Information Overload? Separating Myth from Reality…

By Lecia Parks Langston, Economist

Myth: Employers don’t like to hire people over 50.
Reality: Many people in their sixties, seventies and even eighties are still working.

Myth: Older workers are less flexible and adaptable.  
Reality: Older workers are just as adaptable once they understand the reason for changes. They are more likely to ask “why?” because they have seen processes abandoned in mid-stream.

Myth: Older workers face health issues.
Reality: Older workers have better attendance records than younger workers.

Myth: Older workers can’t meet the physical demands of the job.
Reality: Most jobs do not require great strength or heavy lifting.

Myth:  You can’t teach an old dog new tricks:
Reality: Studies show only a negligible loss of cognitive function in people under 70. They have better study attitudes and accumulated experience which lowers training costs. For example, the fastest growing group of internet users is people over 50.

Myth: Training older workers is a lost investment because they will not stay on the job for long.
Reality: The future work life of an employee over 50 usually exceeds the life of new technology for which the workers are trained. Plus, workers tend to stay in the labor force much longer now than they did in the past.

Myth: Older workers are not as productive as younger workers.
Reality: Overall productivity does not decline as a function of age. Productivity often actually rises due to greater worker accuracy, dependability and capacity to make better on-the-spot judgments. Older workers’ production rates are steadier than other age groups.

Myth: Older workers are not as creative or innovative.
Reality: General intelligence levels are the same as those of younger workers. Roughly 80 percent of the most workable and worthwhile new production ideas are produced by employees over 40 years old.

Myth: Older workers cost more than hiring younger workers.
Reality: Replacing older workers is not cost-free. Aetna Insurance Company discovered that training, etc. added 93 percent to the first year’s salary of new employees.

Myth: Benefit and accident costs are higher for older workers.
Reality: Total sick days per year of older workers are lower than other age groups because they have fewer acute illnesses and sporadic sick days. Insurance costs do rise gradually with age. However, they are offset by lower costs due to fewer dependents. Older workers take fewer risks in accident-prone situations and statistically have lower accident rates than other age groups.