7 myths about older workers debunked
<p><em><strong>Joanna Maxwell, a former lawyer and journalist, has successfully changed careers several times and now coaches others through the transition. She has shared her insight on </strong></em><strong>The Road Next Travelled</strong><em><strong> with Ray Martin and regularly speaks at conferences around older workers.</strong></em></p>
<p>It’s important to bust some common myths about older people, so you don’t let yourself be limited by things that just aren’t true. Here’s a quick peek at some of those myths.</p>
<p><strong>Myth 1: People over 50 are all the same</strong></p>
<p>If you believe the newspaper stories or the common portrayal of older people on television, you might think that we are all similar, but it isn’t so. One of the things we know about ageing is that people become more individual, not more alike, as they age. So this is a time for creating your own pathway, for building a life that works for you. I know from my many clients and others that feelings about the future vary widely. Here are some of the things I hear:</p>
<ul>
<li>I want to work.</li>
<li>I’m looking to retire as soon as possible.</li>
<li>I’m excited by the possibilities in this stage of life.</li>
<li>I’m going to change careers, activate a secret dream.</li>
<li>I am frightened by the future.</li>
<li>I see my future, and despair.</li>
<li>I need to work.</li>
<li>I want to give back to the community.</li>
<li>I want freedom to travel and play.</li>
<li>I want to work part-time so I can be with my grandchildren.</li>
<li>I’m a successful professional seeking to reinvent myself.</li>
<li>I’ve been made redundant and just want a job, any job.</li>
<li>I’m a woman who spent years raising children – my time is now.</li>
<li>I have retired but would love to work if I could find a job.</li>
<li>I feel angry about changes in my retirement expectations.</li>
<li>I want to start a business.</li>
<li>I have so many projects I want to do.</li>
</ul>
<p>How do you feel? What do you want to do?</p>
<p><strong>Myth 2: The pension should fund a 30-year holiday</strong></p>
<p>Did you know that more years were added to the average life expectancy in the twentieth century than all years added across all prior millennia of human evolution combined?</p>
<p>In 1909, when the Commonwealth started paying age pensions to men at 65 years of age and to women at 60, the average life expectancy for males was 55, and for women 59. Only 4 per cent of Australians were 65 or over. But now it’s very different. Men aged 65 in 2013 can expect to live to 84.2 years and women to 87.1 years, and this continues to rise at the rate of about a month for every year we live. In 2014, nearly 15 per cent of Australians were over 65 and the percentage of us over 85 has doubled in the last 20 years.</p>
<p>Because we are living longer, many more of us are becoming eligible to receive the age pension and for more years, so demands to increase pension entry age are understandable and inevitable.</p>
<p><strong>Myth 3: Chronological age is everything</strong></p>
<p>Research clearly shows chronological age is no longer a relevant marker for measuring health, mental capacity or motivation. Most of those extra years added to our lifespan are healthy years, and we have more energy than our forebears at the same age. We remain productive, mentally able and capable until at least well into our 80s. For example, a 2014 study showed that even at over 85, 56 per cent of people report no health-based limitations in work or housework.Research also reveals that productivity doesn’t fall away over the normal working age range, although of course younger and older people have different skills.</p>
<p>Staying at work can be good for you. Older workers have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and arthritis than their non-working peers, says the Australian Bureau of Statistics. You might think this is because sufferers of these diseases opt out (or are forced out) of the workforce earlier, but controlled studies validate the statistics. And even those workers with a health condition feel more positive than non-workers.</p>
<p><strong>Myth 4: Older workers aren’t committed</strong></p>
<p>It’s sometimes said that older workers lack commitment because they are getting ready to retire, focused on other things and just marking time. But in fact, a 2009 Australian study showed workers 45 and over were 2.6 times less likely to have left their job in the last year than those under 45. Also, people over 63 are the fastest growing segment of workers in Australia, numbering over half a million in July 2014, having doubled in the last 15 years. And business start-ups by people 55 to 64 in Australia are the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurship.</p>
<p><strong>Myth 5: Older workers take jobs from younger ones</strong></p>
<p>Sometimes people tell me that they feel they shouldn’t keep working as they age, because they are taking a job that belongs to a younger person. The idea that older workers take jobs from the young is known by economists as the ‘lump of labour’ fallacy, and has been disproved by numerous reputable studies all over the world. It’s the same fallacy as was raised (and debunked) when women started to enter the workforce in larger numbers and is based on the idea that there are a set number (or ‘lump’) of available jobs, and every older person who keeps working is denying a space for their younger colleague. In fact, the number of jobs is not finite and there are considerable economic benefits in keeping people employed for longer. I am not an economist, and this is not a polemic, but if you are interested, a quick online search will bring up all the data you like on this topic.</p>
