Older workers often get a bum deal. Like retired racehorses, once workers enter their 50s, they end up being put out to pasture and forgotten about. It is very unfair, so if your company only hires bright young things, here are a few reasons why you should rethink your recruitment policy in favor or more mature workers.

Holding on to good employees is not always easy. You can use employee surveys from Insightlink to find out what employees really think about the company, but if you have a high turnover of staff, it is time to consider what you are doing wrong.

Employee Loyalty

One of the problems with hiring young, ambitious people is that they tend to move on to bigger and better things within a couple of years. They do not have the same sense of loyalty as an older person, which means they are the first to jump ship if something better comes along.

Most older workers over the age of 50 are grateful to be employed. They do not have the same family responsibilities as younger people, so there is less of a conflict between work and home life. Younger people often have children at home, so they will need time off for school events and extra sick days to accommodate their child’s inevitable illnesses. Older workers are more committed to the job. They will be more flexible if you need them to work overtime on an important project.

Harder Working Employees

Older workers usually work harder than their 20-something colleagues. Younger people have active social lives and are quite likely to show up to work with a hangover at least once a week. They will probably also spend way too much time catching up on Facebook during work time, whereas an older employee would not dream of doing such a thing.

Self-Confidence

With age comes confidence. An older worker will be more self-confident and calm in their approach to problems. They have life experience, along with greater expertise, which is essential in many areas of business. Older workers may not be adept at working with computers, by the time a worker has twenty or thirty years of experience under his or her belt, there is not a lot employers need to teach them. Computer skills can be taught, whereas life experience cannot.

Honesty and Integrity

Honesty is very important in the workplace. While honesty and integrity is not a given at any age, older workers are more likely to have a greater sense of integrity. They are also less likely to be economical with the truth when things go wrong.

Punctual in the Mornings

Your HR department will not have a problem with punctuality if you hire older workers. Mature workers have spent decades getting to work on time, so they won’t be pulling sickies or rolling in ten minutes late every day.

Do not discount people 50 and older when recruiting. Hiring older workers is a win-win for your business.