Mature Workers:
1. Case studies from the workplace
With the Australian workforce changing rapidly, more and more employers are recognising the benefits that older workers bring to their organisation: experience, reliability, dependability, to name a few.
As these stories show, older workers are making a positive impact in workplaces right across the country. And there are just as many examples of employers who are giving them training, support and opportunities to pursue their goals.
Employees
Employers
1.1 Phillip Zuber
“It was a re-direction, not a redundancy”
- Listen to Phillip describe the first few weeks in his new job [mp3, 800kb ]
When Phillip Zuber was made redundant after 38 years service with the same company, he bought a boat and went fishing.
“I spent a month in full time retirement,” he says. “I was really despondent. At 52 it was hard to be told that you’d reached your use by date.”
A close friend encouraged Phillip to put away the fishing rod and keep looking for other opportunities. “He said it wasn’t retirement, it wasn’t redundancy – it was a re-direction. I didn’t realise at the time how true those words were.”
Within a month Phillip’s wife and daughter had encouraged him to apply for the position of handyman with Baptist Community Services. An aircraft fitter and sheet metal worker by training, and later a senior executive, Phillip knew he had the skills to do the job. But that didn’t stop him being anxious.
“I was afraid of being rejected. I’d heard an awful lot about people of my age applying for hundreds of jobs and not getting anywhere,” he said.
“I felt I was about to enter a competition where the odds were against me. To be honest, I was used to sitting on the other side of the table employing people.”
Despite the nerves, Phillip’s openness and people-skills impressed the interview panel. He got the job.
For the last two years he has been working in the homes of the elderly and people with disabilities carrying out repairs and making modifications. He says his age and experience has been an enormous advantage when it comes to working with a diverse group of clients.
“I’ve got the ability to slow down and have time for people these days. I’m not sure I would have been able to do that in my younger years – I always had too much to do.”
The job has also stretched him to keep learning, from working on his carpentry skills to navigating his way around a new district.
“I used to go into the same office every day. But no two days are the same here. I love taking in all the new information. It’s incredibly stimulating.”
The home maintenance team at Baptist Community Services is an even mix of younger and older workers, a combination Phillip enjoys and one he believes helps to deliver positive results for clients.
“I have some physical limitations at my age and some of the younger fellows don’t have the skills,” he says. “But that’s the benefit of having a balanced team – there’s no job we can’t do when we put our ideas and experiences together.”
1.2 Nicola Stuart
“I can do far more than I ever thought”
- Listen to Nicola describe what she brings to the workplace [mp3, 600kb ]
When her youngest child reached the end of primary school, Nicola Stuart decided it was time to take on a new challenge and re-enter the workforce.
“I left school at 15, worked for a couple of years, got married and then spent the next part of my life travelling with my husband’s work,” she says. “I had no work experience to speak of, although, after raising three children in three different countries, I had very strong project management skills.”
Nicola enrolled in a “returning to work” course at a local TAFE college, which helped her to brush up on general work skills and, just as importantly, helped build her confidence.
“My major concern was going into an office and looking as though I didn’t know anything. If someone said to me, ‘Go and do this spreadsheet’, could I do it? That was a really scary thing,” she said.
“I was lucky, however, because I got a job through my work experience placement, which was a huge boost for my confidence.”
After a year working on a casual basis, Nicola applied for a part-time administrative position with Creata, a leading promotions and marketing company. Six years later she has a full time position coordinating the organisation’s inventory.
Nicola says the company made that transition easier by helping her to balance work and family life.
“When I went full time I said that I needed to finish by 4pm and they were happy to support me. They were conscious that my son was still at school, so there was no pressure if I had to go home because something happened or if I needed to take him to the doctor or dentist.”
In return, Nicola feels her practical, down-to-earth approach is helping deliver results for the company.
“Being that little bit older means that I’m generally fairly relaxed about things and can put things in perspective,” she says.
“I’m quite calm, I don’t fluster particularly easily and I make sure that the work gets done on time.”
Nicola has also become proficient using a range of database and financial systems.
“I’m learning all the time,” she says. “While I’ve built up a lot of knowledge over the last six years, there are still lots of times where I go ‘Oh, I’ve never done that before’. It’s a part of the job that I really enjoy.”
