Older workers are not appreciated thee days as they should. Employers are sawing off the branch they are sitting on with shortsighted employee policy.

1. AGED WORKFORCE IN FINLAND – IS IT
BURDEN OR VALUABLE ASSET ?
A SHORT PERSONAL BURST ON
DISTORTED EMPLOYEE POLICY
“In good times they are sought after, only to
be sacked when times are hard.” – unknown
thinker

2. This is the story of me and many, many likes of me…

3. I am
•Male
•Citizen of
Finland
•Master of
Science
(Engin.)
•Senior
advisor and
consultant
(part time
jobber)
•Healthy
and fit
•Curious
•Person
with a
sense of
humour
•A bit ironic
every now
and then

4. I have long working history as ICT supervisor and
executive, in COO, CPO and CIO roles.

5. I have always been working hard, nothing
wrong with my attitude…

6. My track record and recommendations are fine…

7. My knowledge and skills are just about up to date…

8. …and I am willing to work with full steam many years to come…

9. …For being such a perfect employee…

10. …I have just one serious shortcoming in
employers’ opinion; I am 59 years old...

11. ..and there’s lot of us who wish to work but just can’t , because employers
think we are out of date…

12. Now that we have all the time in the world and our productivity is better than
ever and we are not counting hours…
But we are told that our knowledge and experience means nothing…

13. .. Compared to our high salary or that we may be sick a lot due to old
age…

14. … as if when you are 60 these days, you are ready for graveyard…

15. …or at least should start to plan retirement
immediately…

16. But on the other hand: ”Raise the retirement age”
say the employers
Very strange or at least contradictory…

17. Employers should avoid such short sightedness and realize the
value of motivated older workers for good business reasons… The
recession doesn’t last for ever, recovery will be faster with
knowing older employees…

18. I should also like to note, that I don’t endorse the discrimination of young workers at the
cost of older workers. To my mind, a good job criteria are capability and motivation
rather than age.

20. This story is fictional and doesn’t depict any actual employer, trend or phenomenon – or
DOES IT?

21. …and what about me? Well, I am definitely an asset rather
than burden on the employer because …

22. … I know worth 30 years about
leadership, management, mentoring…

23. … of related areas of competence …

24. There’s a lot that I don’t know, but it’s not a
problem, because…

25. … I can and WILL learn new tricks…

26. Any comments? You’ll find me on Twitter:
vesku8@twitter.com
I hereby apologize for any possible violation of image
copyright rules. They are unintentional infringements.
These images can mainly be found on Wikimedia
Commons.