Still taking courses before retirement

Dilemma

“I am counting down the months until retirement. My employer is now switching to a new management system and I should be using it in a short time. I am dreading this because I have to take a course and it is difficult for me to learn this. What can I do?” – Man (66), the editors all know this name.

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Whether you are old or young, you are unlikely to be immediately excited when your employer introduces a new IT system. This means you have to work slightly differently to what you are used to. Especially in the first few months of introduction, this takes time, effort and sometimes a lot of frustration.

But Annemieke van Vliet, company doctor at Arbo Unie, says that for older employees such adjustments are particularly heavy. As people get older, they learn more slowly. “I can imagine that this can be stressful. People want to know what’s going to happen or worry that they have little time to master the system.” She stresses that not everyone struggles with the new IT system: “There are also many older employees who have mastered it very quickly.”

Whatever your stance, it’s hard to avoid accepting changes like this. “It’s hard for an employer to say: Pietje and Jantje don’t have to enter their profile in this new system,” Van Vliet says. “As an employer, it’s good to communicate a clear plan. This is what it means, this is what we’re going to do. That way you can get the whole population on board.”

Kim van Zanten believes it’s best not to refuse to take courses that are beyond your control. She works as an employment law lawyer at the Trust Advocate office in Helmond. She says whether an employer can train employees approaching state pension age depends on several factors. “For example, look at what is arranged in the employment contract or collective labour agreement regarding training. Is there a legal obligation for training and what are the interests of both parties in this specific case. It’s not black and white.”

Good employer and employee behavior also plays a role, Van Zanten said. For example, the employer’s advice must be reasonable, but also based on what the employee can handle. “There are all sorts of circumstances where you can’t expect someone to continue training in the last year of their working life. Maybe someone is sick, or he or she can’t comply for some other reason.”

So the question is: In order to retain a position for someone approaching retirement, taking a course might be necessary, but to what extent does that employee also need to take such a course? “Perhaps the work or the courses could also be organized differently so that the employee can keep up with the rest of his career.”

Finding Alternatives

Perhaps an older employee wants to learn the system but thinks he needs more time. Or perhaps the person only needs to use part of the system to complete his tasks. Van Zanten sees an outcome through mutual consultation: “The work or courses might be organized in such a way that the employee only needs to learn what is applicable.”

Company doctor Van Vliet also found a solution to adjust the scope of tasks so that the 66-year-old may not need to use the new system at all.

“As an employer, you have to think carefully about how much room there is.” After all, someone still has to be found to take over the old colleague’s tasks.

Van Vliet himself came up with the idea of ​​a workplace buddy: “This person has a handle on the system and the older employee can ask him or her questions.” An added advantage: The younger buddy can benefit from all the work experience of the person he or she is mentoring in other areas.

Van Vliet can’t say how much of the consequences of changes to the system for older employees are not adequately considered. “But you do see that especially younger management underestimates the impact on older people. As an employer, you shouldn’t immediately say: This is what we’re going to do from tomorrow, and this is how it will work. Get employees used to it, communicate well, and a lot of the concerns will go away.”

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When the new (ICT) system is announced, first take a deep breath and think about why you are afraid of its introduction. Would you like more time to learn it, or would you rather do your job differently in the last months of your career? You can always discuss this with your employer. In principle, they can impose a course, but they will also want you to retire healthy and satisfied.

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