Job recruiters admit they just don’t bother employing older workers, which is a shocking waste of knowledge and experience. Mirror columnist Siobhan McNally says that shows just how rubbish HR managers are at their jobs.
If I’m due on the scrapheap by 57, then I’m taking Nicole Kidman and Pamela Anderson with me. Along with Jason Statham, Gordon Ramsay, Matt Le Blanc and a whole slew of famous names who, aged 57, are in the prime of their careers.
But according to a poll of no doubt 12-year-old HR managers, millions of workers aged 57 and over in the UK are being overlooked for job opportunities, as employers increasingly consider this particular age too old and feeble to hire.
I don’t see Ironman triathlete Gordon giving up his training for a life of slippers and Werther’s Originals just yet.
And while I’m 55 – two years off retirement if these job recruiters are to be believed, to me 57 is no age at all. And for many older workers, it’s an age when many people are able to really concentrate on their careers again after giving their time and energy to bringing up a family.
To cast them off as past it is a shocking waste of knowledge and experience, especially when our economy has a skills shortage of a million jobs. And we’re not going to get our economy out of the doldrums by ignoring huge swathes of our skilled workforce because of the limited and unimaginative thinking of HR managers.
Gen Z are always banging on about unconscious bias and being inclusive, and yet young job recruiters are now exhibiting the worst signs of ageism.
And anyway, we’re all going to get old one day – even the ageless Joan Collins – which is why age is a protected characteristic, just like sex, race or disability and religion. So while those employers are happily virtue signalling about how diverse their workforces are, they’d better shape up or they might find themselves being dragged through employment tribunals like the senior executive earlier this summer who was called an “old fossil” by their boss, and walked off with £3.1m for age discrimination.
Also, barely a day goes by when we don’t hear media reports that people in their mid twenties are not entirely convinced by this full-time working lark. Say what you like about older workers in the office, at least we show up for our shifts every day.
Saying that, I enjoy working with younger people – and a mixed workforce is good for any company – but I do notice they’re much more zealous about their work/life balance. I just assume everyone works silly hours like me, and find it unusual when I get an ‘out of office’ reply and am told by my young colleague their ‘working hours are 9am-5pm’.
Don’t get me wrong, I think employers should encourage it, but nothing beats a dedicated older worker who knows time can sometimes be of the essence, when a project needs to be sorted quickly and efficiently.
Likewise, when I go on a press trip, I’m usually the oldest of all my journalist travel companions, and often suddenly realise their mums are my age. But you know what? I like being a wise(ish) old owl these days and don’t need to compete with them for attention.
Luckily this antiquated attitude is not one taken by all employers. I’ve written about my 62-year-old friend Naomi who’s started work as BA cabin crew this month after a 25-year career break to bring up her daughters. And the Mirror has our very own political columnist and diarist Paul Routledge, who at 80, is still working just as hard as hacks half his age.
The pension age is currently 66, but is due to rise to 68. I’d argue that it may even rise to 70 before this decade is out, so what are we going to do with all those economically unviable oldies? They can’t all go and take part in Ironman competitions, appear in Strictly, or win Oscars for Hollywood movies. Sheesh…
