Older Workers Ready to Hire

Howard Risher,

Description

Employers in all sectors and in every developed country are confronted by mounting job vacancies that are impeding economic growth. The vacancies also affect government operations. The problem started a decade ago but was overlooked until the COVID crisis and the Great Resignation prompted the attention of the news media. 

Vacancies have averaged over 10 million a month since mid-2021. In recent unemployment reports, less than 6 million people were counted as looking for jobs. That explains the continuing high vacancy count. 

The vacancies are linked to two global demographic trends: fewer babies and increased longevity. The problem is also related to the shift starting decades ago from ‘blue collar’ jobs requiring strength and agility to knowledge jobs where skills are the keys to job performance. Knowledge workers today are fully capable of working as long as they are healthy. Professionals commonly work into their 70s.

The demographic trends are also tied to the current political concern with funding Social Security. Those benefits are “pay-as-you-go” with current benefits funded by active workers. With increased numbers of retirees living longer, projections show the FICA taxes will be inadequate to pay the benefits by 2035. 

A deeply entrenched problem in the world’s youth-oriented society is ageism. That is treating older people differently from others based on assumptions or stereotypes related to their age. It influences employment, cultural settings, and politics. Research shows the assumptions are not valid, but too often employers rely on stereotypes and deny older workers training and promotion opportunities.  Work cultures are too often unhealthy.

The negative effects of ageism have been the focus of critical reports from the UN, the OECD, and the World Economic Forum. It’s a global problem. A McKinsey study found the annual costs are in the billions.

In the first year of the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of older workers were laid off and the bias they experienced in job hunting convinced them to retire. Since then, federal data show three million workers more than normal retired; for many it was years earlier than planned.

Now, many want to ‘unretire,’ but employers often ignore applications from older workers. Unfortunately, the courts concluded the ADEA applies only to employees, not applicants.  That needs to be addressed by Congress.

The bias and discrimination so costly to older workers is entrenched in the culture of many workplaces.  That’s a core problem. Leaders need to focus on the need for change. Including older workers in ongoing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives is a good early step.

Contrary to the stereotypes, research shows older workers have better job knowledge, are better at solving new problems, are capable of functioning with minimal supervision, and often have a better work ethic. In the same situation, they are likely to perform better than younger recent hires.  They can be productive much sooner. All of which is to say, their loss can be costly and their skills hard to replace. 

For older workers, a ‘good’ job’ – that is a job where they are valued and treated fairly – and their decision to defer retirement contributes to better physical and mental health. They enjoy increased longevity. It also keeps them connected socially. When older workers continue working, they fill a void, and their taxes help to fund federal benefits. It’s a win-win.

Sujets

• Gestion d'équipe
• LAW
• Business
• Economics
• Gestion et management
• Personal Finance
• Retirement Planning
• Human Resources
• Personal Management

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 06 juin 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781977265302
• Langue: English

Extrait

Older Workers Ready to Hire Retirees Have the Skills Needed to Fill Mounting Vacancies All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2023 Howard Risher, Ph.D. v3.0

The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Outskirts Press, Inc. http://www.outskirtspress.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023903931

Cover Photo © 2023www.gettyimages.com. All rights reserved - used with permission.

Outskirts Press and the “OP” logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Oes, fractured workforces. On then the one hand: labor shortages, less loyal employe other: smart, healthy, motivated older workers unde rutilized, out of the workforce who don’t want to be, with plenty of smarts and zest to contribute. The folly of ageism is shameful -- and the answer to our workforce woes a no-brainer.

--Andrés T. Tapia, Senior Partner, Korn Ferry, Glob al DE&I and ESG Strategist

Talent is not about age, but about contribution at any age. Howard’s thoughtful book reminds us that when organizations retire retiremen t, they can access an incredible talent pool. Timeless message and timely tools for today’s new work requirements.

--Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan; Partner, the RBL Group. He was named the most influential thinker in HR by HR magazine

Howard Risher explores the challenges facing older workers with vision and clear solutions gleaned from his decades enmeshed in the human resources industry. His new book provides an insightful look at the busines s case for older workers spurred by the demographic shifts of an aging global populatio n.

–Kerry Hannon, workplace futurist, Yahoo Finance se nior columnist and author of In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work

Howard Risher’s book provides us with insights into why purposeful activity including working longer is so important for individuals at o r close to retirement age, insights into why such work is important for the U.S. economy, an d insights into how ageism has been a roadblock to a low-cost solution to a societal problem.

--Anna Rappaport, FSA, Actuary and Futurist. She is Past-President of the Society of Actuaries and Society’s Committee on Post-Retire ment Needs and Risks.

