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Older workers more productive--study
by Jaspreet Virk - April 18, 2011 - comments
Based on the findings, researchers stated that though older workers were likely to make errors, they hardly made any errors. Older workers are able to deal with difficult situations and concentrate on important tasks.
Worrying that your younger counterparts, who are enthusiastic and vibrant, might take over your jobs sooner or later? Fear not, as a new study has found that older workers are more productive than younger colleagues.
Debunking the belief that older workers are less productive, the research findings highlight that productivity does not decline till the age 60.
Though the older employees may appear less weak and less enthusiastic, they surpass their younger counterparts in many aspects.
“While older workers make more errors, perhaps due to declining physical attributes, they hardly make any severe errors, perhaps due to more experience. It is experience that prevents severe errors,” stated researchers.
Analyzing the workers, researchers found that older employees were more productive than the younger workers. They noticed that the average age-productivity profile of individual worker increased till age 65.
3824 workers at Mercedes-Benz plant studied
To determine the relation between workers’ age and their productivity, the researchers at University of Mannheim studied production process of a truck assembly plant owned by Mercedes-Benz, a large German car manufacturer.
The plant featured a taylorized production process, and it required more physical strength, dexterity, and agility, which tend to decline with age, rather than education and knowledge, which tend to increase with age.
Researchers observed 3824 workers in 100 work teams at 50 workplaces. The workers were monitored over 973 work days during the years 2003 through 2006.
Findings
Analyzing the workers, researchers found that older employees were more productive than the younger workers. They noticed that the average age-productivity profile of individual worker increased till age 65.
Based on the findings, researchers stated that though older workers were likely to make errors, they hardly made any errors. Older workers are able to deal with difficult situations and concentrate on important tasks.
“Even in a work environment requiring substantial physical strength, its decline with age is compensated by characteristics that appear to increase with age and are hard to measure directly, such as experience and the ability to operate well in a team when tense situations occur, typically when things go wrong and there is little time to fix them,” they concluded.