Older professionals have much to offer in today’s multigenerational workplace, but many continue to experience the ill effects of negative attitudes and bias
As Honorary Treasurer and Interim Chair of Age Action Ireland, Colm Nagle, FCA, continues to apply the experience honed over the course of a 45-year career begun in 1979 when he joined Stokes Kennedy Crowley as a trainee.
The longest-serving director of Age Action Ireland, the national advocacy organisation for older people and ageing in Ireland, Nagle is proud of his ongoing contribution to its work, in particular its annual Positive Ageing Week.
Kicking off this year on 30 September and continuing through the first week of October, Positive Ageing Week (PAW) celebrates the contributions of older people and promotes their agency.
As the dust settles on another successful PAW, which this year featured over 500 events around the country, Nagle is turning his attention to other priorities on the agenda of Age Action Ireland, which has published two annual State of Ageing reports since 2022, highlighting the reality of growing older in Ireland.
“Age discrimination is often under-represented in discussions of diversity, equity and inclusion, and, in the workplace, ‘age’ is often left out of company’s DE&I policies and initiatives,” Nagle says.
“So far in our culture, we just have not had the same conversations and awareness-raising around ageism that we have had around other forms of discrimination. People haven’t learned to stop and think about ageing or question implicit beliefs they might have internalised.”
The World Health Organisation’s Global Report on Ageism, published in 2021, found ageism to be a prevalent and serious form of discrimination.
“The report demonstrated that we come to accept ageist beliefs from as young as four years old, and that these beliefs – about ourselves and others – can have seriously negative consequences, including worse health outcomes,” Nagle says.
There is, he adds, evidence suggesting that ageism is especially sharply felt in the labour field.
“Age Action’s ‘Are We Ageist’ poll found that unemployed persons were most likely to report recently experiencing age discrimination,” Nagle says.
“Ageism is also known to interact with and compound other forms of discrimination like misogyny, classism or ableism, and so, to effectively eliminate these kinds of discrimination, we must also be aware of what ageism is and how it works.”
A priority for Age Action is to involve everyone in our society in the project of reframing ageing and changing how we think, act, and feel about older persons.
Rethinking mandatory retirement age
Many people now are living more active lives well into retirement age and want to defer full retirement for as long as possible.
“Fundamental to all of us continuing to have choice and control over our employment as we age is the existence of mandatory retirement clauses in contracts,” Nagle says.
“Currently, our Equality Acts make an explicit exemption that allows for this kind of age discrimination, so that people can be forced to leave their jobs for no other reason than that they have reached a certain age. This is based on harmful stereotypes of older persons, that deny their skills and capacity.”
Mandatory retirement implies that in older age, we are all the same, Nagle says. “It is deeply concerning that through our laws, the State is currently legitimising these kinds of ageist beliefs. It forces older persons out of workplaces and thus contributes to social exclusion,” he says.
“At Age Action, we have spoken to people who, 10 or 20 years on, are still angry and hurt by having been forced to retire.
“We have long campaigned for the abolition of mandatory retirement and, in April, we made our case before the Oireachtas Committee on Employment, which subsequently recommended it be abolished.
“It has already been outlawed in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US, in some cases for decades, and their labour markets are still functional and productive.”
Negative bias and discrimination
Well before retirement age, professionals can feel the negative effects of unhelpful biases as they mature through their careers.
Seventy-five percent of respondents in the most recent Workplace Equality Study published by Matrix Recruitment identified ageism as an issue in today’s workplace.
More than two-thirds, meanwhile, said workers over the age of 50 have fewer promotional opportunities then their younger colleagues, up 19 percent points on the previous year’s findings.
Commenting on the findings, Kieran McKeown, Managing Director of Matrix Recruitment, said they were “hugely disappointing.”
“There is a widespread view that professionals aged over 50 have fewer promotional opportunities than their younger colleagues, but the reality is actually quite the opposite,” McKeown says.
“On a more positive note, the majority of respondents surveyed (89%) agreed that people over the age of 50 have as much to contribute to the workplace as those under 40, and this is an opinion we, at Matrix Recruitment agree with, given the calibre of the candidates we speak to on a daily basis in this age group.”
Despite this, McKeown believes older and more experienced professionals in the Irish market remain something of an “untapped talent pool.”
“It is quite a complex issue but there appears to be an unconscious bias against older candidates and a poor understanding of, or appreciation for, what they can bring to a workplace,” he says.
“There is a view – a misguided one, in my opinion – that if you are older, you are less likely than your younger peers to be considered capable, adaptable or willing to embrace something new.
“We are living in a digital age in which transformation is constant. Given that half of our respondents were of the view that more mature candidates may not have ‘21st century’ IT and digitalisation skills, it is likely that employers think the same way.
“In my experience, the over-50s are highly skilled and actively embrace technological change. Together with their years of experience, this is a group whose contribution to the workplace cannot be underestimated.
“Of course, how people in their 50s are perceived varies greatly from person to person but populations are aging, working lives are lengthening and graduates are joining the workforce later – so 50 is young.”
The Matrix Recruitment Workplace Equality Study found that mature workers were considered to have better life skills and those aged over 50 were also rated higher when it came to mentoring and guiding colleagues.
“Forty-eight percent of our respondents consider mature employees to be more reliable workers than their younger cohorts, who statistically are more likely to job hop,” McKeown says.
“Employers find that there are lower staff attrition rates with more mature workers who also have strong interpersonal skills and an equally strong work ethic. And of course, they bring to the workplace years of life experience alongside the expertise they have built up in other roles.”
The biggest challenges facing older candidates in today’s job market often “come from within,” McKeown says.
