Older employees working in aged care are more reliable, safety conscious, loyal and flexible than younger workers, according to a new report released by aged care provider, Bupa Aged Care.

The recent findings, based on qualitative research conducted into the organisation’s own workforce last year, dispel many currently held myths about the older worker.

The research found that Bupa’s older part-time workers valued their jobs and had a lower turn-over rate when compared to younger staff.

The older workers were also more reliable, with the 60-plus age group taking fewer sick days compared to other age ranges. They were also safe in their approach to work practices, representing only one per cent of Bupa Aged Care’s claims costs for workers' compensation.

Average length of service for older workers was nine years compared to 3.7 years for those in the 40– 49 year age group. Around 25 per cent of the Bupa Aged Care’s volunteers were aged between 60 and 69.

Bupa Care Services’ managing director, Paul Gregersen, believes that life experience is considered a desirable trait of a prospective aged care employee.

“One of our older workers summed it up when she said: ‘We connect so well with our residents because we lived in the world they remember. We may have been young, but we can remember the horse and carts and the clink of milk bottles being delivered in the mornings’,” Mr Gregersen said.

The report also showed that the older workers embraced new initiatives as they were over-represented in Bupa’s Personal Best program which encourages workers to be innovative and responsive to the individual needs of residents.

Almost 10 per cent of the BUPA aged care workforce is aged over 60 years, although the company plans to add more staff to the ranks of its grey army.

Mr Gregersen said the report promotes the aged care sector as the industry of choice for older workers.

Older staff facing discrimination in their current workplace, he said, should therefore consider a career in aged care.

At age 62, registered nurse at Bupa Cardiff, Jan Nolan, is a perfect example of an older worker who enjoys her job in aged care.

She’s worked in aged care for 27 years, at the Cardiff facility for 23 years and says she cannot imagine another industry giving her the same level of job satisfaction.

“In aged care you really feel like you can make a difference,” Ms Nolan says. “It’s not just about being a nurse and looking after their health – you become involved with the whole person. They’re like family.”

Ms Nolan has retired twice over the past couple of years. “But I keep coming back because I really love my job and miss it when I’m not here.”