Another View on the Age Thing

We talked recently about taking advantage of your younger Creatives. (ok, actually, that came out wrong...what we meant was, make the best use of your younger Creatives and don't disregard them simply because they're young) The same holds true for your older employees, and we're starting to see more and more of those.

A recent piece in the New York Times explored the trend among workers to keep working longer. Edgar Glaeser writes in the Times that

Between 2007 and 2010, the number of working Americans over 65 years old jumped 16 percent; the number of under-65’s in the labor force shrank. The trend started before the current downturn: the number of Americans over 65 in the labor force increased from 10.8 percent in 1985 to 12.1 percent in 1995 to 15.1 percent in 2005 to 17.4 percent in 2010. Until 2001, most workers age 65 and older had part-time jobs; since 2001, full-time work has been far more common.

People are working longer, which leads to a greater age range within your workforce. As noted above, this isn't a trend that will necessarily go away when the economy gets better, because people aren't working longer simply because they're retirement savings plan has been wrecked. Instead, many people are working longer simply because they can; more people are working in more sedentary jobs rather than in heavy industrial labor, so the need to stop isn't as great as it is for, say, coal miners, or people on a factory floor. This suggests creative industries in particular are liable to see an increase in the number of people wanting to work longer than has been traditional, not only because the work isn't physically challenging but also because many Creatives are in their field because they really enjoy creating, and that doesn't automatically go away at age 65.

This has some implications for you. Consider that workers at different ages tend to have different expectations and priorities. You'll see this in terms of benefits; younger Creatives might be more interested in vacation time, older Creatives might be more interested in life and health insurance that affects their families, and pension programs are likely to be more important to Creatives who are closer to collecting on them. Your talent management strategy may need some updating, as openings among more senior positions might not occur as frequently as you might have expected. Having a more senior workforce can also mean more of your resources going to cover your payroll. (and no, don't even think about firing people just because they'e older...go ask a lawyer if you don't understand that)

Just as with younger workers, you need to make the most of the qualities your older Creatives bring, while working around any challenges they offer. Older Creatives have more experience, but might also be more resistant to change (though that depends on the individual). Realize that what they offer and what they need are likely to be quite different from what you get from your younger Creatives, and they're only going to become more and more active in creative industries, not less.