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Older workers a valuable resource, not a plague

Posted on 16. Sep, 2007 posted by Bill in Employment News

Older workers a valuable resource, not a plague

Prejudice comes in many forms. It is often subtle and only slightly noticed at first.

Such appears to be the case with a report by the New England Council, a business and government think tank whose leader recently bemoaned the aging of New England’s work force.

James Brett, in an Associated Press interview, warned — in AP’s words — “that the region’s employers will become increasingly dependent on older workers — those aged 55 and above — to meet the demand for skilled workers as the six states’ work force grows older.”

Perhaps not intended as such, Brett’s words conjure a sense that older workers are somehow only valuable when the pool of younger workers dries up — as is the case now that the birth rate of second-generation Baby Boomers has fallen off.

This admonition is bolstered by regional demographic expert Peter Francese, who urges communities to think twice about building senior housing in fear of shutting out younger workers.

But if Brett is right, such fears are like Don Quixote’s joust with windmills — an exercise in futility. As birth rates decline there are fewer young workers to keep away … or attract.

Memories may be short, but it is worth noting it wasn’t all that long ago experienced older workers were being shoved out of the work force to make way for young, often untrained workers.

Early retirement — either voluntarily or otherwise — became the rage. Older workers had made their contribution to the free enterprise system, went the argument. Now they had a duty to make way for younger workers who would blaze new frontiers.

But surprise, the bubble of youth in the work force has burst and lays in tattered ruin. Older workers are back in vogue … appreciated again. Or are they?

Francese argues that some communities should shut the door to more senior housing, yet at the same time counsels school districts to prepare for declining student populations — a prediction finding support in both New Hampshire and Maine.

This attitude contrasts sharply with what was written in Maine’s version of the New England Council’s study, but could be argued for New Hampshire.

“There are a number of issues Maine will need to address including encouraging and enabling older workers to continue in the work force; improving public services for the elderly, especially transportation and health care; and developing more ‘elderly-friendly’ communities and workplaces.”

It could be argued that neither point of view represents prejudice, just a difference of opinion.

If not prejudice, however, why are young and old still being pitted against each other when it comes to affordable housing? Why can’t communities accommodate both?

Why choose one over the other — exuberant youth versus seasoned veterans?

Maine Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman has it right in commenting on the changing work force to the Associated Press (although it is a shame she even had to point it out.)

“We’ve got a lot of talented people out there. … It’s not a bad news kind of thing. There’s opportunity there.”

Both the young and not-so-young have a lot to contribute and more time to do it. When Social Security was established a retirement age of 65 pretty much nearly spelled the end of a lifetime. Today that is not the case, with average life expectancies closing in on 80.

Today’s young workers may very well find themselves actively engaged at some level in the work force well into their 70s — whereas mom and dad didn’t even live that long.

This was a point driven home by a Conference on Aging report last year that predicted “there will no longer be a bright line” between work and retirement.

“It is very likely that many people who have reached the traditional retirement age of 65 will remain in the work force for an extended period of time, either by remaining in their ‘pre-retirement’ jobs or by retiring from their current employment and entering into a period of ‘quasi-retirement’ in which they undertake other employment,” wrote the author.

That being the case, there should be no room in the workplace or in housing to pit one age group against the other.

As with other forms of prejudice, this one has no place in society.

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