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Elderly can Still Bag a Decent Job
By Tricia Phillips, Mirror
England
January 20, 2005
When Dick Stanners retired at the age of 76 after a long and fulfilling career as an electrician - he thought he'd take it easy.
But after spending a year decorating his home near Crawley, Sussex - he was bored.
He decided to return to work, but feared that like many older people he'd struggle to find employment.
However, like more and more people his age, he found a job in the retail sector - acting as a shopping assistant for the elderly, the disabled and parents with children in his local Tesco.
Dick, now 82, says: "The ideas is that I make their shopping trip easier and turn it into an enjoyable experience.
"If I can help them out by getting the things they need, pack their bags and make them laugh along the way, then I'm a happy man."
With his cheerful manner and natural way with people, Dick is living proof that life doesn't have to stop at 65.
"Tesco understands that older people can bring their own special set of skills to the workplace, in particular a greater understanding of people drawn from years of experience," he says.
Tesco isn't the only top-name retailer proving that having a workforce of all ages is good for business.
Asda is one of Britain's biggest employers of older workers. It has 22,357 over-50s working for them.
HR Director David Smith says: "We are proud of our older workers, they bring with them a wealth of experience that is a valuable contribution to our business."
He says that since increasing its numbers of older workers ASDA has seen absenteeism drop to a third below the national average, staff turnover rates have lowered and they have a better motivated workforce.
B&Q chief executive Rob Cissell agrees. "Our work-force comes from a diverse age range and that reflects our customer profile.
"Older workers have a great rapport with customers, as well as a conscientious attitude and real enthusiasm for the job."
If you're over 50 and looking for job opportunities, check out the large retailers in your area. Many have flexible retirement policies, enabling employees to work beyond retirement age and they have various packages designed to suit the lifestyles of older workers.
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