capable of thinking out side of the box more efficiently than the younger employees. Also, older employees have a greater job satisfaction and respect to their managers. Most likely their pride comes from their work and career. They put more emphasis on building efficient for teams and team cooperation.

Though younger employees have energy and stamina for the work, older employees can act as performance coaches to help younger employees have a greater ability to ‘think outside the box’. These younger employees would become more valuable to the organization because of their new ability to focus. Together both young and older would then make up a more productive team.

Russell Scott – Strategic Business Partners – Craig Lindell and Associates – craiglindell.com/

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Dychtwald, K., Erickson, E. J., Morison, R. (2006). Workforce Crisis. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press