Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The current recession is motivating more people who are in the later stages of their career to stay on the job just a little bit longer. This prolonged presence is a benefit and a boon to the employment world. It is a benefit because the wisdom, perspective, and guidance of the deeply experienced workplace sage carries the consciousness of the company. It is also a challenge, given that when more people prolong careers and delay retirement; it becomes more difficult for the unemployed to get employed.
One thing is for certain, these baby boomers have perseverance. It may be that good living has prolonged strong health leading to a desire to work later. It is also possible (and more likely) that the recession has taken a bite out of retirement accounts, in essence forcing people to stay on the job.
The number of people over 65 who remain in the workforce has increased by 40 percent from 1998 to 2008. Not only are people staying in jobs longer, many are coming back after the traditional retirement age to find new employment. The perseverance comes in handy, given that older applicants enjoy less favorable response from potential employers 41 percent of the time.
Furthermore, in 75 percent of cases, the older candidate was not given the opportunity to present their qualifications before being dismissed from the recruiting process. When actually offered the role, the elder candidate was presented less quality health care in one third of the cases.
Perseverance is about carrying on despite life’s setbacks, and for individuals who are attempting to re-enter the workforce past retirement age, it needs to come in bucket-loads. The question does need to be asked however – is the elder employee less effective. In other words, does the discrimination carry weight?
Age may impact ability of the employee to take on new and novel tasks – say a technology application or new process or system. Other cliché’s are myths. Older workers do not necessarily cost more (income-wise), health care is not necessarily more expensive (more use of the plan, but less dependents to pay for), and performance does not tend to decrease, as many higher functioning skills season and strengthen with age.
So if it is not cost or competence; what is left is prejudice. If not prejudice, then it is just bad judgment. The employer has an inability to see quality when it happens to come in a slightly older wrapper. So I applaud the perseverance of those who choose to stay employed, if only employers could persevere through the prejudice.
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