THIRD AGE: Grey matters in the workplace

LISTENING to Pat Kenny chat and effortlessly negotiate a packed radio schedule on Newstalk, he has made a seamless switch from RTÉ, where he had a 41-year tenure.

Beyond the hype and media scrutiny, the veteran broadcaster has to deal with a new team, new studio, and new bosses, while persuading his old audience to switch and listen to his new show.

Kenny, 65, appears to be relaxed about the changes, saying that he has no intention of slowing down and is looking forward to these new challenges.

“At my stage of life, I can take a risk,’’ he has said. “It’s something new, something different. It’s another spin on the roundabout, a roundabout I never thought I’d catch hold of.’’

However, Greg Butler, a retirement and life coach, says that while it’s important to appear confident, it’s inevitable that anybody who changes employers will worry whether they will be “good enough’’ at the new job.

“I suggest that they remind themselves of all the other challenges they have faced in life — leaving home, going to university, getting married, buying a house — and then think of all their skills, and view this new job as a great opportunity and a promise of better things ahead in life,’’ he says.

Kenny is not alone in refusing to retire. Gay Byrne, who turns 80 next year, is still broadcasting, and is chairperson of the Road Safety Authority.

Ironically, Sean O’Rourke, 58, Kenny’s replacement at RTÉ, said last month that he had considered taking early retirement, but is now “so excited’’ about his new job.

Eamon Timmins, head of advocacy and communications at Age Action Ireland, says this is the future. We will be expected to work beyond the current retirement age of 66, which will have risen to 67 by 2021.

“People will have to work for much longer — it is the future and not just a passing fad,’’ he says. “We have an ageing population and I think we need a more flexible attitude from employers. Not everyone wants to work 40 hours a week, or 50 hours a week. Older people often undersell themselves at interviews and we feel employers should look at the skills they have and use them, whether they are mentors or consultants.

“You can see some of the problems that are happening now in the civil service, the brain drain, so the older workers should be valued.’’

Timmins says it’s “vital’’ everyone assesses their own situation. For example, will you be able to continue in your career in your 50s and 60s?

“If your job involves lifting or heavy labouring, you do have to say to yourself: ‘Am I going to be able to do this for much longer?’ If the answer is ‘no’, then you have to reconsider re-training mid-career,’’ he says.

Graham Burns, regional director for CPL, a nationwide recruitment agency, points out that a lot of new companies wanted older workers for their senior management roles.

“The 50-plus age group have a huge amount of experience and are very eminently employable,” he says.

Burns has also seen older workers retrain, especially professionals in the construction sector.

“Quantity surveyors are now training in IT and becoming project managers. At the moment people are retraining because they have to,” he says.