On a personal level, her return to the workforce has also taught her a lot about herself.
“I’ve learnt that I’m good at what I do. I’ve learnt that I can do far more than I ever thought I could.”
1.3 Keith Stevenson and
Christina Mylonas
“I can’t train those skills”
Keith Stevenson wasn’t happy. Sitting on an interview panel to employ a handyman with Baptist Community Services, he had the next applicant pegged as a ‘suit’.
“I turned to Christina, the centre manager, and told her this was an hour of my life I wouldn’t get back,” he recalls.
Phillip Zuber, 52, an aircraft fitter and sheet metal worker, had spent the last part of his career working as a senior manager. In Keith’s books that meant he wouldn’t want to get his hands dirty on a job.
“I needed someone who would get in there and do the toilet leaks and the sewer chokes – there was no way this guy would be interested in doing that.”
Christina Mylonas saw things differently. She knew that the job, working with the frail aged and people with disabilities, needed someone who also had a genuine interest in people.
“In Phil’s application I saw a mature person who wasn’t looking for a job because they wanted a job,” she said. “This was someone who had consciously made a decision to change direction, and that interested me.”
Throughout the course of the next hour, Phil’s practical skills and people skills won over the interview panel. From a field of 40 applicants, Phil was offered the job.
“At the back of my mind I did have some concerns about Phil’s age – being a handyman is physically demanding work,” said Christina. “The question was: was Phil worth the risk? And we decided that he was.”
In the two years since there’s only been one occasion where he’s had to ask for help.
“We were pouring a concrete path and Phil said he had concerns about barrowing the concrete, which was giving him lower back pain,” says Keith. “The team were happy to cover that part of the job for him.”
In return Phil has used his years of experience as a welder to support his colleagues.
“As an accredited trainer the value of the in-house training he gives us is priceless,” says Keith. “The whole team, myself included, has learnt a huge amount from him.”
“And the clients absolutely love him,” says Christina. “While he’s mending the toilet or fixing a tap, he’s able to take the time to listen to them. That’s often a skill that comes with experience.”
According to Keith, many clients won’t have anyone else in their home.
“When Phil goes into a client’s home he also checks to see that if they’re able to look after themselves properly or if they need extra help. If they need other services then he’ll seek them out.
“That’s a special attribute. I can’t train that. I can’t buy that. And I’m lucky enough to have that with Phil.”
1.4 Cassie Lee
“Age is irrelevant – we get the right person”
“When it comes to recruitment age is not a consideration for us,” says Cassie Lee, a senior manager with promotions and marketing firm Creata. “It all comes down to the person and how their experience fits the job at hand.”
This is no empty rhetoric. The company’s two Australian offices currently employ 81 people, with 40% of staff aged over 35.
“People come to the organisation with a wide variety of life experiences and work experiences,” says Cassie. “It’s a mix that creates a positive feel around the workplace, as well as ensuring we have a well balanced team that can get the job done.”
Nicola Stuart is one of the growing number of mature workers employed by Creata. She re-entered the workforce when her youngest child started high school and has been with the organisation for the past six years.
In that time she’s progressed from a part-time administrative role to a full time position controlling the company’s inventory. According to Cassie, Nicola’s maturity and commitment has been a major asset for the organisation.
“She also has a great ability to adapt to a variety of situations and she takes on any challenge that she’s given.”
Qualities, Cassie says, which make Nicola an ideal role model and mentor for others.
“Mature workers like Nicola often do really well because they have a lot of life experience and work experience to draw on. That experience is something valuable they can share with younger staff.”
In the current environment of strong employment, retaining quality employees is a critical issue for many companies. According to Cassie, an important first step is to get to know staff members as individuals and find out what is important to them.
“Many workers today – both younger and older – are after a job that helps them to balance other responsibilities or commitments. They might have families, they might be studying or they might have other interests they want to pursue.
“Companies need to look at how they can accommodate these preferences. It could be something as simple as providing a job on a part time basis, offering shorter hours or working out a job-share arrangement.”
Helping employees to strike the right balance creates a “win-win” situation for everyone, says Cassie.
“If a person feels valued by the organisation, if they’re happy in their job and the people around them at work are happy, then you can be pretty confident that the company will be performing well.
