Ep. 453: Top Sixty Over Sixty
Guest: Helen Hirsh Spence, Top Sixty Over Sixty
“‘Sorry, you’re too old. Sorry, you’re too experienced. Sorry. Sorry, but we’re looking for someone younger who will stay with us longer.’
“These are just some of the reasons employers use to overlook talented over 60 applicants,” says Helen Hirsh Spence of Top Sixty Over Sixty. The mission, according to the organization’s website, is to “provide tools and training to address ageism and promote age diversity in the workplace.”
Organizations that turn their back on workers over 60 are doing themselves a disservice. According to a Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health study, “Older workers are skilled and experienced, they stay with jobs longer and take fewer days off, they have a strong work ethic and they demonstrate [that] age-diverse workplaces make for the best teams.”
The study goes on to point out that “older workers attract more business.” Remarkably, tourism companies that employ older workers appeal to older tourists who have the greatest amount of discretionary income. The study points out that “the Upper West Side of New York Apple store strategically places older workers toward the front of the store so customers who might be overwhelmed by technology feel more comfortable.”
We invited Helen Hirsh Spence of Top Sixty Over Sixty to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the benefits to businesses that are age smart.
Want to learn more about our guest?
Check out their profile on our partnered program, Careers That Matter!
