WASHINGTON – Demographics in the U.S. work force are changing, and employers that are meeting the needs of their workers over the age of 50 are invited to apply for the 10th annual AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 awards.
The awards serve to also highlight a present-day issue. For the first time in modern history, four distinctive generations are toiling away side-by-side in the workplace, a dynamic that presents special challenges to employers who never before have had to deal with such drastic age differences in the personnel they manage.
The age gap is so wide that some workers could be grandparents of their colleagues, and yet both groups are expected to do the same jobs with the same set of skills. The old adage of treating everyone the same does not work as well as it used to.
“With great economic pressures on the bottom line, many employers continue to recognize that successful business practices include enlightened talent management,” said Deborah Russell, AARP’s director of work force issues, in a news release. AARP estimates that by 2018, 34 percent of the total U.S. work force will be 50 or older.
The AARP awards honor those who have enacted progressive practices toward older workers such as flexible work options, training opportunities, and competitive health and retirement benefits.
Previous honorees include Intel, Michelin North America, YMCA of Greater Rochester (N.Y.) and Cornell University.
Any employer based in the U.S. – including for-profit, nonprofit, educational institutions and government agencies – with at least 50 employees can apply before Feb. 10 at www.aarp.org/bestemployers.
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