Work development is influenced by several factors such as experiences, incentives and work environment. Today, ageism is very common in workplace which implies treating employees in a different and unequal manner because of their age. Some companies nowadays effectively seek elderly employees for their experiences, while others believe that bring new blood is essential to the progress of work. This essay will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of employing both young and old workers.
There are many advantages of hiring older employees. Firstly, since older workers have more knowledge and skills in their fields as a result of their work experience years, many benefits can be gained for both companies and clients. Young workers, for example, may face practical difficulties which need qualified and professional employees. Secondly, many firms now tend to retire their older staff which will eventually affects many industrial sectors. According to Jim Seith, transportation, health-care and university have a shortage of workers. Finally, old-aged employees are considered as a memory of the company as they know all the information and plans of their companies.
On the other hand, hiring older employees have many disadvantage. Although they are less productive compared to younger workers, they get the highest salary which costs the company unnecessary material losses. In addition, they choose to work flexible hours such as part-time because they do not have a spirit of competition and challenge. Moreover, one of the most common problems which might confront older employees is dealing with technology, therefore the IT companies prefer recently educated young workers than older experienced ones.
Employing young people, however, brings many benefits for employer. They can progress on training faster than others. Therefore, many companies keen to employ young people. For instance, currently BT has 530