<p>You may be surprised to learn that Australia has a lower percentage of older people in the workforce than many other developed countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand. This concerns our government and many commentators, as it has implications for our economic stability and future prosperity. Deloitte Access Economics says there is a trend for more Australians in their 50s and 60s (and increasingly more women) to participate in the workforce, and shows an extra 3 per cent of participation by the over 55s would add $33 billion to GDP and a 5 per cent increase would add $48 billion.</p>
<p><strong>Myth 6: We get more stupid as we age</strong></p>
<p>One of the most pervasive stereotypes is that our brains decay as we age, and many people assume that after 50, ‘senior moments’ increase and our capacity to think and our ability to contribute intellectually both decline markedly, with dementia almost inevitable.</p>
<p>Not so, according to research conducted by Monash University with the Australian Institute of Management in 2012.Researchers found that older, more experienced managers recorded higher levels of ‘crystallised’ intelligence – a type of intelligence that relates strongly to wisdom gained through experience and also verbal reasoning, as a result of education and practice. In contrast, ‘fluid’ intelligence – the ability to solve novel problems using inherited basic reasoning ability – was slightly higher among younger managers.</p>
<p>Overall, the Monash study found no reason to justify distinguishing older workers based on intelligence, problem-solving or leadership ability. Older workers are just as valuable to economic and social growth in business as younger ones, bringing assets such as experience and psychological stability to the workplace.</p>
<p>Many other studies echo these results, including a German analysis which concluded that current assumptions about cognitive decline are seriously flawed and mostly formally invalid. And Queensland Government research shows no sign of general cognitive decline until people are well into their 80s or even older.</p>
<p>And there are many things older people can do to help ‘age-proof’ their brains, and preserve (even increase) all kinds of cognitive function throughout their life. Most are simple and are being adopted by people of all ages – including physical exercise, meditation, better diet choices, living a purposeful life, connecting with others and learning new skills. So, no more ‘senior moment’ excuses!</p>
<p><strong>Myth 7: People over 65 should retire and buy a rocking chair</strong></p>
<p>There are plenty of examples of individuals who have lived vibrant and interesting lives well into their 70s, 80s and 90s – such as Melbourne woman Millie Browne, who at 98 (in 2015) was the world’s oldest iPhone App Store game developer. Laura Ingalls Wilder became a journalist in her 40s, and was 65 when she started writing the <em>Little House on the Prairie</em> series. British doctor Peter Mark Roget is best known for Roget’s Thesaurus, which has never been out of print since it was published in 1852, when he was 73.</p>
<p>And if you’re interested in the less famous, check out the story of Vita Needle. Located in Massachusetts, Vita Needle employs about 35 production workers, 95 per cent of whom are part-time seniors. The oldest employee is 100 and the average age of its workforce is 74. The company has been the subject of documentaries and research studies in several countries – all indicating the employees are happy, properly paid and productive.</p>
<p>In the United Kingdom, 33 per cent of Marks & Spencer employees are over 50, more than 4000 employees have over 25 years’ service, and they have an employee who was recruited at 80. This has helped them: to have one of the lowest employee turnover rates in UK retail; to retain highly effective staff; to increase loyalty of employees who value choice to work longer; and to use performance management in an identical way for workers of all ages.</p>
<p>Here in Australia, people often cite hardware chain Bunnings as a standout employer of older workers, and it’s true, they do great things. But they are not alone:</p>
<ul>
<li>half of the workers at Taylors Wines in South Australia are aged 55 or more, and 70 per cent are 45 or more</li>
<li>21 per cent of Woolworths’ workforce is mature-aged, and they employed more than 700 people aged over 55 in 2014</li>
<li>60 per cent of Dial an Angel’s workforce is aged over 45.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you search you’ll find plenty more stories like these.</p>
<p>The myths we have just busted are only a few of many. We will dismantle others as they crop up through this book, such as that older people can’t or don’t want to learn new things (they can and they do) and that a sense of purpose is not important as we age (having one may help you live years longer). So when you are presented with a media story that suggests ‘all older people’ are like this or like that, don’t just accept it as truth. Instead, double-check its claims. You may very well be surprised by what you discover.</p>
<p><em>This is an extract from </em>Rethink Your Career<em> by Joanna Maxwell (ABC Books, $32.99).</em></p>
