You Need Them as Much as They Need You: Why Older Workers Are a Good Bet

The country is aging and so is its workforce. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 45% of civilian workers will be 45 or older by 2030, and workers over 75 will account for nearly an eighth of the total. Some employers view this as problematic: older workers are more expensive, they are slower, they are more likely to get ill or need time off to care for their even-older parents. Or so these employers think.

The reality is far more nuanced. Heather Tinsley-Fix, senior advisor for financial resilience at AARP, said that younger workers also need time off–to care for children, for instance. And while workers with longer tenure do cost more than someone just starting out in their career, there are costs associated with replacing them. Tinsley-Fix said there is data showing it can cost upwards of $30,000 to hire and train someone new, on top of the salary you will pay. You also lose a lot of expertise and intellectual capital when you turf an older employee for a cheaper replacement. 

AARP studies have found many benefits among organizations that have multigenerational staff: better resilience in tough times, more diversity of views and capabilities, improved stability, and better retention among the entire workforce. Older workers are often more flexible in terms of schedule, and according to BLS data, they are more likely to seek part-time employment voluntarily.

At Vivo, a fitness company that provides real time virtual training for those over 40, an older staff also helps attract more clients, said Eric Levitan, founder and CEO of the Atlanta-based company. Often older people are less comfortable with the trainers at traditional fitness studios and gyms, and older trainers feel the same disconnect with younger clients, he said. His model leverages that and gives another compelling reason for people to spend their fitness dollars with Vivo rather than somewhere else. 

Many industries are facing labor shortages and a dearth of appropriate talent. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce lists hospitality and the retail industry as suffering most from this, while HR consulting firm CXC cites health care, non-flight-crew-related aviation and airport jobs, and construction as industries in dire need of staff. 

Retaining Older Workers: What Do They Value?

Given the demand for their labor, the question becomes: What are the best ways for employers to retain older workers in their jobs? Tinsley-Fix said that older workers want the same thing as younger ones in terms of feeling valued and respected. “Research shows people want the same core things across generations.” If you are doing a good job providing any of your workers with a feeling of mission and inclusion, and if you are providing adequate compensation, you should be able to inspire loyalty among the older workers in your organization.

“The only potential difference is that what younger people think respect means may be different than what older people think it means,” she said. It’s a good question to survey employees and candidates about.

Using older people to fill employment gaps has worked well for Susan Cornish, a Columbus, Ohio-based franchise owner with the childcare company Jovie. “Some people are looking for something different after downsizing, or they are interested in something part time while they retrain,” she said. While that implies that the childcare gig is only temporary, Cornish has found many stay on. One of her older employees was going to stay only until she completed some additional education. Several years later, she’s still on the job–one of the increasing number of older people Cornish has among her 150 employees. “We tend to skew young, but that may be due to the old name,” she explained. Until early this year, the company name was College Nannies and Sitters. 

Increasingly, Cornish is looking for older workers because they have more patience, compassion, empathy–and driving experience. The latter can be a point in their favor for a prospective employer, Cornish said. “A crying baby or a mischievous toddler won’t rattle someone who has already raised their children as much as it might someone who is 17. They bring life experience lessons that you can’t train for.”

Finding and Recruiting Them: It’s About More Than Just Money

The biggest issue she has in attracting older workers is knowing where to find them. Cornish said come January, she has a new hire whose job will be to figure out how older potential workers can be reached and entice them to consider a job at Jovie. 

Cornish said that older workers are often more flexible about money than younger people. She pays for experience, and a couple of years ago, she would have called older workers more-expensive-but-worth-it. Now, however, she has 17 and 18  year olds with no experience expecting $17 per hour, or more than double the $9.30 state minimum wage.

It can take longer to train older workers on the apps they use as part of their operations, Cornish explained, so managers “pack their patience” when they train. Having a multigenerational workforce helps because often the younger employees can help get older ones up to speed on new tech, a practice often called reverse mentoring. 

The longer learning curve is something that Levitan has experienced, too. All his trainers are over 40, and some are over 60. They may not have used scheduling apps or know all the bells and whistles that are available on Zoom, which Vivo trainers use to deliver their classes. “We use our onboarding time to get them up to speed.”

Both Cornish and Levitan have signed the AARP employer pledge to facilitate older workers and aim for multigenerational workplaces. Both think it makes business sense, but Levitan said there are softer reasons to consider it. “They bring a trifecta of wisdom, knowledge, and experience that provides enhanced customer experience. “

Cornish has her own non-data related rationale: “Our tag line is ‘We hire role models,’ and older people are role models, not just to our clients, but also to our younger workers.” 

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner AARP, who sponsored this story, the first in a three-part series.

Lisa Jaffe is a freelance writer who lives in Seattle with her son and a very needy rescue dog named Ellie Bee. She enjoys reading, long walks on the beach, and trying to get better at ceramics.