Towards age-friendly workplaces

Is Singapore moving in the right direction with its mature workers? What are the challenges of facilitating an age-friendly workplace and how can they be overcome?

AGE discrimination can affect people of all ages and at every stage of their working life. However, there are three very good reasons why employers need to focus on the issue of older people at work:

·  the working population in Singapore is getting older;

·  people are working longer; and

·  we need to embrace equal employment opportunity, workplace diversity and inclusion.

Human resource strategic planning can help in reviewing the way people are treated at key stages such as recruitment, promotion, training, redundancy and retirement.

How then can older people be given a fair chance? HR and people managers can start by asking the following questions: Why should I take age seriously? How do I recruit older workers? How do I avoid stereotyping? How do I plan for future challenges?

Effective communication with older workers means focusing on training, career planning, performance appraisal and engaging them at large. Top management and leadership can take a strategic view on career and workforce planning which helps to address different career stages from recruitment right through to retirement.

Employers may even consider finding it worthwhile thinking about open job description, lateral growth and a mentoring role of older employees, to help develop and coach the younger generation to handle complex assignments.

Mentoring is about an older worker becoming a role model to a younger worker. The older worker is able to pass on his skills and offer support and encouragement.

Mentoring is an ideal way of hanging onto the huge investment in older employees, leveraging on their skills and expertise for the benefits of a multi-generational workforce.