Employers stand to lose if they don't take steps to keep older workers employed.
Yet, only one-third of employers who said the aging of the workforce is an important issue actually have a plan or program in place to retain or recruit these workers, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Employers that want to attract and retain workers beyond traditional retirement age could use flexible work programs, such as phased retirement, where workers can reduce their hours before they fully retire. However, age discrimination and the business necessity of reducing costs to compete globally are parts of the problem why Corporate America has decided that employees at 50 are over-the-hill; marking time, lacking in energy and not up-to-date in necessary skills.
In a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey which covers 2001-2003, 55-64-year-old displaced workers were less likely to find new jobs than 25-54-year-olds (57% vs. 69%), and more likely to drop out of the workforce altogether (20% vs. 11%).
Of those over 50 who have filed tens of thousands of age-discrimination suits every year due to being forced into retirement or dumped, less than 1% of the complaints are litigated by the short-staffed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and in 2004, just 15% of the cases closed by the agency yielded out-of-court settlements. In the 17,837 age-discrimination cases reported in 2004 by the EEOC, people who file these complaints will rarely win or even get a cash settlement.
What's a Baby Boomer to do as the 55 to 64-year-olds increase by 8.3 million from 2002-2012?
The answer is to come to the realization that this is not your father's economy. Now is the time to move on to a phased retirement by abandoning the hope that you will find another corporate job. Starting or buying your own business is an option if you have the required skills, cash and attitude to make a go of it.
Having more fun out of life and work is a good way to spend the best years of your life.
Employers stand to lose if they don't take steps to keep older workers employed.
Yet, only one-third of employers who said the aging of the workforce is an important issue actually have a plan or program in place to retain or recruit these workers, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey which covers 2001-2003, 55-64-year-old displaced workers were less likely to find new jobs than 25-54-year-olds (57% vs. 69%), and more likely to drop out of the workforce altogether (20% vs. 11%).
Of those over 50 who have filed tens of thousands of age-discrimination suits every year due to being forced into retirement or dumped, less than 1% of the complaints are litigated by the short-staffed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and in 2004, just 15% of the cases closed by the agency yielded out-of-court settlements. In the 17,837 age-discrimination cases reported in 2004 by the EEOC, people who file these complaints will rarely win or even get a cash settlement.
What's a Baby Boomer to do as the 55 to 64-year-olds increase by 8.3 million from 2002-2012?
The answer is to come to the realization that this is not your father's economy. Now is the time to move on to a phased retirement by abandoning the hope that you will find another corporate job. Starting or buying your own business is an option if you have the required skills, cash and attitude to make a go of it.
Having more fun out of life and work is a good way to spend the best years of your life.