We don’t believe you can teach old dogs new tricks (and some of us don’t even want to try)
Bad news: Not only does our collective lack of a pension pot mean we're prevented from quitting the day job as early as we'd like, research released today suggests that our colleagues aren't even pleased that we're still hanging around the office.
The study by Canada Life Group Insurance found that there are still many negative stereotypes about older workers floating about, with just under a third (29 per cent) of people saying that there was still stigma linked to older staff members.
Meanwhile, over one in ten (12 per cent) said that having older employees generated more problems than benefits.
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Over a third (35 per cent) of those asked believed that the biggest issue created by staff working longer would be that it prevents younger workers from climbing the career ladder. Meanwhile, a quarter (24 per cent) believed that their older colleagues would need retraining to keep up and one in five (21 per cent) were worried that the workplace dynamic would be changed, as older people tended to have more health issues.
Before you consider trying to erase your date of birth from your HR files, it's not all doom and gloom: around two-thirds (63 per cent) of those asked said that they saw having a mixture of older and younger people in the workplace as beneficial, as it provided a wider range skills.
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"More and more people are working beyond 65 following the abolition of the default retirement age and the ongoing plans to raise the state pension age," said Paul Avis, marketing director of Canada Life Group. "This gives employers an opportunity to capitalise on the skills of two or even three generations within their workforce.
"This opportunity is not without its unique challenges, of course. Peoples' needs and priorities change over the course of their lifetime, so to keep the best staff employers need to offer a range of benefits which will appeal to the full cross-section of their employees."
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Anna Dixon, chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, added: "Recruiting and retaining older workers is critical to closing the jobs gap created by people leaving the workforce. A workforce that reflects our ageing population also benefits organisations in terms of customer insight."
A study released earlier this year by Willis Towers Watson discovered that one in five (21 per cent) Brits expects to be putting in the hours at the office after they've turned 70, while a study by Prudential in February found that over half (51 per cent) of those currently planning to retire this year had either already reached state pension age or would consider working beyond that point.