Ohio Department of Aging
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November 2007
Director's Notebook
The Untapped Resource - Seniors in the Workplace
By 2012, nearly 20 percent of the total U.S. workforce will be age 55 or older, up from just under 13 percent in 2000, according to an AARP study. As Baby Boomers near traditional retirement age, many companies are facing a potentially significant loss of talent and institutional knowledge.
Companies will be able to avoid this loss, and the shortage of qualified replacement employees, by encouraging older workers to stay in the workforce longer and by hiring other older workers who, for a variety of reasons, are not yet ready to retire.
Employers rate older workers high on factors such as judgment, commitment to quality, attendance and punctuality. Many have already made changes to better place and retain qualified seniors in the workplace. For example, work and life programs reduce employee turnover and increase productivity, while decreasing absenteeism and health care costs, according to the Families and Work Institute, a nonprofit research organization that addresses the changing nature of work and family life.
Employers are also recognizing the impact of caregiving on productivity. As many as one in four workers now care for older or disabled loved ones, according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute. Family caregivers struggle to balance work and elder care obligations. The resulting stress often affects a worker's health, finances, family and social life and productivity. The cost to business from the lost productivity of working caregivers is more than $33 billion per year, nationally.
At the 2007 Ohio Governor's Conference on Aging, The Untapped Resource - Seniors in the Workplace, presented by the Ohio Department of Aging, on Wednesday, November 28, Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio business leaders and human resource directors will discuss how companies can gain and maintain a competitive advantage by recruiting and retaining experienced workers.
The focus of the conference will be on the demographic reality of Ohio's workforce and important considerations for the state's economy and business health. With growing numbers of skilled workers retiring, there is a shortage of qualified employees ready to take their places. The success of Ohio businesses is inextricably linked to the availability - current and projected - of a skilled workforce.
Older workers, by virtue of their numbers, experience and work ethic, provide employers with a large and effective untapped labor pool from which to draw. Employers who institute innovative workplace policies and programs designed to attract and retain older workers will see a benefit to their entire workforce. Inclusion of older workers in succession planning is vital to the continued competitiveness of Ohio's employers.
In the morning session a panel of business leaders and decision makers will examine the changing labor market and its impact on Ohio businesses. In the afternoon, the panel will discuss operational issues, such as how to recruit, retain and retrain qualified older workers to benefit the growth of companies.
For more information and to register for the Conference, visit GoldenBuckeye.com/conference.
Ohio Department of Aging