Age Before Beauty?

Britainís employers are increasingly turning to older workers to meet their office needs suggests new research released today.

In light of speculation that the nationís retirement age is set to rise, Office Angels, the UKís leading secretarial and office support recruitment consultancy, polled 1,600 employers to examine current attitudes to age in the workplace. The findings challenge the long held assumption that youth is an essential element of office success.

38% believe British attitudes to older workers are slowly changing, with employers more inclined to look favourably on experienced workers than in previous decades

66% say relevant skills and a positive attitude are more important factors when deciding to offer someone a job than age

Nearly a fifth (19%) of businesses now offer ëageí incentives such as part time working to encourage experienced staff to continue into their later years

Workers put to the test
The research asked employers to rate workers under 25, those aged 26 to 49 and those aged 50 against a list of workplace ëassetsí including technological know-how, written and verbal skills, people skills, reliability & timekeeping.

Techno-friendly
Despite assumptions that the 50 workforce are less adept than younger colleagues when it comes to mastering office technology, 52% of bosses say older employees are just as capable. Only a small minority (9%) of older workers are described by bosses as electronic ëludditesí ñ those actively opposed to new technology in the workplace.

CU L8Ör
Politeness and timekeeping also feature on the list of proís for employing older workers. Over half of those questioned (56%) agree older workers have better manners, while 76% confirm older workers (26 to 49 & 50 ) are most likely to be at their desk on time at the start of the working day.

Crossing the Tís Ö.
When it comes to dotting Iís and crossing Tís almost half of employers (44%) say the over 50ís have the most proficient written skills, closely followed by the 26 to 49 age group (40%). Despite this, managers report a general overall decline when it comes to formal written skills in the workplace:

Two thirds (65%) have noticed a shift in the range of vocabulary used by workers of all ages, recognising influences from todayís cyber world, such as text short cuts and e-mail jargon

Nearly 9 out of ten (89%) employers believe the workplace grasp of English grammar is worse now than it was 15 years ago

41% cite the misuse of the apostrophe S as the biggest grammatical workplace sin

More than half (52%) are frustrated by having to constantly correct workers with poor spelling skills - even with the support of technological spell checkers

Commenting on the findings, Paulís Jacobs, Managing Director of Office Angels said: ìHomogeneity doesnít equal harmony at work. The most successful business managers recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce ñ where a variety of skills, personalities and perspectives, regardless of age, combine to create a productive and happy working environment.î

He continued: ìThe days of ëa job for lifeí are dead and gone. People move much more frequently than they used to and employers are increasingly recognising that someone aged 50 still has 15 years potential service to offer. Undoubtedly ageism remains an issue in the workplace, but itís heartening to see that attitudes may slowly be changing. The key for anyone employing new staff is to look at the skills needed for a role and to hire the best person to fill that gap, regardless of age ñ great recruitment really is as simple as that.î