Over the past month I’ve had chats with five old friends or friends of friends who have started to become desperate for work. All are males; all 65 or older. Each is college educated, one with a MBA from Wharton.
I’ve thought for years that our society favors males, especially in the first half of life. Today’s women, on the other hand, seem to flourish in the second half.
It is certainly too simplistic to say that our society’s assigned task in life for men is to work, and for women to have and rear the next generation, but for many of us, that essence rings true. The Second Half’s big challenge, until this most recent economic downturn, has been in learning how to re-define ourselves in our post-work and post-child rearing second half of our life.
For men, over the past half century, our post-work, 60+ years have multiplied. We’re living 15 and 20 years longer than our dads and granddads. For many, urges to fish or golf wear off, 10-15 years before our end of life. What then?
Today’s and tomorrow’s 60+ year-old women, on the other hand, are seeming to flower and bloom once past their “menopause and sandwich years.” Sociologist Gail Sheehy in her insightful book “New Passages” describes a “powerful zest” many women experience once through menopause and the double challenges of taking care of “Mom” in her final years and getting the kids permanently our of the nest.
What about my out-of-work, retired-and-hating-it male friends? The lesson is clear to most males under 60: don’t retire. With lengthening life spans, work is necessary financially, and certainly is a foundation for our self worth. Plus work, especially in this information era, has morphed away from the physical toward a more cerebral endeavor.
For men in their 60s who are seeking work, the first challenge is to destroy the myths of aging that keep second halfers out of the workplace. Some of the absolutely untrue beliefs about 2H workers: Older workers are inflexible, resistant to change. They are difficult to work with. Older workers are slower, less productive. They are prone to accidents. They don’t move up the corporate ladder. Older workers are viewed negatively by the customers. They don’t really need the work. Or they won’t be with the company very long.
Each of these has been empirically proven to be false. CEOs and H.R. professionals need to understand the fantastic value that Second Half workers bring to their workplaces. Smart companies will seek out older workers, will train them well, and then will benefit from their work ethic, their service ethic, and their spirit of being thankful for the work.
That’s information employers can take to the bank.
Bill Morton has a Certificate in Gerontoly from the UW and is the author of “2H: The Official Second Half Handbook.” He’s lived on the Eastside for 20 years.
