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Employers can't afford to ax mature workers, say researchers:
In a new article in the Australian Journal of Management, researchers warn employers not to make hasty decisions in either dismissing or discounting the input of older workers.
"Employers are well known for targeting mature workers when downsizing their workforce—but this might be a costly mistake," says Dr. Valerie Caines.
She notes that governments can also overlook the value of older workers, as shown by the SA Government recently pulling its funding to DOME (the Don't Overlook Mature Experience training organization), which provided valuable support services to mature job seekers.
"A common mistake is to think of mature workers as all being the same," says Dr. Caines. "There is huge variation among mature workers' motivations, capabilities and needs. Their experience is especially valuable now, because mature workers can offer considerable value to an organization during a crisis and play an important role in helping a business progress to the 'next normal.'"
Dr. Caines says older workers may also hold the solution for filling employment gaps in organizations, due to diverse skill sets they have developed through their working life.
"Mature adults demonstrate considerable resilience," she says. "The aspect of role modeling resilience is an especially important influence on younger workers. It includes mature coping strategies, emotional intelligence and empathy—and these attributes have never been more important in the workforce."
Journal Reference:
Valerie Dawn Caines et al. Older workers: Past, present and future, Australian Journal of Management (2020). DOI: 10.1177/0312896220918912
(Score: 3, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday June 30 2020, @04:21PM (15 children)
It is well known that firing your experience employees and (maybe) replacing them with low-cost junior workers or outsourcing tends to wreck companies.
The CxO that is making the downsize decision simply doesn't care if the company has long-term viability. All they care about is getting their million dollar bonus at the end of quarter 2 for making it seem like the company is profitable by cutting half their workforce. Who cares if the stock price goes through the floor in quarter 3 and 4? They will get their contract buyout either way.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday June 30 2020, @04:35PM (7 children)
This exact same thing was true in the early 1980s. Is we learning yet?
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 30 2020, @05:19PM
Yes, the message has spread almost everywhere.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday June 30 2020, @06:01PM
So long as businessmen look up to, and show respect for MBA degree holders, we haven't learned a damned thing.
To be considered a Master of Business Administration, one should have developed his own company, and seen it traded in the stock markets. Anything less is obviously not a master of administration.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 30 2020, @07:05PM (3 children)
Others got rich by privatizing the profits, while socializing the risks and losses.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday June 30 2020, @07:45PM (2 children)
Some, not all, people believe: What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose their soul?
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 3, Touché) by cmdrklarg on Tuesday June 30 2020, @08:09PM
I'll give you one guess which group the vulture capitalists belong in.
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 01 2020, @03:07PM
Because that man gets to profit off the backs of all the other people who still believe they have a soul.
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Tuesday June 30 2020, @08:07PM
Of course they've learned. They've learned that it works smashingly well for them to rake in the money.
What? Who said that long term company viability was even on the table?
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday June 30 2020, @06:25PM (6 children)
I worked for a publicly traded (penny stock) company that laid off all employees in Q3, when the Q3 reports hit the wires the stock price doubled presumably due to the lower expense numbers but the text was in there, albeit obscurely buried, about the layoff and cessation of all activities. Amounted to a $10K bonus for me when the stock jumped like that - so I'm not complaining, but... what kind of idiots buy these stocks on this kind of news?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by sjames on Tuesday June 30 2020, @09:32PM
That is an often repeated story and it's quite telling. Wall Street LOVES layoffs. They'd unemploy the whole country if they could.
(Score: 2) by toddestan on Tuesday June 30 2020, @10:33PM (1 child)
The kind of people who think they can dump it on someone else for more money than they paid for it. That someone else may or may not know it's worthless, but they'll buy it because they think they too can dump it on someone else for more money than they paid for it. And so on. Eventually someone will be left holding the bag, but as long as there's buyers who think it won't be them, then the stock will still trade.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday June 30 2020, @11:26PM
Prior to the layoffs we were seeking investment - more than 80% of the potential investors were looking at us as a pump and dump scheme.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday July 01 2020, @01:08AM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday July 01 2020, @03:01AM
Our "investor" suitors believed they had it all figured out: advertise the investment, the stock jumps, they cash out with more than they invested, and the company gets left with some residual cash, while the other shareholders get stuck with the tab. It really is a zero-sum game, you hope that you can spark a sales fire with the residual cash and make the shareholders whole - but unless that happens, they just got screwed and the "investors" rake in another 50% ROI in 3 months or less.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday July 01 2020, @01:20PM
The same kind of idiots that cause flash-crashes when the rumor of a stock price going up causes people to buy it and then actually go up. Which of course leads to a house of cards that results in a crash.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh