It is far too soon after the iniquity of the default retirement age was brought to an end to be wishing for a return to enforced retirement (The have-it-all generation has to be told when to quit, 5 August). We and others fought long and hard to articulate the strong business case for age-diverse workforces. It is retrograde to see older workers referred to as desk-blocking new talent. There is much evidence across business of the benefits that younger workers derive from having older workers around as mentors and contributing their skills and experience and indeed, in a fast-paced technology-driven world, of the benefits older workers derive from having younger workers around.
Organisations benefit from having workforces that reflect the demographics of the customer bases they serve, and with a diversity of thoughts and ideas. By 2030 the EU working-age population will have shrunk by 4%. So its a business imperative to encourage age-diverse employment we need as many people as possible, young and old, to be active in the labour market if our economy is to be healthy and competitive.
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