“Losing confidence, feeling they are too old to move job or upskill – or simply not knowing how to go about driving change – are all barriers we see among candidates in this age group,” he says.
“I would encourage anyone considering a career or job move to speak to a recruitment expert. We can help identify any gaps in their skill set or job spec and help them recognise and promote their transferrable skills.
“There are also lots of tools, such as LinkedIn, which can help individuals stay on top of industry trends and grow their network and connections.
“At Matrix Recruitment we have supported and placed dozens of candidates over the age of 50, including those looking for a new job, a different career or re-entering the workforce after many years. My advice is to get off that fence, speak to an expert and go for it!”
Liberation from the rat race
For Pat Barker, FCA, sitting on the fence has never been an option. A trailblazer for women in the profession, Barker sat her accounting exams in 1973, becoming only the 20th female Chartered Accountant in Ireland.
“I didn’t have a master plan, but seemed to rocket from one opportunity to another,” she says now.
“Generally, I was offered chances and I probably said ‘yes’ to too many and found myself active all the time. Luckily, I am fit and healthy and had lots of energy, and I reflect back on a very packed work and non-work life.”
Barker served her articles with Stokes Bros & Pim in Dublin and then relocated to the UK for a time, becoming Partner with an accounting firm in Manchester and working at Manchester University as a Principal Lecturer.
She was appointed Lecturer at Dublin City University in 1980 and progressed to Senior Lecturer, Associate Dean of the Business School and Vice-President, Academic. Today, Barker continues to lecture in business ethics at DCU.
“When you get older, you are liberated from the competition of your career trajectory and you must then decide, ‘What am I going to do now? Am I going to take up golf and play bridge and drink Chardonnay in the afternoon?” she says.
“I thought about that and decided it wasn’t for me and the joy for me in continuing to lecture and to serve on boards is that I no longer feel the need to prove myself through my work.
“I do not want to lose my capacity – my skills – as a Chartered Accountant. I do not want to stop applying these skills. I want to continue learning about what interests me, and to apply what I learn in the work I do.
“That professional decision-making and problem-solving part of me continues to matter enormously to me and, these days, it is enhanced by an ethical overview. Continuing to work when you are older and out of the rat race is a kind of liberation.”
Benefits of a multigenerational workforce
With an ageing population, longer life expectancy and delayed retirement, workplaces in Ireland are becoming increasingly multigenerational, says Dee France, Wellbeing Lead with Thrive, Chartered Accountants Ireland’s wellbeing hub.
“Fostering a positive age culture is crucial to the Irish workforce and its future, but the importance and value of older employees in their workplace can be seriously overlooked,” France says.
“An ageing workforce isn’t a burden; it is an opportunity and there are many business benefits to having a multigenerational workforce.
“With age comes a wealth of experience and with skill and labour shortages reported, employers should not overlook older employees but focus instead on actively retaining and retraining them to address growing talent shortages.”
As France sees it, older workers bring an abundance of knowledge, experience and skills that can be invaluable to employers.
“Longer periods in the working environment allow employees to acquire and cultivate significant soft skills that are often so important and beneficial to both the company and younger employees – interpersonal and communication skills, for example, problem-solving and critical thinking along with other leadership qualities and abilities,” she says.
Supporting and advocating for age-inclusivity
By supporting and advocating for an age-inclusive environment, employers can retain these important qualities in teams, ensure knowledge transfer and provide meaningful and symbiotic mentorship opportunities.
“Failure to address the needs of an ageing workforce is a common issue when employers look to implement supportive work practices,” France says.
“In this digital era, there can be preconceived notions and age-related assumptions surrounding older workers, such as their ability to embrace digital transformation, reluctance to adopt new processes and ways of working, or difficulty shifting to changes in company culture.
“Many employers can also overlook the importance of providing flexible working arrangements for older employees, making it easier for them to remain in the workforce.”
It is crucial to implement policies that allow accommodations for an ageing workforce for part-time work, job-sharing or remote working, France says.
“I would also advise considering phased retirement plans that allow employees to reduce their working hours gradually while maintaining a connection to the workforce.
“This approach can improve retention and reduce stress, allowing employees to continue contributing to the business for longer.”
Supporting older workers: advice for employers
Embracing age inclusivity is not just a social matter, it is a business matter too, writes Dee France.
As Ireland’s demographics evolve, businesses must adapt and embrace the potential an age-diverse workforce can unlock.
Creating a culture of belonging to foster equitable, inclusive and thriving workplaces that value diversity, including age diversity, is key to supporting a growing workforce.
Employers should actively promote age-friendly policies, avoid reinforcing stereotypes and encourage intergenerational collaboration by fostering mentorship programs that allow employees to share their generational knowledge, creating a mutually beneficial learning environment.
Employers should also develop and prioritise well-being initiatives that support an ageing workforce.
Offering health insurance benefits, wellness programs and access to resources like mental health support or fitness programs can significantly improve employees’ quality of life.
Additional tailoring of benefits such as regular health check-ins and adjusting job demands to accommodate any limitations an individual may have, can help ensure that employees can continue working comfortably.
Supporting the well-being of older workers through tailored policies on health, flexibility and career development can help them stay engaged and productive, ultimately benefiting the wider organisation.
Positive ageing initiatives can also help reduce turnover, increase job satisfaction and enhance loyalty within the organisation.
Positive ageing in the Irish workforce is not just a trend but a critical component of building a resilient, productive and inclusive workplace.
Employers must recognise the value of older employees and take proactive steps to support them.
By addressing common pitfalls and adopting best practices, employers can create a work environment in which workers aged over 55 feel valued, supported and empowered to continue contributing to the success of the organisation.
Dee France is Wellbeing Lead with Thrive, Chartered Accountants Ireland’s dedicated wellbeing hub
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