(ARA) - That promising new employee starting next week brings skill and adaptability to the job -- and he also sports some gray hair.
Workers aged 55 and older will be the fastest growing age group in the American workforce in the next two decades, according to the Department of Labor. Their share of the labor force will increase from 13 percent in 2000 to 17 percent in 2010. By 2020, one out of every five workers is expected to be older than 55.
There are approximately 60 million baby boomers working now, and they will be leaving the workplace in droves over the next 15 years. For every three boomers that leave, there are but two younger workers waiting in the wings to replace them.
"To cope with this scarcity of workers, companies that want to stay competitive will be forced to implement innovative strategies to attract and retain older workers," says George Corona, senior vice president at staffing provider Kelly Services. "Older workers typically offer an organization a greater bank of skills, fewer commitments, more financial stability and broader experience."
There is no medical proof that worker productivity decreases with age, notes Corona. "If someone does not perform well at age 55, then they probably did not perform well at age 35 either. Our experience at Kelly Services shows that older workers generally are ready, willing and able to work beyond traditional retirement ages."
In fact, a recent study by the Employee Benefits Research Institute says that nearly two out of every three workers expect to continue in gainful employment after they "retire." While employers will benefit from tapping into this pool of mature, "seasoned" workers, the challenge comes in designing a work environment and tailored benefit packages to attract and retain them.
"Many of the older workers we place haven't lost their work ethic, and they often find the traditional retirement lifestyle boring and unfulfilling," says Corona. "They are looking to make a meaningful contribution in the workplace, provided they can still make the most of their personal time for family, social events, travel and hobbies."
Corona says Kelly Services addresses the specific needs of older workers seeking reentry to the job market by offering flexible schedules that balance work and leisure, or industry-specific placements and projects for defined time periods. Fourteen percent of Kelly's temporary employees are over age 55.
Temporary work also offers the chance to explore a new career path. "A number of our temporary employees have had long careers in a specific field, but have chosen to accept assignments outside their previous career areas," says Corona. "So the opportunity exists not only to work in one's previous profession, but also to explore new and interesting ones."
For their part, many companies are adopting the concept of phased retirement -- letting older workers gradually transition from full-time to part-time work, while giving them partial access to pension and healthcare benefits. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is considering modifying traditional pension and 401(k) savings plans to enable people to keep working while collecting full or partial benefits.
Financially, temporary work also provides the chance to earn extra income without jeopardizing pension or Social Security benefits. Current IRS regulations prohibit active employees from collecting a pension from the same employer. However, many companies are getting around the regulation by rehiring workers as independent contractors after a brief interlude from full employment. Others depend upon third-party temporary staffing companies such as Kelly for access to an excellent pool of older workers.
For more information, visit www.kellyservices.com.
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