Just like a fine wine …
By Herb Drill
BATON ROUGE, LA - Pablo Picasso created fine art into his 90s. Maggie Kuhn and the Grey Panthers didn’t get started until they were older. Still, stereotypes about older workers prevent companies from benefiting from their knowledge and experience, a Louisiana State University (LSU) researcher told the Newswise agency.
Workers are getting older and within five years 20% of the workforce will be older than 55, states the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those figures are likely to collide with deeply-held stereotypes about older workers resisting change and not being able to learn new technologies and systems.
Dr. Tracey Rizzuto, LSU assistant professor of psychology, says stereotypes about aging employees don’t hold water. She notes that when Pennsylvania upgraded its computer systems to streamline and standardize key business processes three years ago, she wondered how older workers would fare in adapting to the new technology. Concentrating on the state’s purchasing agents’ willingness to learn the new systems and their motivation, commitment, and satisfaction in accepting the changes, she found plenty of reasons to dispel some of the myths about older workers.
Of more than 360 people surveyed, nearly 60% were 46 or older and ll% were over 55. Contrary to common belief, Rizzuto found older workers exhibited more willingness to learn the new technology than their younger counterparts. “That went against what I had expected,” she said, admitting that perhaps she held some stereotypes about older workers. “Sometimes the news isn’t in the expected, but lies in the unexpected.”
Veteran employees were more “fired up” about the changes, Rizzuto observed, adding most, though not all, were supportive of new systems. “While there may be some isolated examples of an older worker being resistant to change, this study suggests that isn’t typical of most older workers surveyed,” she said.
Older workers saw the value of the changes and felt an obligation and loyalty to their co-workers to learn and implement the new technology. “In fact, older workers are more inclined and interested in making changes to benefit the organization than younger workers,” she said.
Conventional wisdom says technology is the province of the young and older workers are affected negatively by constant changes in the computerization of business functions. “There is some research that shows older workers may not be as quick in learning new technology skills as younger people, but this study shows the commitment and willingness to learn is stronger among the older workers,” Rizzuto said.
She suggested companies provide specialized training for older workers to keep them current with new technological. “It’s a small price to pay to retain a valuable segment of the workforce who are teachable and adaptable and who will benefit the organization greatly,” she added.
Another plus: older workers tend to feel more devoted to organizational initiatives and share similar values. Therefore, they’re more likely to stay with the company rather than change careers as their younger counterparts are more prone to do.
The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is an international group of 6,000 industrial/organizational psychologists whose members study and apply scientific principles concerning people in the workplace. For more information about SIOP, visit www.siop.org.