Why Hire an Older Worker?

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Age discrimination is just as common as race or sex discrimination these days. It is increasingly hard for the older generation to find work. In fact, once a person turns the big 4-0, they are then considered a part of America’s aging workforce. Most people, however, consider this the time when they are in the pinnacle of their working careers.

So, if you are one of those companies that normally hire the tech-savvy hotshot — you may want to rethink your hiring strategy a little. Here are some reasons why you should hire older employees rather than younger ones:

1. You know what you’re getting. With older employees, you know what you are going to get just by checking their work history and background check. You will be able to determine if they are the fit you are looking for, while with an employee right out of college you won’t have that work history to look back on.
2. Older employees will have lower benefits. Yes, lower benefits. When you reach a certain age, you won’t have dependents like children to worry about. Medicare, which starts at 65, will not go on a company’s tab either. In fact, many older employees would rather work part-time rather than full-time which means that benefits are decreased even more so.
3. Flexibility. Older employees have no children and they usually have no extracurricular activities to go to which mean odd shifts and those hard to fill time slots on the time clock get filled easily.
4. Wise beyond their years. This saying tells it all. When you sat down in front of your grandparents and they told you how to do something that seemed farfetched, you listened anyways because you knew that they were wise. This same thinking goes into the business world. Older workers have been around for a while and it can be beneficial to hear what they have to say, especially if they have been in one sector for decades.
5. They are eager. Just because they are older doesn’t mean they don’t want to learn. In fact, they love to learn and older workers are just as capable of learning new techniques just as much so as younger workers.