This desire helps explain the finding by Stanford University researchers that, compared to younger employees, older ones are more interested in assisting colleagues. In the study, participants were asked to report their work-period helping activities for five typical days. Instructions were, “Some examples of helping include but are not limited to: providing advice or information, listening to others’ problems, and helping someone complete a work task.”
Participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 78 years. Data analysis showed that older age was associated with more time spent on helping activities. Other data collection and analyses indicated that older workers derive more emotional satisfaction from helping coworkers than do younger workers. Because experienced employees would be expected to have thorough knowledge of their jobs, an implication for managers is to allow older workers to serve in training and mentorship roles.
The study findings are true in the aggregate. Among older workers, there are surely those who you’d choose not to assign training duties because they lack skills in or enthusiasm for training adults. In addition, you might be concerned that the older workers lack the latest job skills. Moreover, the elderly tend to reject ideas and practices differing from their own to a greater extent than do younger adults.
Relevant to this, participants in the Stanford study had been asked to report their work-period learning activities, described as including, but not limited to, “working alone or with others to develop new ideas, performing new tasks, and receiving feedback from colleagues.”
Analysis of these responses indicated that older workers were as likely as younger workers to keep learning on the job. However, the evidence is that they enjoy the learning less than do their younger counterparts. These findings can be understood in the context of older workers feeling a loyalty to their organization—so they continue to learn what’s required—but having less enthusiasm about mastering what will be most useful in the relatively distant future, since they perceive that the duration of their life is limited.
Here, too, assigning training responsibilities to the older employees helps. They are then learning not so much for their own distant future as for the distant future of their trainees, developing a legacy.
Successfully influence the most prosperous & most loyal consumer age group. For the specific strategies & tactics you need, click here.
Click for more…
Resolve Identity Crises for the Elderly
No comments:
Post a Comment