A study in the U.K. says that hiring older workers might actually be good for your company.
They not only serve as mentors to younger staff, but they also don't call in sick as much when they are hungover and have a great track record for showing up for work on time. They also are just as technologically savvy as their younger counterparts, the study found.
According to a Daily Mail report on the survey, conducted by the Nationwide building society, even younger workers liked having some gray hairs around. Around 16 percent of Nationwide's 17,000 employees are over 50, and two percent are 60 or older, said the Daily Mail. The study reported that almost half of the Nationwide workers over the age of 55 hadn't taken a sick day in the past year, and most people in that age group "usually arrived early to work."
And it's clearly a good thing that their younger peers see the value in having them around because by 2019, predicts the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College, workers 55 and older will comprise 25 percent of the workforce. The Urban Institute predicts workers 50 years and older will make up 35 percent of the labor force by 2019.