The older you get, the more productive you are at work

SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer highlighted in an invited commentary that the assumption that productivity declines with age is factually wrong, given that research in many industrialised countries shows clearly that productivity does not diminish with age. He believes that Singapore needs to develop an environment that will enable ageing people to remain productive, in order to remain competitive. Prof De Meyer also offered five suggestions to raise productivity. First of all, he stressed the need to dispel stereotypes that older people are wiser but less productive, adding that with the right tools and in the right environment, they can be both wiser and more productive. He also said we should research and reorganise the tools, the environment and the education needed to keep our long-living workforce productive; invest in more flexible working arrangements for older people who may be interested in different lifestyles and work arrangements; and get rid of the notion that older people cannot learn, or the idea that it is not a good investment to have them learn new skills. Finally, Prof De Meyer emphasised that we should not underestimate that elderly people know better the needs and challenges of elderly customers. He concluded that we should design services and products appropriate for long-living people and delivered by long-living people, in addition to focusing on living longer and working longer and well.