Greying Nation: recognising the value of older people

Fried argues that societies risk stifling their own innovation and productivity by segregating generations and ignoring the talents and skills of their most experienced members. Unfortunately, the "lens of ageism" can render the individual talents and achievements of the older members of our society invisible.

Negative attitudes toward the aged hinder older Australians' efforts to remain in the workforce. Recognising the value of older workers and creating a more welcoming environment in the workplace would help improve labour force participation rates among this cohort and, consequently, counter unfortunate perceptions that more mature Australians aren't pulling their weight.

It may be necessary to also re-examine popular theories about aged-induced economic stagnation in order to end some of the more alarmist rhetoric about ageing. There is a widely-held belief that an ageing population represents impending economic doom for Australia. Yet, in a 2017 research paper, economists Pascual Restrepo and Daron Acemoglu concluded that there was no negative relationship between population ageing and growth of GDP per capita. In fact, the study found the opposite: ageing seems to have been associated with a lift in GDP per capita among more 'grey' countries.

Australian sociologist Katharine Betts has argued that, far from being the demographic catastrophe it is sometimes painted as, the ageing of the population should be a cause for celebration as it represents an advancement in human achievement and well-being. According to Betts:

An older age structure has many benefits. Besides, the only way to avoid it on a long-term basis is to have large families and die young. We have tried hard to escape from this way of life and, now that we have, we can reap the benefits. Frantic efforts to make Australia younger by making it bigger are no more rational than a middle-aged person trying to look younger by gaining 40 kilos. It might smooth out some wrinkles but the behaviour would be bizarre, the cost would be high, and the effects would not last.

Betts further notes:

There are serious points to consider in the negative case, but it is odd that so many of its proponents are so uncivil. It is many decades since misanthropes have suggested that it would be a blessing if some unpopular minority could be diluted by a superior sort of person or, better still, die off. Older Australians are more than pulling their weight and, though we don't need any more speech taboos, rather more courtesy from the negative side would make for a kinder ambience. Such an ambience would also be conducive to further increasing older people's participation in the workplace and the wider society.

We all have a stake in maximising the participation of older people in the workforce and society. After all, all of us are on the same inexorable ageing journey.