COVID-19 was a wake-up call to retire for many 60-somethings, who are now considering a return to the workforce. Retirees who return to the workforce do so mostly because they want to, not because they have to.
Besides their good attitude, they’re liable to be a quick study and have a mature perspective, they’re also in a relatively stable time of life, and they tend to be very enthusiastic about returning to work.
Many of them, both men and women, live on fixed incomes but inflation is beginning to put many of them in positions of having to choose to buy their meds or food. Not a good place to be.
Even though many of them have never done any formal construction work, almost all of them have done work around the house, fixed their own cars and built IKEA kits. The idea of using them in your modular home factory could prove beneficial for you and the younger people on the production line.
You will have to make some adjustments though. Lifting could be a problem for some as well as bending over for others. However, by looking at all the jobs available on your production line, I’m sure there are many retirees can do with little or no problem.
Make the work attractive to them, allow them to choose how many days a week they are comfortable working and maybe even hire them in teams that can cover for each other. Give them the opportunity to learn several different positions on the line.
Speaking from personal experience, retirees need bathroom breaks and love to talk and tell stories. These are not problems unless people aren’t allowed to talk in your factory.
I’ve talked with many factory owners and GMs that tell me how they hire a young person on Monday and by Wednesday, they are not showing up. I promise, if you hire a retired worker, even those that you have to train for a position on the production line, they will not quit after 2 days unless they really can’t do the job, either physically or mentally.
Pay a fair wage, give them a very flexible schedule and treat them with dignity and you will have loyal employees for a long time.
One of the benefits of having multiple generations in the workforce is the opportunity to transfer knowledge in both directions which allows different generations to exchange knowledge. Allowing retirees to mentor younger colleagues can serve as a powerful tool, since these employees have decades of experience to draw upon, maybe not in the production line work they’ve been assigned but in life experience.
Retirees are waiting for you to notice them.
Related Articles:
Three Reasons It’s Hard To Find Skilled Labor For Your Offsite Factory
Is The Offsite Industry Falling Behind On The Labor Shortage Issue?
Are Boomers To Blame For Skilled Labor Shortage?
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder. Email at [email protected]
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