Paul Irving Milken Institute on ageism

Ageism is a real threat to older adults and workers

Irving: “We have this great asset that we can take advantage of and we're not doing it certainly as effectively as we could.”
-

“Older workers are one of the great, unutilized or underutilized human capital assets that we have in the United States,” says Paul Irving, senior fellow at the Milken Institute, the founding chair of its Center for the Future of Aging, and a member of the WorkingNation Advisory Board.

Ageism is a real threat to older workers and Irving challenges business leaders, hiring managers, and the media to start thinking about older adults in new ways, especially at a time when employers are complaining they can’t find enough workers to fill 8 million open jobs

“We have this great asset that we can take advantage of, and we’re not doing it certainly effectively as we could,. We know that we have a tremendous talent pool in older workers who oftentimes seek to work longer, either because they need to continue to generate revenue, or for the desire for ongoing stimulation and engagement and productivity. And for many people, actually, the answer is both.” says Irving.

He adds that this will require a change of norms, not only in the workplace but in society. “This is a challenge for business leaders, for human resource professionals, for the culture and the media, and for all of us to think about older adults in new ways.”

A reset of these norms, he says, also creates intergenerational workforces that bring benefits to the employers and to the entire U.S. labor market.

“Young people benefit from the mentorship, wisdom, judgment, and experience of older adults and, of course, older adults also benefit from the learning and the stimulus that they get from working with younger people. This is just a natural opportunity. It’s a natural solution. And it’s a great possibility that’s really hiding in plain sight,” stresses Irving.

Paul Irving spoke with me on the subject of age, particularly when it comes to older and midcareer adults in the workforce, as part of the Age in America series, a collaboration between WorkingNation and Scripps News Network which began in June.

Watch a clip from our interview below.

Ageism damages older adults and our economy | Age in America | Paul Irving

At a time when employers are complaining they can’t find enough workers to fill 8 million open jobs, we need to recognize and utilize the talents of older adults in the workforce, says Paul Irving, senior fellow at the Milken Institute and the founding chair of its Center for the Future of Aging.

Get more of our WorkingNation Age in America articles, videos, and podcasts here.
Get more of Scripps News’ Age in America coverage here.

Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.