Utilising skills of senior citizens

Experienced retired civil servants have potentials in terms of ability to contribute, high qualification and real-life experience. Thus, their productivity has been utilised in Western societies over the years under a knowledge management framework. In absence of a formal policy framework for engaging those resource persons– not at the cost of young people’s employment– societies in developing countries are losing high quality merit, expertise and technical know how.

Senior citizens are becoming an ever-greater proportion of the total population everywhere in the world including Bangladesh because average life expectancy has been increasing over the time and has now become 73 years in Bangladesh. At the same time, those who are reaching the retirement age of 59 years are healthier and fitter than ever before. Increasing life expectancy and better health at retirement age are a major success of government’s initiatives of healthcare programmes and reduction of poverty and increased capacity regarding intake of nutritious food. It has been seen from the global perspective that those countries who have a formal framework to use expertise of retired experienced professionals in mentoring, public policy formulation process and in training institute or in research, consultancy work or contribution to various committees constituted on various social issues, they developed their economy earlier than those who do not. This is the link between the novice and the experienced professionals for the benefit of industry, business and public policy.

Older people have a wealth of experience and talent that should be shared and utilised in our communities. We would view it as a tragedy if a younger person had completed a qualification to then just sit at home all day, never using their skill. But this is happening every day to the older generation.

They are considered as human capital that includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities that individuals gain through education, long training on different issues at home and abroad and various job experiences. In fact, most retirees consider the years after their retirement as their most productive years. They have the skill, talent, stability and maturity and now that their children are settled and they have fulfilled all financial commitments, most have ample time to assist if they find a national framework to contribute. They have interpersonal relationships, knowledge of decision-making process, stress tolerance and management, leadership skills and other emotional intelligence skills, such as communication skills, cognitive and socio-emotional skills which may not be available in the study programmes of schools, colleges or universities. A long-time span and a long way of work experiences are required to learn these soft skills and which cannot be achieved over night. If this soft skill is used, linked and imparted to young people of the society, a society can draw benefit immensely.

When the modern notion of retirement was first articulated near the end of the nineteenth century, the designated retirement age of 67 was longer than the life expectancy at that time in USA. Over the last 50 years, the average retirement age declined steadily in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada and the average retirement age is currently around 62 years whereas the life expectancies have increased up to 73-78 years in those countries, leaving more years for leisure than work. But in fact, many people don’t want a life of pure leisure because they got bored and loneliness grab them. But not all, many of them wish to enjoy their life after retirement on leisure for personal pursuits.

Senior experienced citizens are considered as an asset to the society in developed countries. Those with talent in their respective fields get better opportunities to serve the society as long as they can. Professors, teachers, doctors, scientists and lawyers are engaged in many developing countries including Bangladesh as long as they are able to work in their private chambers and take pride in helping societies.

Nonetheless most of retired civil servants, do not get the opportunity to use their productive time after the age of 59 years for not having any formal space to use their ability to deliver. But this age is considered as the peak time to contribute more in the state affairs. With this high life expectancy, how this treasured expertise of seasoned, skilled, knowledgeable retired officers can be utilized in building tolerant society are the key points for discussion nowadays everywhere in the world.

These experienced persons know the fabrics, art and architecture of the issues and challenges of the society within diverse interest groups. They have earned hard-earned experience from their real-life situation at the time of facing multidimensional challenges. These challenges are exceptional and at the same time solutions are assorted. If these unique and exceptional experiences are linked with the new entrants, the society will grow and advance rapidly. But we must remember this engagement is never ever at the cost of employment of young people. The skill of communication, team-building and problem solving may be important for the new employees to learn things better. It is just about additional experts to train in the training institute or contribution to committees on different social issues or policy formation process or just to assist the different needs of the society on temporary or part-time basis. Senior and experienced persons regardless of race, sex, age, ethnicity, language or religion need to be engaged with work on different committees, policy formation processes which may benefit the society in the most meaningful way for materializing the dream of the father of the nation.

Germany, Austria, Spain has created an independent council of senior citizens which has become a major contributor in discussing on public policy issues and issues relating to affect their own interest. In Germany and Japan senior persons have been given the opportunity to continue working for as long as they are able and willing to serve in a very specific field where they have their expertise. Switzerland has amended its state pension system in ways that encourages people to postpone retirement. If they do work longer, they eventually increase their pension. Many countries offer financial support to volunteer organizations that offer jobs including volunteering to older persons. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has been made responsible in India to take care of the well being of senior citizens in respect of their financial benefits.

The attitude towards senior citizens is highly disappointing and sometimes they are ignored in many developing societies. As a result, they feel neglected and most of them lead a very lonely life and their hard-earned experience is just wasted. If an “Expert Retired Person Resource Pool” is designed to deliver their real-life experiences to the young entrants in the training institutes, it is for sure that trainee officers would like to listen more on real life experience than lectures from the books. Retired experienced professionals of any field can be engaged in a productive way where employed persons are overburdened already with two or more assignments and for this attempt, in no way would regular recruitment or appointment of young people will be hindered.

There may be a Retired Person Resource Pool which may work as a think tank or National Knowledge Management Framework with a specific guideline therein to engage wishing retirees with highly expensive hard-earned knowledge of practical experience for greater benefit of the young people that may ensure rapid development of governance, business and the economy at large.

The writer is a former Senior Secretary to the government