Older workers and employment
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Employers’ opinions of older workers
Assets and limitations of older workers
Figure 5 shows that in 2008, private sector employers believed experience, know-how and conscientiousness were the main assets of older workers. Older workers are particularly well-regarded for their time-keeping, motivation and dynamism. On the other hand, there is a perception that older workers are reluctant to adapt to change and to new technologies. They are also seen as more expensive than younger workers, and employers have concerns about their health and mobility.
Figure 5: Employers’ perceptions of the qualities of workers aged over 50 compared to younger workers (%)
Source: EGS50+, 2008, Dares
A quarter of the interviewed employers expect that the proportion of older workers in their enterprise will rise in the next five years. As shown in Figure 6, the majority expect this to be a positive development for staff experience (76%), for the enterprise’s skill resources and the transmission of know-how (71%) and for effective teamwork (59%). A majority of employers say that an increase in the number of workers aged over 50 would not have a negative influence on young workers’ careers, work organisation and labour productivity. The higher labour costs of older workers is the most frequently expressed concern (38.8% of respondents) although just over half of all employers (50.8%) say this does not concern them.
Figure 6: Expected outcomes of the increase in the share of workers aged over 50 in an enterprise (%)
Source: EGS50+, 2008, Dares
Differing perceptions of older workers
Opinions about older workers vary according to the characteristics of enterprises and employers. For example, older workers are viewed less positively in enterprises where the workforce is expected to decline in the next few years and in those where older workers already represent a large proportion of the staff.
It is of particular interest to see that the age at which workers are considered as ‘old’ by employers varies according to the size of the enterprise. In enterprises with fewer than 10 employees, the average interpretation of ‘old’ is 59.2 years old; it is 57.3 years old in enterprises with 10–49 employees; 57.1 years old in enterprises with between 50–249 employees; and only 56 in enterprises with more than 250 employees. In big enterprises, older workers are perceived to have more limitations than assets, and labour cost is seen as their biggest disadvantage.
It is worth highlighting that the overall age at which workers are believed to be ‘old’ by their employers is now higher than it was in 2001, as reported by the ESSA study (Figure 7). Then 66% of employers declared that employees over 55 were old, whereas in 2008 this view was shared by 43% of employers.
Figure 7: Age at which workers are considered ‘old’ by employers (%)
Source: ESSA 2001 and EGS50+ 2008, Dares
A final point is that the age of the respondent influences the answer. Not surprisingly, employers aged over 60 (7.6 % of the respondents) have a more positive view of older workers, while employers under 30 tended to consider that a worker is old before the age of 60.
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