James Parkel has a to-do list at work that’s full and getting close to overload.
As president of AARP – at 35 million members the nation’s largest nonprofit organization – he’s talking about a Medicare prescription drug benefit, Medicare funding and structural reform, community service, ageism and global issues surrounding aging to anybody willing to listen.
But, admittedly, one of his deepest passions concerns how employers in business, government and nonprofits are addressing today’s workplace bomb with the very short fuse. That’s the future of aging baby boomers having the chance to earn a paycheck well into their 60s, 70s and, yes, even their 80s.
“I’ll be honest, one of my greatest disappointments is when I talk to CEOs and HR directors and ask them whether they’ve devised a strategic plan on how they’re going to keep employees from leaving when they reach those traditional retirement ages.”
Not only do most not have a plan, they have no clue why they should, Parkel told human resource executives a few months ago in Orlando, Fla.
So he’s happy to provide the overwhelming statistics that suggest the United States is simply running out of people to keep the economy operating on an even kneel, not to mention a moderate growth clip.
The numbers are staggering. The fastest-growing demographic in the United States is between 55 and 64 years old. The number of workers between 35 and 44 is falling. The number of workers 55 and older will soar nearly 60 percent by 2013.
According AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, 45 percent of workers between 45 and 74 indicated in a 2002 survey that they wanted to continue working into their 70s and even later. Most cited the need for money and continuing health care benefits.
Ninety-one percent said staying in the workforce keeps them healthy and active, 87 percent said it’s important for their self-esteem and 62 percent said they wouldn’t feel as good about themselves without a job. Seventy-five percent of respondents agree that inability to find a job would damage their self-esteem.
Therein lies the problem, Parkel said. Business leaders have failed to adjust to this reality, and older workers continue to find subtle and not-so-subtle pressure to leave active employment once they reach their 60s.
‘We hear people say older workers are inflexible, they just don’t know how to learn, they get sick more often, they can’t work as long, they can’t do this and won’t to that,” Parkel said.
“This stereotype must be broken down and destroyed – it’s simply not true,” said the 64-year-old former IBM executive, who found himself rehiring his retirees when he could not adequately staff the company’s worldwide operations he headed in the 1990s.
Evidence of workplace ageism comes from growing age discrimination complaints. After falling in the mid-1990s, age discrimination complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission grew by 40 percent from 1999 to 2002. Two-thirds of the AARP-surveyed workers said age discrimination exists in the workplace, making them leery about being able to find new jobs if laid off late in their careers.
Older workers interviewing with younger managers often hear repeated questions about whether they are willing to stand the rigors of travel, long hours, the stress and strain of such a responsible position, Parkel said. Many younger executives shy away from hiring older workers because they would be uncomfortable giving them orders. “It’s like telling your parents what to do,” he said.
Businesses will have to shed such attitudes if they are going to survive the eventual upturn in the hiring economy, Parkel said. “It’s not an issue any longer of not wanting older workers; you will have to have them to run your businesses,” he tells executives.
He suggests businesses start focusing on retaining baby boomers by meeting their needs, which also might well turn out to be best for the employers. Overhaul the current system that rewards early retirements, he said, by designing highly flexible working arrangements for employees close to or past traditional retirement ages.
Part-time positions, lateral promotions, training responsibilities and telecommuting positions are just a few solutions that may keep older workers employed while allowing them to ease into retirement when they desire, Parkel said.
The bottom line, he tells top business executives, is to keep your older workers working, or suffer the consequences.
Write Eric Zoeckler at The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206 or e-mail mrscribe@aol.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
