There is a new trend in America: Businesses are recruiting senior citizens to fill the positions that were once manned by our nations teenagers.
Huh? The article in business insider (below) cites that Bob Evans and McDonald’s are increasing recruitment efforts at senior centers and places like churches.
It seems that the national labor shortage has produced such a problem that this is now where the untapped pools of talent are coming from for those companies.
Why would senior citizens continue their careers doing jobs that teenagers once dominated you ask?
One very big reason would be that there is a large population of Americans who cannot afford to retire anymore and therefore they must work past retirement age. Why is this you ask? Two major reasons are a lack of retirement savings and the two recent global recessions that crushed millions of retirement savings. That is why most reports cite the American society overall does not have sufficient retirement savings to make ends meet.
That answer not good enough for you? Among the culprits at the root of the problem is national Wage Inequality that has run rampant for a very long time – decades. Wages today do not keep up with the standards of living for most Americans.
You might be wondering how this can be when every quarter the majority of public companies are reporting billions in revenues. You would be right to think that.
You might ask also be wondering, how can senior citizens pay their bills on teenager pay? You would be right in thinking that too.
Learn more about your future: https://www.risingmiddleclass.com/
Business Insider article I cited: http://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-hiring-senior-citizens-instead-of-teenagers-2018-11
Photo by Wenni Zhou on Unsplash
The reasons why seniors are still working is so true. I know many that lost all retirement funds during our economic downturns. Seniors are also are maintaining better life styles due to medications and technology. At the same time these med’s and procedures cost more than what insurance companies will pay if they pay. I see another opportunity for a win/win. Many companies lack leaders/managers with the needed experience to grow their business. Why not hire seniors as advisers (pt or ft) with a higher income than fast food positions.
Dr. Kelley – Now that’s solid thinking! But if you are reading any of my other posts, you’ll see that risingmiddleclass.com focuses on, among other issues, Age Discrimination. The point of the post is that experienced people with decades of strategy and mentoring skills are doing jobs that do not allow them to contribute to our society in a way that uses their experience, nor allows them to make ends meet. Thank you for your comment! – VS