MATURE WORKERS RETIREMENT
Singapore - An aging population should not deter Singapore from achieving higher productivity. In fact, older people should be more productive, says Mentor Minister Lee.
With the low birth rate hovering at 1.21, having a mature workforce is inevitable, said MM Lee Kuan Yew, at the Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF) 30th Anniversary CEO and Employers Summit yesterday. While increasing productivity in the country is important, it is equally important to give employees, who have reached their retirement age, the choice in prolonging their working lives, said MM Lee.
It's also the minister's personal belief that retiring from work is a not wise move for older people in general. "There should be no retirement age," said Lee. "You work as long as you can work, you'll be healthier and happier. If you ask me to stop working, I think I'll just shrivel up, face the wall and just die."
MM Lee believes the option to continue working after retirement would not only allow mature employees to stay active and engaged in their lives, it helps them maintain good mental health.
Likewise, Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, senior vice president of HR and training for Resorts World Sentosa, is positive that employing a mature workforce would not impede productivity in organisations. Neither does she think that having older workers would bring down the overall motivation level in the workplace.
Speaking at the summit's panel discussion earlier, Seah-Khoo said age does not cause an employee to be less motivated. The oldest employee in her company, a 73-year-old crew member in Universal Studios, has in fact, impressed her with his zest and positive attitude at work. "As long as we've a can-do attitude, I think [employees] can do so much more," said Seah-Khoo.
At the same panel discussion, Tan Hee Teck, CEO of Resorts World Sentosa, agreed having a positive mindset is is more crucial than anything else in attaining optimal productivity. "Regardless of what [employees] do, whichever department they are in, they are professionals, so they must be proud of their jobs and do the best that they can," he said.
In his leadership dialogue, MM Lee did highlight that accepting a lesser amount of compensation may be a challenge for mature workers in their re-employment. He said it is inevitable for older employees to receive lesser pay, especially if their jobs entail physical strength which they would lack, compared to their younger colleagues.
According to a Ministry of Manpower's report, 48% of 3,200 surveyed employers in Singapore have allowed their local employees to continue working on existing contracts even after they reached age 62. Under a fifth of companies have also offered to re-employ retired employees.
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