Tech companies: how to integrate older people into the workplace
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Younger employees who were born with technology and older employees who have seen it emerge: a headache for employers?
“A survey in Canada shows that 8 out of 10 Canadians feel that seniors are less important and ignored by the younger generation.” It was with this shocking statistic in particular that Chloé Freslon, columnist and founder of URelles, inaugurated the “Innovation at all ages” panel on Wednesday February 5 at the premises of Quebec technology company GSoft. The aim of this event, co-organized by URelles and GSoft? To dispel the myth associating youth and innovation. By way of introduction, Chloé Freslon took the opportunity to recall a few figures on the subject: the average age of a successful start-up founder, for example, is 45, a far cry from the image of a youthful bath that the technology world conjures up.
To tackle this delicate subject, three distinguished panelists were present: Carole Bourassa, entrepreneur and data scientist, Florian Pradon, GSoft’s Candidate Experience Manager, and Pier-Luc Turcotte, occupational therapist and doctoral candidate in community health at the Université de Sherbrooke’s Research Centre on Aging.
Quickly and after a few personal anecdotes, Pier-Luc Turcotte refers to the social conception of ageism, a form of discrimination against the elderly that, according to the occupational therapist, we unfortunately still don’t dwell on enough. “Unlike all the other forms of discrimination against which there have been mobilizations, sexism, racism, there has been very little to fightd ageism even though we’re all affected.” If old age brings us closer to retirement, it also confines us to a lesser social role. It’s a vision that Pier-Luc Turcotte will later associate with the concept of programmed obsolescence, so typical of the world of technology.
According to Florian Pradon, technology has now been adopted as a way of life, which automatically sidelines a generation that didn’t grow up with digital technology. And yet, as GSoft’s Head of Candidate Experience points out, the majority of our employees are between 30 and 40 years of age, challenging the myth of extreme youth in the world of innovation.
The clichés associated with older people in the world of work are hard to dispel. Pier-Luc Turcotte reminds us that these clichés include slowing down or being late for work, behaviors that can be found in all age groups. Carole Bourassa believes that by focusing too much on the exterior and physical aging, we forget one important element: intellectual dynamism, which never gets old.
So how do you attract and retain older people in a company?
For the entrepreneur and scientist, the importance of experience is to the fore, a quality that only years can provide. While there’s no miracle formula, Florian Pradon nevertheless advocates mentoring and a return of emotions to the workplace in a society that still puts everything on performance. “Communication, listening, empathy, passing on knowledge: these are things that are acquired over time. People who are starting up businesses, who find themselves at the head of a large, successful organization, and who perhaps don’t have this human experience, can benefit in their work from this advice and this collaboration on specific events.” So it’s no coincidence that for Carole Bourassa, adaptation and integration are two key words to remember when trying to improve the situation. Just as feminism challenged the concept of the boys’ club, Pier-Luc Turcotte believes that dispersing groups of young colleagues who get on well with each other would help shake up the anthill.
According to data from the Institut de la statistique du Québec, people aged 65 and over will account for a quarter of all Quebecers by 2030. With an aging population, it will soon be impossible to avoid the issue, so building bridges and tackling ageism in innovation is more important than ever.
Photo credit: Mikael Theimer
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