I’ve written numerous times about the virtues of older workers, but they continue to suffer from discrimination in the workplace that undermines their status and effectiveness.  New research from Flinders University highlights how these (bad) decisions are often made in haste.

The authors argue that employers often target older workers when they downsize, and highlight the reduction in funding from the Australian government for the DOME (the Don’t Overlook Mature Experience training organization) program as further evidence of the under-appreciation of older workers in society.

“A common mistake is to think of mature workers as all being the same,” they explain. “There is huge variation among mature workers’ motivations, capabilities and needs. Their experience is especially valuable now, because mature workers can offer considerable value to an organization during a crisis and play an important role in helping a business progress to the ‘next normal.'”

Employment gaps

Instead, the researchers believe that older workers can play a crucial role in filling the employment gaps many organizations continue to face, due in large part to the diverse skill sets they’ve developed through their life.

“Mature adults demonstrate considerable resilience,” they say. “The aspect of role modeling resilience is an especially important influence on younger workers. It includes mature coping strategies, emotional intelligence and empathy—and these attributes have never been more important in the workforce.”

This resilience is a key characteristic in the turbulent times invoked by both the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the post-covid world we’re entering into.  The researchers believe that older workers are better able to adapt to such chaotic environments, and they urge organizations to do more to provide clarity to mature workers regarding how they fit into the workforce of the future.

This may even include entrepreneurship, with a growing appreciation of the value skills, experience, and, importantly, connections bring to any entrepreneurial effort.  The researchers believe this may even extend to innovating within organizations.

“Now, more than ever, organizations need intrapreneurship to find and address unseen opportunities,” they say. “That knowledge and spark of inspiration may well come from older current employees, or older potential employees.”

There’s a growing body of evidence highlighting the value older workers bring to our organizations, yet discrimination still sadly persists.  In a time of ongoing talent shortages, this is a situation that can’t continue.