Howard Risher knows what every C-Suite executive sh ould recognize. A rapidly aging population and disruption in retirement norms porte nd radical shifts in the future of work. Risher’s book is a call to action at a time w hen no one involved in talent management should be resting on laurels.

--Paul Irving, Senior Advisor, Milken Institute; Distinguished Scholar-in- Residence, University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology

Packed with new research and grounded in Howard Ris her’s four-decade career as an HR consultant, Older Workers Ready to Hire ! explains why age bias in the workplace harms millions—and what do to about it.

--Ashton Applewhite, author ofThis Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism

In this age of increased longevity and improved hea lth, the changing context of work and retirement and the emergence of job vacancies p resent problems for employers that are addressed in a new book by Howard Risher. His suggestions for action steps among Individuals, employers and policymakers go be yond lip service and have the potential to change the life course for a growing a ging population.

--Jacquelyn B. James, PhD, Founder, Sloan Network o n Aging & Work and past co-director of the Center on Aging & Work, Boston College

“In Older Workers Ready to Hire, Howard Risher pres ents a strong argument for including older adults in our workforce. His insigh ts will guide policymakers and business leaders as they navigate a super-aged soci ety, where at least one out of five people is over 65.”

--Bradley Schurman, Author ofThe Super Age: Decoding Our Demographic Destiny.Founder and CEO of the website, The Super Age

Table of Contents

Foreword

Prologue

One: Hiring Older Workers Addresses Two Escalating Problems

“Retirement” is an Outdated Idea The Argument for Older Workers The Core Problem: Ageism Ageism Is Linked to Another Core Problem The Great Resignation Highlighted Worker Dissatisfa ction Older Workers Are a Mixed Bag The Costs Will Continue to Increase

Two: Retirement is a New Chapter

COVID-19 Changed Life Plans Who Truly Wants to Stop Working? Older Workers Interests Are Different A National Secret – Financial Insecurity in Retirem ent Easing Into Retirement Stress, Health, and Retirement Only as Old as You Feel You Are A Reason to Get Out of Bed

Three: Age Discrimination Never Gets Old

Age-Related Stereotypes Affect Everyone’s Life Hostile Work Environments Age Discrimination Is Costly Proving Age Discrimination is Difficult Leadership Is Needed

Four: Growing Talent Shortages – and the Need for Older Workers

The New Reality of Labor Markets Help Wanted Vacancies in the Public Sector Impact Society Government Has Failed to Help Older Workers What the UK government is doing to help older worke rs Support for Retired Workers Re-Entering the Labor F orce Jobs for Older Workers Will Pay Off

Five: Older Workers Are Leaders in Every Sector

Six: What Older Workers Want From Work

Older Workers Have What Employers Want

A Possible Problem: Younger Supervisors Flexibility is Now a Priority for All Workers For Employers, This Will Not Be an Easy Fix

Seven: Creating Best Places to Work for All Workers

Leaders and Talent Management Managers Create the Work Experience Switching to Skill-Based Management Data Analytics is Now Basic Trust and Respect Are Vital A New, Old Role for Employee Committees

Eight: The U.S. Retirement System Needs Salvaging

The 1980s Changed Everything Social Security Debate Issue: Is This a Retirement Crisis? Adding a Fourth Leg to the Stool – Deferring Retire ment The Changes in Recently Enacted Secure 2.0 Ideas to Salvage the Retirement System

Nine: Encouraging Longer Working Lives Is a Global Concern

From the Executive Summary of the UN’s “Global Repo rt on Ageism” The Key – Promoting Longer Working Lives Innovative Retirement-Related Practices “Encouraging Employers to Retain and Hire Older Workers” How Can We Best Engage Older Workers? Embrace the multigenerational workforce Redefine and expand roles Facilitate the re-entry of older adults into the ma rketplace Create ‘opportunities for older workers to strength en adaptability and resilience’ Deploy new technologies to support older workers Ensure access to lifelong learning opportunities Provide ‘educational credits’ Create workplaces ‘that enable integration of upski lled older workers’

About the Author

Foreword

An aging workforce, both in the US and all other in dustrialized countries, represents one of the great challenges and opportunities of mo dern times. It represents a triumph of public health as the main reason why we have an aging workforce is that we are living longer and healthier. Yet when we listen to pundits talking about the economy and the labor force, they make it sound like a bad thing. Would it really be a good thing if we all died sooner?at an agingThe reason they sometimes come to the conclusion th workforce is a bad thing is largely because they se em to think this is simply a story of an aging population that will not be working longer to pay for those additional years of life creating a crisis for retirement funding. In o ther words, they skip over the “workforce” part.

