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M Y T H
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F A C T
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Less Productive
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According to the Department of Labor, employees in their late 50's and 60's are more conscientious and hard working than younger workers.
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Sick More Often
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According to the American Council of Life Insurance, workers 45 and older call in sick an average of 3.1 days per year compared to an average of 3.8 days for those 17−44.
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More Likely to Leave Employers
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The opposite is true. In fact, according to the National Association of Working Women, women over 45 are 88% less likely to leave voluntarily than younger counterparts.
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Less Competent
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According to the Andrus Gerontology
Center, the average age of candidates for top positions has increased steadily over the past 15 years.
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Less Capable of Making Decisions and Evaluating Information
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Utter nonsense. Studies prove that older employees are actually more capable of evaluating decisions than younger employees. However, they usually take a little longer because experience has taught them the wisdom of caution.
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Less Intelligent
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Studies clearly indicate that perception, emotional stability, motivation and fund of knowledge are far more important to
intellectual functioning than age. In fact, the ability to use an accumulated body of general information to make sound judgment and solve problems keeps rising with healthy people.
(Harvard study.)
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Poor Memories
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Older people don't have poorer memories, they just have more to remember than their juniors. Age related declines are slight – often limited to such minor items as phone numbers.
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Less Adaptable − Don't Learn as Well
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People who stay engaged in life, continue to adapt and learn. Cal State compared the grades of students age 18
25 and others aged 49 to 72. There were no significant differences in the grades. In fact, the only difference was that the older people completed the learning experience at a significantly higher rate.
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More Expensive to Employ − Higher
Benefit Costs, etc.
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The hardest myth to debunk. For
example, health insurance costs less for a 55 year old employee than for a 35 year old with 2 dependents. And, it is time for employers to realize that the only way for income to go is not "up" but, in today's economy, income needs to be market−driven at any age.
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Technology Challenged
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This is true but nothing a very little focused education can't fix.
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