Work for matured aged employees is increasingly being shrouded with controversies and myths regarding their plummeting capabilities and raising questions about their efficacy. But the fact remains there should not be any “expiry dates” at least where finding work at old age is concerned. So before you get swayed by the age-old stereotypes, here are the mature myths to take note of.
Myth 1 – Older Employees are less efficient and are not driven by quality
According to the Bureau of Business Management older employees are likely to be working towards maintaining quality 82 percent of times and a whopping 71 percent of them were rated excellent in their performance. The survey conducted by NCA found 97 percent employers with matured workers extremely satisfied and finding them immensely reliable sources.
Myth 2 – Older employees are less creative, less capable of making the right decisions and slow mentally.
A management professor Peter Cappelli working with Wharton School and co-author of the book Managing Older Worker has brought out facts dug from several research works to come to truths which do away with all such negative myths regarding matured workers. According to Cappelli older employees can actually supersede younger ones in terms of performance at workplace as he gets more and more experienced with age to deal with every aspect a job requires. In fact, this is the same experience which endows the minds of older workers with greater maturity in evaluating issues and solving tough problems with greater aplomb than their younger counterparts.
They are less likely to fall in the pit since they are much more cautious in taking decisions involving risks and are capable of making critical decisions at opportune moments. Through studies they have proved their clout in detail-oriented work, leadership, listening and even adopting newer technologies without faltering.
Myth 3 – Older employees tend to remain sick most of the time
Now this is one of the major things that haunt minds of employers while going to hire older workers. However, even though studies may show older employees tend to attend to greater healthcare facilities that do not necessarily point to the fact that they remain ill most of the time. In fact, research by the Andrus Gerontology Center has shown that absenteeism in the age group between 17 and 44 was much higher due to ailments than those above the age of 44, with sick being the most reason of not coming to work.
Myth 4 – Older employees cost employers much more
The study by Wharton School sought to negate the findings of Adecco of matured employees demanding greater remuneration. In actuality, matured workers are less likely to dump jobs and change them in prospect of getting a better one than those in their twenties and thirties. This calls for better employee retention, attenuated recruitment costs and better productivity through training investments.
Myth 5 – Older workers are less open to learn new things, are slow and do not take directions from their young managers
NCA survey revealed matured employees to be more zealous to enlighten themselves on newer things, higher motivation levels and better knowledge. A study by compliancehealthandsafety.com showed older workers are less likely to waste valuable time than younger ones and have a tendency to complete training courses better than their younger colleagues as pointed by Dr, Eleanor Simon. With proper training on motivating and guiding older employees younger managers can pave the path for a more productive, flexible and diverse work environment.
