9th November 2005
A new survey (1) by leading disability insurer, UnumProvident, has revealed that more than a third of UK workers accept that they will have to work beyond 65 years for financial reasons despite concerns by 31 per cent of employees that their workplace is not set up to cope with older staff.
These findings come at a time when employers should be considering new anti-age discrimination regulations, to be introduced in October next year, which will enable all employees to request working beyond age 65.
Currently, only eight per cent of businesses surveyed have a significant number of staff aged 55 or over. However, the ratio of people over 65 years old to those under the age of 16 is set to rise by 42 per cent by 2041, and businesses will be dependent on older workers for survival.
Although companies such as Sainsbury's, which recently announced a recruitment drive for 10,000 employees over 50, and Nationwide, which now allows its employees to delay retirement until 75, have been swift to recognise the value of hiring older employees, they are among the exceptions.
According to a recent study by Hewitt Associates (2), HR Directors in large European companies still view the over-50s employee as expensive to maintain, a poor fit with changing business, hard to integrate and a poor return on investment in training.
Joanne Hindle, Corporate Services Director for UnumProvident, said:
These views are completely outmoded and unsustainable given the UK's ageing population. Employers should realise how critical the older worker will increasingly become to their business. Furthermore, many of the myths about capacity of older workers are simply untrue.
Recent studies (2) show that older workers have similar productivity as their younger colleagues. Moreover, planning and verbal abilities peak in the 50s and 60s. Forward-thinking organisations are beginning to appreciate the positive benefits of hiring older employees. The life experience of older people enables them to establish better rapport and understanding with customers.
However, based on our experience in helping employees return to work after sickness or ill-health, there will be new challenges for employers hiring older staff.
Forty-three per cent of employees surveyed agreed that they would have to take more time off work due to ill health as they became older. Likewise, 38 per cent of employers believed that getting older people back to work after illness is more challenging than it is for younger colleagues.
Recent research undertaken by US-based UnumProvident Corporation revealed that although workers aged 40 and older experience a lower incidence of work injuries, short term disability and unscheduled absences than younger workers, the average amount of time they will miss due to an injury or illness is greater by nearly a third.
Joanne Hindle added:
As the population continues to age, employers will need to review their workplace practices to ensure they are set up to cope with older staff. Although, employers may need to consider the health and well-being of their employees more closely, the benefits of hiring older staff far outweigh the adjustments necessary.
Indeed, once the age discrimination legislation comes into force next year, employers will have no option but to consider the needs of their older workers.
ENDS
(1) TNS. Phonebus, 22nd - 24th July 2005. A representative sample of 591 GB adults aged 16+ who work either full or part-time were interviewed. Continental Research, 8th -12th August 2005. 200 phone interviews with Managing Directors, Financial Directors and other senior mangers of businesses with an annual turnover of over Pounds Sterling 1 million.
(2) Stereotypes under scrutiny, Financial Times, July 5, 2005.