In an opinion article in the Dutch newspaper ‘de Telegraaf’, on 18 August 2018, Jan van Ours, Professor of Applied Economics, with focus on Labour, Health and Well-being at Erasmus School of Economics, pleads for reaching an agreement with the employers' organisations that when recruiting new employees, they must now invite at least one 'older' candidate to a job interview.
'Obviously it's fantastic that Madonna and many of her colleagues who have also reached the respectable age of sixty are still popular and relevant. But despite this week's announcement that we have a record number of unfilled job vacancies in this country, the average sixty-year-old man or woman isn't very successful on the labour market.
As a society, we've been struggling for years with this stubborn problem. Schemes have been developed and ambassadors appointed to encourage older employees to keep trying if they find themselves out of a job for some reason. When you consider the rising retirement age, sixty-year-olds obviously have quite a long time to work before they can enjoy their state pension. And surveys have shown that they are keen to continue working. They simply don't get the chance. Their age is an insurmountable obstacle.
I experienced it myself not long ago at the University of Tilbury, where I used to work. During a performance appraisal with the head of department, my age was pointedly referred to and I was requested to take early retirement, to work shorter hours or take a salary cut. I'm now 64. Fortunately, Erasmus School of Economics was less narrow minded. Here my work experience was considered an important reason to employ me.
I feel it's time for creative new solutions. Last year, I suggested introducing a flexible state retirement age in this country. You can retire earlier if you wanted, if you've saved enough or are prepared to take less state pension. The debate about this option is still ongoing. The problem, however, is that people with physically more demanding jobs, who would generally like to take advantage of such a scheme, are often unable to do so due to their lower incomes.
I would therefore suggest trying something new. Why not reach agreement with the employers' organisations in our country that when recruiting new employees, they must now invite at least one 'older' candidate to a job interview. They don't need to give this person any preferential treatment, but at least talk to someone over the age of fifty or even sixty.
The idea is not so radical that it would immediately cause an uproar. Employers can obviously still choose a younger candidate if they wish. But the concept does work, as we've seen in the US, where they introduced the Rooney Rule several years ago. In American football, there was a lack of African-American candidates for higher management positions. Ethnic minorities were simply not invited to an interview. Until this concept was introduced in 2003. The results have been remarkable, so why wouldn't it work here?
Employers don't like having obligations or quotas imposed on them. But that's absolutely not the case here. All it means is a commitment to talk to someone who can contribute a wealth of experience to your organisation, that's all. Who could object to that?'