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Why age shouldn’t matter in the modern workplace

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As a wordsmith, I was taken by Noel Pearson’s eulogy for Gough Whitlam.

I was particularly struck by Pearson’s repetition of the phrase “this old man”. By my count, Pearson referred to Whitlam as “this old man” 10 times, including three repetitions in the last minute or so.

Pearson was consciously placing Whitlam in the Aboriginal thoughtscape, referring to the late prime minister as “Australia’s greatest white elder and friend without peer of the original Australians”.

Repetition and cadence are, of course, a crucial part of black oratory – consider Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, through to the youthful Barack Obama’s “Yes we can” message.

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However, after reflecting on Pearson’s speech, it struck me, as a white Australian, that we seldom refer to somebody as “old” in order to express praise and respect.

It’s true, that some rough diamonds among us refer affectionately to an elder as a “tough/funny, old bastard/old duck”.

But it’s more common to hear the type of expression once used by another former PM, Bob Hawke, when he referred to a pesky pensioner as a “silly old bugger” during a meet-the-people street walk in 1989.

Older worker

Older workers still measure up.

At this stage, I should declare an interest and state that I am 55 years old. Older than I ever imagined when I was 20, but not ready to settle down with the other wrinkled old buffaloes around the waterhole.

I never used to think about my age much until just before taking redundancy after a lengthy stint at Fairfax Media. Then I started applying for new jobs and found that it sometimes caused a sharp intake of breath from employers, a thanks-but-no-thanks letter or just radio silence.

I’m not complaining because, unlike many middle-aged workers, I got a payout and can still hustle. But there seems to be a disconnect between all the posturing about working longer and employer attitudes to older workers.

What jobs are we talking about here? How many bosses (and co-workers) can see positives in having older workers?

That’s what I liked about Pearson’s reference to Whitlam as “this old man”. Unlike a major historic figure like Gough Whitlam, most of us go through without much applause (or catcalls). But it was refreshing to hear somebody recognise age in a positive way, as having bestowed life experience and gravitas.

In writing this, I’m very aware of the challenges that young people face, of whether the current generation of older people will leave them a lower standard of living than they have enjoyed.

I wrote an earlier column which argued that ‘Team Australia’ was letting young people down in a variety of ways, like making university education more expensive and pricing them out of home ownership by tax breaks for the well-off.

Older workers can play a useful role, without crowding out the young. But older workers also have to stay open in their outlook and work habits, which might mean we leave wearing cardigans to the hipsters.

They tell me some older workers don’t like having a younger boss. Or that blokes of most ages dislike having to take orders from a woman.

No doubt this is true in some cases. But two of my best editors were women (Colleen Ryan and Deborah Light) and I’ve worked for some very savvy young bosses, male and female. I’m more concerned whether a boss is smart, principled and has a sense of humour/humanity.

In other words, workers and bosses should be judged on performance and other attributes. Not by their age or gender. Hopefully, we’ll all be elders one day.

Mark Skulley is a freelance journalist who is based in Melbourne. He was a reporter for The Australian Financial Review for almost 19 years, which included a decade covering national industrial relations and the world of work. He has since written for The New Daily and other outlets. View all of his columns here.

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