When 89-year-old Joe Bartley from Paignton decided he was wasted sitting at home bored, he placed an ad in his local paper looking for work. Joe felt he still had a lot to offer. He had been hands on all his life, he was prepared to work hard, and he had a wealth of experience to offer so, to his credit, he decided 89 years young wasn’t a barrier to working; it was an advantage. Needless to say, the local employers responded, and Joe is now considering offers. Presumably, by the time you read this, he will be drawing his wages.
Apart from being a feel-good kind of story, Joe’s newspaper ad demonstrates something that is really important if you want a successful team in your business. Age doesn’t matter for a lot of job roles, but experience, work ethic and years of ‘know-how’ that can be applied to problem-solving always do. The package they come in isn’t as important as what the things inside bring to the table.
Life skills
Aside from the obvious experience in a particular role, the life skills developed over a working career cannot be underestimated. As a rule, you can reasonably expect an older worker to have to hand a range of experiential skills that can really only be developed over time.
In particular:
- Work Ethic: This is often a matter of developed attitude rather than an innate skill that we are born with. It develops and becomes habit with years of service.
- Communication skills: An experienced worker will be more likely to be able to communicate at all levels within a business.
- Level headed: An older worker can often demonstrate a more even approach and a less emotional response to a situation.
- Willingness to learn: This is an area where there is a lot of misconceptions. The myth is that an older worker will be set in their ways and unable to adapt to be new circumstances. A moment of thought tells you that this is unlikely to be the case because adapting and learning are a life skill.
- Diverse approaches: While the younger generation will probably have the advantage of growing up in an IT literate world, an older worker will bring traditional skills and a more ‘hands on’ approach.
- Mentoring and guidance: This can never be underestimated as a developmental tool for younger staff.
One final thought
One final thought that is worth also mentioning at this point is that not employing someone because of their age is discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 unless there is a clear reason why age could be a factor in the decision.
If you are looking for a new career later in life or want to discuss your options, please do call us and we will be more than happy to talk to you.