Management Attitudes And Perceptions Of Older Employees On Hospitality Management
Hesham Magd (2003) examines the issue of employing older workers in the hospitality industry. The author introduces a number of socio-economical models and theoretical concepts in an attempt to study the perception of older individuals by modern organisations. Magd explains that the focus on the young people as the primary workers (especially as part-time employees) of the hospitality industry is rapidly changing. Until recently, old age, often starting in a person’s 40s, was a time of decline, of diseases and lessened abilities. Because young adults, until recent decades, presented the main source of unskilled and thus low-paid labour to majority of companies in the tourism industry, older employees were regarded as more of a burden than benefit to the organisation. The author explains that “labour shortages resulted from the demographic time bomb”, which is the term “used to express the downturn in the population as a result of a drop in the birth-rate and the increasing life expectancy of the population” (Magd 2003, p. 393). Baby-boomers, the author states, got old, and the young people decided to receive higher education rather than suffice themselves with seasonal jobs.
Magd argues that for more than a few decades, many have been concerned about the strong, persistent tendency for hospitality industry companies to virtually force older employees out of the workforce or to make them take an option of early retirement. Today, fresh look is given to the older employees as many industries, including a tourist one need them. Until quite recently, much of the older employees group—whether workers, professionals, or managers— has been, on the whole, poorly managed and their resources were underutilised. For a long time, aging employees in hospitality industry have been largely cut off from job-related education, development, and promotional opportunities because they were approaching the retirement state. With the continued aging of the modern workforce (the number of employees between 45 and 59 years old will increase by 15% during 2005-2010) and the expanding influence of older employees, present-day directors can no longer afford to take a casual view of one of the few resources that are growing in quantity and quality. Perhaps nowhere are new attitudes, new practices, and new visions more needed than in the management of older employees and the opportunities they provide in the hospitality industry. The three objectives of the study presented by Magd (2003, p. 394) are:
1. Discover the advantages of older workers perceived by hospitality managers in small and medium-sized firms in Scotland;
2. Discover the disadvantages of older workers perceived by hospitality managers in small and medium-sized firms in Scotland; and
3. Acquire estimates by hospitality managers of their expected future hiring of older workers.
Processing your request, Please wait....
