Should I Hire Older Workers?

What benefits do older workers bring to the workplace?

At the Budget 2016, the Government announced that it will be extending the Special Employment Credit (SEC) scheme for three years to the end of 2019. Under the scheme, wage offsets are provided to employers hiring Singaporean workers aged 55 and above, and earning up to $4,000 a month.

We understand the necessity of this greater support – Singapore is facing an ageing population and workforce. But apart from this, why else should we employers hire or retain older workers? What benefits do they bring to the workplace?

1. They Give Good Insights

Older workers bring with them a wealth of work experience, and provide various insights pertaining to industry trends. Their insights will help to strengthen new research done on current perspectives. In addition, their work experiences will allow millennials to look to them for advice and guidance on strategic-thinking and direction.

2. They Provide Stability

Today’s millennials are a hasty bunch. Forgive our act of generalising, but it is hard to argue that today’s young people are easily bored and rather strong-willed characters. This means that job-hopping remains a cure for the bored millennial, possibly leading to constant turnovers, and that they are not people to back down from arguments!

Older workers, on the other hand, both prefer and provide stability. They don’t merely jump at a seemingly better job offer, choosing instead to remain grounded. Their measured ways also provide some stability to a team of overly enthusiastic and rash millennials.

3. They are Good Mentors

Older workers are good mentors not only when it comes to areas of work, but also when it comes to giving life advice. Their years of worldly exposure affords them a certain degree of wisdom, which can be valuable to younger workers.

While we know that older workers bring with them plenty of benefits, the onus is on employers to narrow the gap between older workers and younger ones. This can be done through mentorship schemes as well as iterating the importance of older workers to millennials.