Any time is a tough time for an older worker to find a job. But when the economy is in a meltdown and employees are being laid off from just about every industry, then the odds have increased exponentially that the more senior employment candidates will not find work.
The supposed experts offer a lot of reasons why older workers find it so difficult to obtain employment. They cite how younger executives don’t like having older workers reporting to them. It makes them uncomfortable. They cite how many older workers are set in their ways or lack the technological skills of the modern workplace. They list a decrease in productivity as workers get older. They say how older workers will typically work fewer hours than their younger counterparts. They say they have to pay older workers more money, or their health insurance is more expensive. As I noted, they offer a lot of reasons.
Some of the reasons are valid, and some, frankly, are not. Not really. The notion that older workers lack esteem and the narcissism of younger workers, another reason noted in the recent New York Times article, contradicts the image of vain, feckless Boomers that many like to project on an entire generation. The fact remains that older workers are more reliable and have a stronger work ethic, that is if we are running the generalities. They are more likely to pass any initial preemployment screening regimen. Their past indiscretions are too far behind them to be either picked up nt he radar screen or a consideration for employment.
As with most generalities, they punish the majority and the exceptions to the rule by branding them with inaccurate characteristics. The fact that is generally indisputable is that older workers have more experience.
So we have entered a world where experience can serve as a liability. We have entered a world where the latest academic theory, often taught by someone who has failed in the business world, can substitute for the skills and insights developed in the trenches. Given that this is often the pervasive belief, it is small wonder we are experiencing the economic meltdown. We had a theory about credit, lending and the belief that despite all experience and lessons to the contrary would work in our favor in this global economy. We all see the results.
So experience does have its virtues. I would think. This is also not to say that more experienced financial folk were not responsible as well for leading us down the primrose path that left us at the intersection of Recession and Desperation. This is to say that experience can help avoid the pitfalls encountered in business. It should also be noted that experienced people who have weathered prior economic downturns are more apt to deal with it better than those that have always had success during the times when success was like shooting fish in the barrel. Hard to fail when you are turning derivatives in a housing upsurge, or when credit is so readily available. Try it now, and it’s a different story.
Anyway, there are good older workers and terrific younger workers. There is dead wood in booth. There are non-performers and those too occupied with their personal lives to pay your business the time it is due. Perhaps in the end, like blended Scotch or Blended Coffee, a mix and match of old and young is the best solution in the workplace.
In any event, check them out before you hire.
