Tom Farmer is a man on a mission.
His goal: to make sure campers at SeaWorld learn something about science.
Farmer: Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to learn about dolphins and echolocation.
And to make sure kids have fun, too…
Farmer: Now remember, here at SeaWorld, if the dolphins splash you, Sebastian, they don’t mean to do that on purpose.
Farmer puts a lot into his job. He’s energetic and enthusiastic. Farmer will be 62 next month. And he doesn’t need to work at all.
Farmer: I thought I would retire exactly at 60 if not even sooner when I left the military, and I thought I would go out and play golf or do fishing. I got this job just by a fluke, no pun intended. But I got the job and I came here and I have not left, except for a short stint to go to graduate school. I love this job, absolutely, unequivocally, love this job.
Farmer says he enjoys working with people of all ages. He likes his supervisors. And there are other benefits, too.
Farmer: I’m active mentally and physically. And then the third thing is, a little bit corny: emotionally, I’m on an even keel. I’m having fun, and the key is, when I work with these people, I’m learning at the same time. So I’m not in any kind of a doldrum, I’m not in a depression, I’m not in anything that’s of an inactive nature. Here at SeaWorld, you’re active. I like that.
Luckily for Farmer, he’s found a company that welcomes older workers. Sea World actively recruits seniors. Currently, about 12 percent of their workforce is in Farmer’s age bracket.
Ewell: It’s a wonderful fit for our organization, for a couple of reasons. One, the work ethic, it comes proven. They’re instinctively proven for our business. They understand guest engagement. They understand servicing. They understand problem resolution, just perfect. That’s one. And the other piece that we’ve learned that it pays a big dividend, is around the mentoring of other employees. Here’s a group of individuals that have work experience, they understand what the real world is like, and they’re able to transpose those knowledges back to our workforce.
SeaWorld is by no means the only local firm that likes to employ seniors. Scripps Health has been honored by AARP for being one of the nation’s top companies for workers ages 50 and up. Scripps has a number of policies that are senior-friendly. For example, the company allows older workers to reduce their hours, and retain full-time benefits. Scripps also lets older employees tap into their retirement savings while they’re still working.
Debbie Gac, executive vice president of human resources, Scripps Health.
Gac: We have about a third of our employees right now that are aged 50 plus. We hire about 13 to 15 percent of our new hires last year were 50 plus. So we do have an aging population that we do care for, and we want to make sure that our workforce really does emulate that.
Joni Lee is one of Scripps longest-serving employees. She’s been a nurse for more than 50 years.
Lee: There’s something, I think it’s because I’ve worked all my life in the operating room, but there’s something…the smell, or the aroma, if you will. It’s so welcoming. It is, it’s almost like I’m home. And I can’t say it’s an anesthetic smell, it’s certainly not anything gory smell at all. It’s just a smell, and it’s like I’m back home. I’m in my environment.
Lee has cut back recently. She now works four hours a day, five days a week. But she’s not ready to give it up altogether.
Lee: Because I love working, and I love the hospital setting, and the operating room. So as long as I can, I’m going to keep on doing it.
Both Joni Lee and Tom Farmer work because they want to. But a large percentage of seniors say they need to stay employed to stay afloat.
More than six out of ten Californians ages 55 to 64 were employed in 2006. And more than two out of ten people ages 65 to 69 were still working. Whether it’s due to financial pressures, or a desire to do something meaningful, a growing number of seniors is still in the workplace. And those who study aging say that’s a good thing.
Dr. Dilip Jeste, director, Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging .
Jeste: Research has shown that people who continue to work in old age, even in the late seventies, they are healthier, less dependent on others, and have a longer life span than people who don’t work.
Dr. Jeste says those effects are seen even after controlling for factors like physical illness and economic status. And he says the benefits are the same whether it’s paid or volunteer work.
Jeste says staying active in old age improves overall functioning, and even alters the structure of the brain.
He says healthy aging is an important societal issue.
Jeste: We all know that as people get older, the healthcare costs go up. And one of the ways we should be focusing our interest, is how to keep older people healthy. And one way of keeping them healthy, is by having them in an active workforce.
Some believe keeping seniors in the workforce is essential to the nation’s economic recovery.
Carleen MacKay, AARP California Workforce Policy Advisor.
MacKay: If we work longer and later in life, because we can, because we’re healthier, because we’re living longer, we will be able to continue to consume. I’m not talking about food here, I mean shop and buy and the type of thing. Don’t have to tap into our investments. We’re a consumer-driven nation. So, if we work, we continue to stay self-supporting and consumption-focused.
And that could be crucial as the graying of America continues. There are more than 35 million Americans aged 65 and older. That number is expected to double by the year 2030.
So you can expect to see a lot more seniors like Tom Farmer in the workplace.
And where will he be in ten years, when he’s nearly 72?
Farmer: Right here at Sea World if they’ll still have me, and put up with my jokes. But I just said that for the halibut.
