Lab Log

Power to the people

20.03.2009

David Brindle in February's Public magazine related how today's businesses and organisations are coming to rue the day they let managers retire early or head for the door marked 'consultant' well in advance of their 65th or even 60th birthday.

David Brindle in February's Public magazine related how today's businesses and organisations are coming to rue the day they let managers retire early or head for the door marked 'consultant' well in advance of their 65th or even 60th birthday.

An active old age is good for society

Why? Because quite simply they are missing out on a wealth of expertise and knowledge in managing through a downturn. Many of today's managers were not even eligible to vote during the last recession. 
 
But though they see the problem, many employers don't know what to do about it. Older workers are only interested in staying on on their own terms - which often these days means a desire to go part-time, work from home or enjoy much more flexible arrangements so they can fit in all the good things life owes them.

So how to break this impasse? We all depend on overcoming this barrier because an active old age is good for society, as well as individuals and business self-interest. Without a profound adjustment, an explosion in the numbers of older people (there are now more over 60s in the UK than there are young people) will bankrupt health and social care services within the decade. Some cast dire warnings of serious intergenerational conflict.

The Lab has a hunch that involving older people in finding solutions is going to be key. In fact people powered innovation is something we're increasingly passionate about. If we start going with the grain of people's own motivations and ingenuity, we might just innovate our way out of the challenges we face.