Good Interview on Implications of Aging Workforce
Workforce Management has published an interview of Ken Dychtwald, author of the forthcoming book “Workforce Crisis; How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills And Talent.”
Dychtwald answers questions such as:
- Experts warn of an impending shortage of workers caused, in part, by the aging of baby boomers. Should companies be worried?
- What will an aging workforce mean for productivity levels?
- Should companies try to usher employees into early retirement to reduce the cost of health care benefits?
On productivity, Dychtwald addresses “the general myth . . . that young people are productive, older people are less so; young people are healthy, old people are less so; and that young people are a more worthy investment because they are younger and will be around for longer. ” He rejects each aspect of this myth:
First of all, younger people tend to work more quickly, but they also make more mistakes than older people. In assignments that have to do with thoughtful conclusions and smart solutions, older people outperform younger people in almost every situation.
Secondly, it is true that older bodies are more inclined to have health problems, but younger people actually hurt themselves more on the job and miss more days of work due to illness than their elder counterparts. They are also more likely to show up to work intoxicated and are more likely to be distracted.
Third, young people may have more longevity ahead of them, but they hop jobs frequently. So (if) you invest in a 23-year-old, you are basically training them up for their next job. The average 20- to 30-year-old worker changes jobs every three years. The average 40-plus worker changes jobs up to about every 15 years. It sounds ironic, but you will get more years back by retraining and investing in a 45-year-old than a 25-year-old.
When you only look at speed or physical strength as measures of productivity, then you could probably conclude that older workers are less valuable than younger ones. But if you widen the equation to include experience, loyalty and being responsible, older workers fare very well.
So in some respects the aging of the workforce will not be all bad. Of course, there may be big problems if the younger workers don’t eventually step up to the plate and become more regular with attendance, show some more loyalty, etc. Or perhaps that will simply require some transformations in the way work is conducted and employment is set up.
See Workforce Management:“Age Wave: Adapting to Older Workers”
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I would be interested in reading the whole book, because this excerpt seems to mimimize the challenges faced by twenty-something employees. For the most part, I believe this age group to be highly motivated and dedicated to changing business for the better. I speak to junior employees for a living, and I have never met one who has actually come into work intoxicated.
The brain drain is a real phenomenon, and Dychtwald is correct that today’s young people will have to “step up to the plate.” But to do so, they need training in meaningful lessons for the future workplace such as developing an effective corporate persona, gaining cooperation, learning transferable skills, multi-tasking, and managing stress.
[This comment came from Alexandra Levit, author of "They Don't Teach Corporate in College: A Twenty-Something's Guide to the Business World." She has started a brand-new blog, entitled "Water Cooler Wisdom," which has been added to my growing-fatter-by-the-week blogroll.]