'It can be a source of stress to put your hand up and say, 'I actually don't know about this"
As technology further takes over workplaces in nearly every industry, many organizations look to hire younger employees who they feel can better help the organization keep up with the relentless pace of tech. This can also mean older employees can be edged out into early retirement.
But according to Stephanie Hodnett, Executive Director of Rotman Executive Programs at the Rotman School of Management, this is a missed opportunity for employers to maximize the value of their most experienced employees.
“That's been a growing interest for sure for that we've seen, because obviously older workers have considerable advantages that some of the younger ones don't, which is a lot of institutional knowledge and experience,” Hodnett told HRD. “As long as they keep up these additional tech skills that are just as relevant and impactful qualified.”
Older workers have anxiety around learning about technology
A paper released by the government of Canada in 2022 reported that older workers are willing and able to work later than previous generations, but ageism in their workplaces can cause them to retire earlier.
Researchers identified “self-ageism” as a common phenomenon, which is when older individuals begin to believe the societal stereotypes about them. One of these stereotypes is that older people don’t know how to use technology, the report stated.
“There is a bit of anxiety among senior management, that there's something that they've missed out on, that they’re later in their careers and maybe they’ve seen that there's a new generation of workers coming in that are more informed on technology than they are.” Hodnett said.
“It can be a source of stress to put your hand up and say, ‘I actually don't know about this.’”
The Rotman School created “micro-credential” courses designed for executives, which Hodnett said addresses anxiety that late- or mid- career professionals may feel about upskilling; many of the programs are online and can be taken at their own pace, which can appeal to professionals who are intimidated by admitting they need the help.
Litigation around tech skills and older workers
Dave McKechnie, employment lawyer with McMillan in Toronto, said that while technology has been a challenge for older workers for decades, since the advent of the internet at least, the mass shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic brought the issue to a head for many people.
“When we all transitioned to having these kinds of [Zoom] calls on a regular basis, there were people who are good at selling without having to go visit the customer or taking them out to dinner, and could rely on PowerPoint skills and Zoom skills and technology skills and finance acumen to make the sale, and there were those who could not make this transition,” he told HRD. 
This also comes into play when mitigating damages from termination of employment, he explained, as the employee’s ability to secure comparable employment may be lessened if they lack technology skills that their role now demands.
“That is a consideration employers will always take into account when determining, ‘what do we really need for the next two years, next five years?’ You do see those cases come up on both sides, either why we selected somebody to be dismissed, or on the mitigation side, why it might be harder for somebody to find a job.”
Tech skills can give older employees a competitive advantage
Although AI has seemingly overtaken workplaces and is topping headlines almost daily, it is still a new technology with a lot of room for everyone, including older employees, Hodnett said.
In fact, late- and mid- career employees can have a competitive advantage if they choose to embrace this next wave of technological advancement.
It isn’t anything they haven’t done before, she said.
“It's just another iteration in a long line of technological changes that have occurred in our lifetime. It's nothing to be afraid of necessarily, just something to learn about and be thoughtful about,” Hodnett said.
“You could have all the advantages of that older worker if you simply allow them the opportunity to learn about this new thing, which they've proven by the fact of being in the workforce for a long time, they’ve had to learn a lot of other things. Why not this too?”
