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| Lee Anne Davies |
Does the title of this blog make your blood boil? How dare ‘they’ suggest that it’s time for
you to retire! You have so much to offer
your organization and you don’t feel ready to retire. After all, Hillary Clinton at age 67 has just
tossed her hat into the ring for the presidential nomination. Governor General David Johnston is 73 years
old and recently accepted two more years on his term as the Queen’s
representative. It’s a long list of
people, past the traditional retirement age of 65, who continue to contribute
in the workplace at optimum levels.
Living longer may mean it’s an economic necessity for most of us to
continue to work well into our seventies.
If this is the case, there are ethical, physical and financial
considerations we need to confront. Most
organizations are not ready for the older worker.
On the other hand, you may be nodding your head in
agreement, wondering when those baby boomers will get out of your work place
and stop blocking your career progress.
The boomers are blocking senior positions with higher salaries and
greater responsibility. The aging of the
work force is entirely unfair and you feel it’s time for those boomers to take
their pensions, their fortunate timing in the escalation of real estate values,
and to move on with their lives. Young
professionals are having great difficulty accessing career-path positions. This delays their entry into full adulthood
at the same time when they are burdened with unprecedented levels of student
debt. It’s the millenial’s turn to be a
major player in the work force, deploying new techniques with modern technology
and modern insights.
Older workers is a topic that is sure to elicit many
opinions – whether the older person is in paid or volunteer positions. Some will feel that these older workers are
taking opportunities away from the younger generation, who are having great
difficulty at breaking into the workplace.
Others will feel that without older workers our health care costs and
other government benefits will no longer be sustainable because the number of
workers per retiree is decreasing rapidly (this is the dependency ratio).
Regardless of your point of view, older workers are
increasing in number in both paid and volunteer positions. This requires new considerations in workforce
management including health-related job performance changes such as the early
stages of dementia, elder care issues, lack of financial preparation for
retirement, inter-generational conflict, grey-divorce and access to company
benefits. The opportunities offered by older
workers include an increased ability to see the big picture, patience working
through familiar issues, corporate memory and a willingness to mentor
others.
The economic implications of older workers or young retirees
is vast. The social implications are
even more complex. With ten million
Canadians turning 65 over the next 20 year period there is no time like the
present to consider the question – ‘what happens to Canada if we don’t
encourage older workers?’.
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Lee Anne Davies has a PhD. in Aging, Health, and
Well-Being, and an MBA in Information Technology Management. Her
company, Agenomics, analyzes the risks of an aging population. Along
with years of experience working in the financial sector for insurance,
wealth management, banking, and financial education companies, Davies is
also a sought after speaker, including TEDxVictoria, national
newspapers, radio and TV. She is the co-author of the book When Life Bites You in the Wallet: Taking Control of Your Finances.
Join her April 30 for Agenomics: Older Workers on the Rise at Royal Roads.
Find out more at cstudies.royalroads.ca.
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