To see the great advantages of having an older work force simply substitute the word “experience” for “older.” It would sound crazy to g o to the hospital and ask for the oldest doctor but perfectly sensible to ask for the most e xperienced doctor. Age and experience are highly correlated, and as a result, older/experienced workers perform better than their younger/inexperienced colleagues on almost every measure of job performance. Again, when pundits talk about the all eged advantages of having a young population, remember that they are talking about a workforce that has yet to be educated and trained before they can be useful.

So, what is the problem here? We are living longer, we should be working longer, and that could be good for the economy and for individu als. The problem is age discrimination, the assumption that because individ uals are older, they are less competent or in other ways less able. That assumpti on and the discrimination associated with it is in many ways a huge puzzle. “ Older” is a classification to which we all aspire, and if we are lucky, we will get there. Yet people who are not yet older discriminate against what will be in time be the ol der version of themselves. It is hard to wrap our heads around why this is the case: could w e imagine that discrimination against, say, people of color would persist if whit e people knew they would become people of color in time or that discrimination by s traight people against LGBT/Q individuals would continue if the former knew they would transition into the latter? Yet this is what we see.

The explanations for this bias are complex and asso ciated with the fact that older people play along with it to avoid that discriminat ion themselves. But for employers whose interest should be in effectiveness of their workforce, it is costly to engage in that discriminate as well as in most all cases a vi olation of law. Yet by many measures, age discrimination is the most pervasive form of di scrimination.

What to do about this? Howard Risher’s book takes t his on, making the case for why we need to put a stop to age discrimination and why it is in all our interests, especially younger individuals who will in the future have the most to gain from a world where the experience of older workers is embraced.

Dr. Peter Cappelli George W. Taylor Professor of Management Director, Center for Human Resources The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Prologue

The headlines started in early 2020 when COVID-19 triggered the first layoffs. That was followed by the Great Resignation as workers workin g at home concluded they were dissatisfied with their jobs. For 2021 over 47 mill ion quit their jobs. The monthly quits for 2022 show the total for the year will exceed 50 million. Initially younger workers resigned in large numbers but as the pandemic conti nued there was a shift to older workers, often in higher-paid fields. Surveys in la te 2022 show increasing numbers of workers – 50 percent or higher – are ready to resig n if they can find better jobs.

Government data show job vacancies have exceeded 10 million a month since mid- 2021. That’s 50 percent higher than in 2019. The op enings exist in every sector and are impeding economic growth.

In the most recent government reports, there are 5.7 million people looking for jobs and 10.7 million open jobs in the U.S. The problem is c aptured in the numbers for “Not in the labor force” -- that is people who ‘dropped out ’ and are no longer working or looking for work – where the total increased by 4.5 million from early 2020. Significantly, the 55 and older dropouts account for over 95 percent of the increase.

Demographic trends are central to the problem -- Ba by boomers are dropping out at a time when fewer young people are entering the workf orce. The result -- the vacancy problem is likely to get worse.

Economists have predicted a slower economy or reces sion for 2023 but unemployment for workers 25 or older continues to be historicall y low. Every worker who wants a job has a job.

With the end of the pandemic in sight and labor markets transitioning to a “new normal,” media headlines are beginning to focus on the probl ems vacancies are creating. In construction, “America desperately needs 1 million more construction workers.” In technology, “Technology will create millions of job s. The problem will be to find workers to fill them.” And in trucking, “A shortage of 80,0 00 truck drivers is wreaking havoc on the supply chain—and it’s about to get worse.” Simi lar problems exist in virtually every industry.

More important, critical workforce gaps in healthca re are making it increasingly difficult to obtain needed medical care -- “The Healthcare In dustry Is Crumbling Due to Staffing Shortages.”” – as well as in government where there are “More Than a Million Unfilled Government Jobs” in education, police, firefighters , paramedics, and others.

Throughout U.S. history immigrants have played an i mportant role in building the economy. However, opposition to immigrants, especia lly those entering on the southern border, has increased over the past decade to the point that this is no longer an option for solving the vacancy problem.

Globally, CNN Business reported, “Millions of jobs and a shortage of applicants.” Canada had “record-high job vacancies in the first quarter of 2022.” The government recently announced it “wants to bring in 1.5 millio n immigrants by 2025.” England also has a worker shortage problem, “UK job vacancies hi t record high for 2022.” Germany had a “Record number of job vacancies ….” Vacancies are now a global problem impacting national economies.