Older workers have been ignored for a long time. There are two main reasons. One is discrimination, people usually think that older workers are in poor health and cannot be qualified, or cannot keep up with the rapidly developing society. Another reason is that younger supervisors are often afraid of managing older employees because these older workers have more experience than they do.
However, the fact is in many countries, ageing is becoming a serious problem. Like in America, older workers are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce and one of the fastest-growing groups in the overall population. We have to admit that older workers are not qualified in all professions. Like doctors, experienced old doctors of traditional Chinese medicine are more trustworthy, while people don’t like old surgeons.
But there is still a huge cohort of healthy individuals in that age group who want and need to work. The current demographics also make this group more important; any employer who wants to engage a skilled, motivated, and disciplined workforce cannot afford to ignore them.
Research also suggests that putting older and young workers together helps both groups perform better. I think we should let older workers stay since they are willing to and capable. If they re-join us, the companies would operate better, the economies of the whole society will be driven as well.
Source：