Turning the famous 30 under 30 on its head, the Area Office on Aging of Northwest Ohio honors people over 60 in the workforce with its 20 Over 60 awards. In the last 25 years there’s been a huge focus on career achievement before the age of 30, but older workers who’ve gotten real value through experience are incredibly undervalued. If you’re reading this and are 20 to 35 years old, odds are high that you’ll want the opportunity to put the skills you’ve honed to use throughout your entire life. The Area Office on Aging wants to put a spotlight on this issue — true diversity includes generational diversity.
Meet Justin Moor
President and CEO Justin Moor talks about how he started with The Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio, Inc. whose purpose is to promote the health, well-being and safety of older adults, persons with disabilities and family caregivers to foster independence. Moor started in an entry level job 22 years ago. He was inspired by his great grandfather who lived to be 104 and was independent up until the last year of his life. “He cut his own grass, bought his own food, and even starred in a local TV commercial. The work we do helping people live better and longer, is deeply personal to me,” says Moor.
It’s becoming the standard for older adults to be pushed out of the workplace at 60 but depending on where you live and type of career, the process of being pushed toward “retirement” can start as early as the late 40s. Generally, people are silent on this because no one wants to draw attention to their age. This is exactly why 20 Over 60 is so important. Says Moor, “There’s a four-step process in agism and job loss that starts with the culture representing older people in a way that creates a negative attitude that ultimately results in the exclusion of older adults from the workforce. It’s a negative, viscous cycle that we need to break. We can start to change it by changing the way older adults are represented.” He makes the point that if we, as a community, can celebrate the achievements of 30 under 30, we should be doing the same for those at the other end of the spectrum.
It Hasn’t Always Been This Way
While Moor realizes that in terms of changing perception on aging, they’re just one small voice in a larger world. “Our concept of aging is influenced by a 38-billion-dollar anti-aging industry that shapes the way we perceive aging. There was a time when older age was a plus. For example, the founding fathers (who were quite young) wore powdered wigs, as did Marie Antionette even as a young girl, because in that era white hair equaled wisdom and respect.” Studies have shown language skills develop more with age, as does creativity. Recently two English gentlemen in their 70s, Pete and Bas, have become a sensation in the Rap world. Not as a novelty act, but as genuinely talented artists who have simultaneously earned respect from a young generation while opening their eyes to the possibility of achievement seven decades into life.
Flipping the Script
Even something as small as employers putting out job ads with images of very young people in a job that doesn’t necessarily require youth sends a message to prospective applicants. Moor says that the way we talk about and perceive our own age influences us. Those with a positive outlook on their age and their role in the world can live up to 7.5 years longer. Young workers look for mentors in their career, but how will they find them in a sea of people their own age? Barriers get broken as we experience generational diversity in the workplace.
The Awards
“We get people who send in nomination suggestions from all over the area,” says Moor. “Then we have an internal review panel that goes over those nominations after the nominees have given us more information about themselves and their accomplishments. We announce the top 20 choices and it’s a very difficult selection process. Last year the 20 included Darlene White, manager of OhioMeansJobs Resource Center, Jerry Anderson, News Broadcaster, and Bill Sanford, Economic Development Director of Sylvania.”
Look for this year’s award winners to be announced soon https://areaofficeonaging.com/
