A Fondness For Gray Hair
In a reversal, it's a better time to be a mature job seeker
Neil Lebovits, president of Ajilon Professional Staffing, a subsidiary of temp giant Adecco, says such stories are being repeated across the country. "Older workers will work for less," says Lebovits. "The pendulum has swung. Two years ago, generation X-ers were insisting on the world, and a lot of companies gave in to them. Now they are being replaced with older workers who are much more easygoing and flexible."
Hard-eyed financial calculations were also behind Home Depot's tie-up with AARP. In today's slack job market, Home Depot has no shortage of applicants for its $7-to-$20-an-hour jobs, but older workers are more amenable to odd schedules, have lower absenteeism, and stay twice as long on the job, says Cindy Milburn, senior director of staffing. "Their benefits far outweigh their costs," she adds.
Several other employers, including carmakers, government agencies, and other retailers, are now negotiating for a chance to solicit applications from AARP members this year, says Emily Allen, assistant national director of the group's job training program. And she's optimistic that demand for older workers might eventually start to outstrip supply--driving wages back up, since the Department of Labor has predicted a labor shortage by 2010.
If she's right, with their longer life expectancies, today's older workers just might live long enough to give a whole new meaning to the phrase "golden years."
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