How to handle the aging of the staff?

The National Institute for Older Adults points out that, both companies and society, we must stop associating productivity and creativity only with the young population.

Less than 10% of the labor market in Mexico is made up of a population 60 years of age or older. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), of the almost 5.5 million elderly people who work in the country's companies, the vast majority, 62%, earn less than two minimum wages.

The employment situation of this group "is typical of countries with an incipient demographic aging," says the National Institute for Older Persons (Inapam) in the document Employment in the face of demographic aging: How to guarantee the right to work for people older adults?

With a weakened pension system, "there is an increase in the informal labor market and unfavorable working conditions that put their integrity at risk" and hinder access to quality housing, food, clothing and health services, the institute acknowledges. Contrary to what happens with younger people, in this population there are more women in the labor market, since they represent 67%; men, 23 percent.

This is because life expectancy for women in Mexico is 78 years and 72 years for men. However, another factor that affects this female employment rate is that informality and low wages affect women more throughout their lives, which is why many find it necessary to continue working in their old age. .

It is also true that many people over 60 years of age wish to continue to be active and exercise their right to work, which is why it is necessary to guarantee them the best conditions to do so. In addition to good salaries and social security, it is necessary to discard stereotypes that they cannot perform novel tasks.

“Helping older workers keep their jobs is not a matter of compassion. It is about not losing a valuable resource and also about protecting these workers from discrimination in the workplace,” says the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Practical recommendations for companies

Demographic aging is a global phenomenon, points out Inapam. That is why governments, private initiative and society must prepare themselves with age management policies, that is, identify "the requirements for resources and services", including work, he adds.

In this context, Inapam recommends:

• Guarantee access to formal, decent, safe jobs with a gender and human rights approach
• Strengthen and extend the current pension system
• Strengthen economic transfer programs or non-contributory pensions
• Train public and private entities on the aging process to prevent violence, discrimination and labor exclusion.
• Recognize the skills, aptitudes, knowledge and experience that older adults can contribute to work
• Break the paradigm that relates productivity as an inherent value to youth
• Create job placement programs that encourage the participation of women from their productive age.

Some suggestions from the ILO are:

• Provide them with sick leave and paid family leave
• Flexible work hours and retraining programs
• Governments can offer companies incentives to retain these workers.

“Older workers who lose their jobs may need to acquire new skills to compete in a tight labor market,” says the ILO in the note How to ensure that older workers participate fully in the recovery after the pandemic.

In this sense, it is necessary that the training be permanent, so that any person, when they reach old age, does not find themselves faced with the problem of not having the skills that the labor market is requesting.

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