Age is just a number, keep valuable old employees

You probably know this proverb: “Old is gold”. Those familiar with the wine-making process understand the proverb even better. They appreciate the fact that the longer the wine stays, the better it becomes. There are many examples out there that demonstrate that “old” people or things are more valuable.

Yesterday, there was an advertisement in Mwananchi. A certain company is searching for retired professionals from a myriad fields. With our lifespan improving with each decade, there are more people who reach retirement age while still in very good health.

Were it not for the legal limit, these retirees could very well continue contributing to the institutions and organisations they have been working with for many more years. We commend the company that has rightly seen the treasure that is senior citizens in our society.

Contrary to what some think, older employees do not block job opportunities for their younger counterparts. Indeed, there are many things the latter can do to earn a living besides waiting for positions held by their elders. There are many young people today starting their own companies, engaging in innovative undertakings and getting rewarded fairly handsomely. All that the younger generation needs is to overcome the fear of venturing into the unknown, especially in this era of technology that keeps changing our lives in positive ways.

We lose a great deal in terms of expertise, experience and guidance because we are too rigid on the retirement age. More often than not, academic and health institutions retain their retired employees. They hang on to them so they can continue benefitting from their expertise and experience—all of it collected and nurtured over time.

Looking around these days, we see lower performance and quality compromised—all because we are eager to capitalise on new blood that is supposedly better educated than the older folks.

It is time we changed our mindset and looked at the value that professionals can bring to our firms, irrespective of their age. We just need to remember that age is just a number.