I was listening to a radio programme yesterday about plans to extend the mandatory retirement age in the UK. The idea is to allow people to work beyond the current limit of 65 (won’t many of us have to anyway, with the dismal predictions of pension funds?).
Whenever I hear politicians and business leaders speak on this topic I get an overwhelming sense of being patronized. We are to be ‘allowed’ to carry on working. Not enough people are looking at the flip side of this subject. Why are we not more concerned with the waste in human capability that comes from imposing an arbitrary retirement age? Many people of high-level capability are still maturing at this age before they hit their real peak (as Jaques’ research into the maturation of cognitive capability found) and yet organizations are prepared to lose them when they still have so much more to contribute. There are, of course, some employers who have spotted this missed opportunity and who seek deliberately to recruit older employees to adjust gaps in their talent pool and to import the wisdom and experience that can be harnessed for the purposes of mentoring younger employees, particularly new starters. However, such organizations still appear to be in the minority.
There needs to be more flexibility. Employers should be aware of each employee’s Current and Future Potential Level of Cognitive Capability so that they can avoid wasting their talent either through inappropriate matches to work roles or through losing them too early. Employees’ wishes should also play a key role in the decision-making process.
If ‘60 is the new 40’ (who was it who coined that phrase, by the way?) then why are some of us still clinging to outdated ideas and practices about manpower planning and retirement age?
About Me
- Christine Baker
- Hereford, United Kingdom
- I run Requisite Development Ltd, a consultancy specialising in diagnostics and solutions for developing people and organizations, based on the unique Requisite Organization Management Model created by Dr Elliott Jaques. We coach managers in the use of our techniques to save time, money and stress, transferring our expertise to them so they can run their organizations successfully and harmoniously. I am also involved in a number of academic research projects and am now looking to conduct research into the maturation of mental capability in children and its implications for their high-school education (anyone interested in joining me in this particular field would be very welcome). Prior to starting my own consultancy I held senior managerial roles in retail banking and HR Development functions within one of the UK's top banks.
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