Importance of sharing knowledge with the next generation
In a pilot program, run by the University of Wollongong (UOW), retirees have shared their knowledge and skills with the next generation while at the same time improving their own health and wellbeing.
Dr Peter Massingham with retired senior executive Colin Greig, who mentored a UOW business student as part of the program.
The ‘Sharing Retirees’ Knowledge’ program paired retirees who had successful careers in teaching, engineering and nursing, with UOW students studying in the same area, accelerating the students learning and experience.
Retirees reported a significant boost in self-esteem and confidence and a reduction in feelings of stress, anxiety and depression.
“With increased life expectancy and people having fewer children, Australia, like much of the rest of the Western world, has an ageing population,” says chief researcher Dr Peter Massingham from the Faculty of Business.
“As people retire their working knowledge is often lost or lays idle. It’s essential that we capture this valuable information for future generations.”
Dr Massingham says the program had a profound impact on the mental health and wellbeing of the retirees involved.
“It led to significant reductions in anxiety, depression, and stress. Depression levels, for example, reduced by 90 percent. It also increased retirees’ hopefulness for the future,” he says.
The team also found a marked improvement in age discrimination and negative stereotypes about older people and a boost in the ‘soft skills’ of students.
“Student perception of older people’s work performance increased and ageist misconceptions, such as older people are less productive and have slowing cognitive skills, were also less prevalent,” according to Dr Massingham.
“The program changed respondents’ fundamental belief systems about older people.”
The success of the program has led Dr Massingham to recommend the mentoring scheme be embedded in university courses and adapted for workplaces around Australia.
“The ‘Sharing Retirees’ Knowledge’ program has received an overwhelming positive response from participants. We see potential for it to be adapted for workplaces around Australia and embedded into university curriculum,” he says.
“We also see the need for a national database of retiree knowledge that enables younger people to search and find suitable mentors.”
