You Can Learn New Tricks at Any Age - Workology

You Can Learn New Tricks at Any Age - Workology You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks Hes like 70 whats the point? I hear this a lot from people dismissing nasty comments by their older relatives. Hes old, with one foot in the grave, and he wouldnt learn anything from me confronting him anyway. So whats the point? This is just one side of a much broader cluster of stereotype about seniors. If theyre bad people, so what, they cant learn better. If theyre good people, thats cute, but who cares theyre old and irrelevant. And if theyre struggling to keep up with a world thats changing too quickly for them, well, thats normal, isnt it? Just let them fade away. Packed into these stereotypes is a series of assumptions about age: 1) that older people are incompetent; 2) that older people cant learn new skills and ideas; 3) that once you hit retirement age its a swift crumbling of body and mind into uselessness. All of these are wrong and to be frank, ridiculous. Whats Retirement For, Anyway? Retirement was first introduced in Germany in 1889. Before the advent of an official retirement age and accompanying pensions, working class people were expected to work until death, or, if their family was better off, slowly reduce their work hours as their children took over breadwinning. Wealthier people then were more likely to be able to fully retire, as we understand it today, and that remains the case now. Wealth is one of the most significant factors in who retires early and who retires fully (that is, does not supplement benefits or pension with part time work). 65 is now the normal retirement age in many countries, with employment levels for older workers slowly dropping off as they approach this age. In addition to wealth, which I mentioned about, health is the other most significant factor in who retires and when those who are in poor health or living with physical disabilities often retire early, simply because its a necessity. But depending on how robust pensions and benefits are, a large percentage of workers may continue to participate in the workforce after age 65 about 10% in the UK and 20% in the US. This over 65 working population includes wealthy workers who want to continue with their career, those whove started a second (or third) career in retirement, and those who are simply struggling to make ends meet. People dont retire because they are worn out and useless dusty old machines of productivity that are no longer worth servicing and updating they retire so that they can, hopefully, enjoy this next phase of their life in greater comfort, having worked hard their whole lives. Its not that people over 65 cant keep working, but that we as a society have decided that they shouldnt have to. But somehow weve conflated unproductive (i.e no longer working) with useless and even decrepit, as though the moment one turns 65 theyre preserved in amber, no longer contributing to society and incapable of keeping up with it. More Over 50 People Are Staying In the Workforce But these days, more people over 50 are staying in the workforce.  Since 2015 the unemployment rate for older workers has declined, thanks to continued demand for their skills and too, thanks to their increasing overall health.  Boomers who are highly educated and experienced stand a good chance of continuing in their jobs or finding new employment if they want to keep working. The prospects arent quite as good for less educated boomers as they enter their retirement years, but as service jobs continue to outpace jobs in manufacturing and the resource sector, their years of experience serve them well. Unlike many younger workers, theyve already spent years working with people,  negotiating conflict between coworkers, and finding solutions for customers. They can also offer a unique customer service perspective thats perfect for older customers instead of condescension, they can approach older customers on equal footing. The basic competencies are not only in place, but rock solid its just a matter of learning new skills for new jobs. And as Mike Haberman pointed out last month, the future of training will depend on workers who can deeply internalize basic competencies and then quickly build on them to learn new skills. Many older workers to the surprise of many of my fellow millennials are well prepared for the ongoing transformation of the workplace. After all, its been changing rapidly, becoming more automated and integrating technology at every level, throughout their whole working lives. You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks People arent dogs. But just in case youre still hung up on that saying its a lie. You can teach old dogs new tricks. Boomers are a vital part of the workforce and seniors are a vital part of society. We need to stop imagining that people disappear once they reach their senior years, or even worse, become an annoying burden. We can start by recognizing that all people, at all ages, are capable of learning new ideas and skills, of experiencing profound personal transformations. That kids, seniors, prime age workers, teens are all just people.  Heres the thing, humans are social  animals who  learn and change and take on new challenges at every stage of their life. Your older colleagues absolutely can learn that new system. Your awful uncle can certainly learn to be a better person. And your Grandmother can in fact learn to use new technology and come to value it. Should more older workers be continuing on in the workforce, though? Thats a topic for another blog, but part of valuing people of all ages is recognizing that they deserve respect and care. Older workers should certainly keep on working if thats their choice. But we invented retirement for a reason and those people who are ready to step down should have that choice, along with the pension and benefits that make it possible.