Older adults may be answer for part-time help in workplace

Posted on 04. Sep, 2005 posted by Bill in Employment News

Older adults may be answer for part-time help in workplace

Local and area retailers got some helpful advice recently when a national retail consultant brought his program to Gainesville.

Rick Segel, who has authored a number of books and coordinated business assistant programs, was brought here by Joe Burnett, executive director of Main Street Gainesville, to assist retailers on how to get the most for their efforts.
Segel, a seasoned retailer of 25 years, started his program by asking merchants what was on their minds and offering what he called “techniques to stand out in a crowded marketplace.”
Kathy Vitti, who owns Window on Main Street, Sunrise Bakery and Wrap It Up, all located in The Market on Main Street, asked the first question about how to handle the workload with a limited staff and too few hours every day.

Segel provided a worthwhile suggestion: a part-time employee working three or four days a week could provide a tremendous benefit by relieving some of the everyday burdens of retail business owners.
He then talked about a company that hired a couple of 80-year-olds, a couple of 70-year-olds, three or four 60-year-olds and “some youngsters in their 50s.”
Segel said one of the biggest problems the company experienced was getting the workers to cash their paychecks. One, he said, went about six months without cashing her checks, obviously because she didn’t need the money.
“Not only did they do a great job for the company,” Segel said, “they enjoyed what they were doing, were happy to have something constructive to do and the company had productive, happy employees that liked coming to work everyday.
“Although we can’t advocate hiring a staff of senior citizens to take over your workforce, we can suggest that hiring some older adults to handle part-time employment might be the answer to some retail work dilemmas,” he said.
Just last week, this column featured Pete Davenport, who goes to work every day, sometimes putting in 8 hours a day, making a contribution to his business. Davenport is a spry 82 years old and during the interview said emphatically, “I’m not old.”
With the future uncertain about Social Security, baby boomers are worried about their retirement savings, swings in investments and low savings rates. Options for older Americans to remain for longer periods of time in the workforce are becoming a stronger reality.
The baby boomer generation will hit the retirement age of 65 between 2010 and 2030 and may be looking to either remain or return to the workforce.
A federal labor market and economic analysis report said: “Older workers who want to continue working beyond the traditional retirement age, do so for a variety of reasons, some simply because they enjoy it, others because their self-esteem is tied to their jobs.”
For many older workers, a life consisting of only leisure and recreation is not all it is cracked up to be. Some desire a lifestyle that allows them to make meaningful contributions to society after retirement, and have the flexibility to pursue leisure and recreation as needed.
With federal laws eliminating most mandatory retirement ages, an individual’s decision to retire today is often based on health, adequacy of retirement income, financial status and retirement intentions of a spouse, peer-group pressure, need for workplace interaction and socialization, and family ties.
Today’s older workers are generally more healthy, and some of today’s jobs are less physically demanding.
Maybe the answer to Kathy Vitti’s question lies in the opportunity for older adults to be granted the responsibilities of some part-time employment.

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