Unretired? Your Favorite Store Needs You

Susan Olson, 75, makes no bones about her value as a part-time paint associate for a Home Depot in Jupiter, Florida. "I am their dream employee," she says.

Olson has worked 28 hours a week at the retailer for three years and has called in sick only three times. "In the last three years, I've often seen young employees come in and it's a revolving door — they call out sick a lot or they are rude to customers," says Olson.

"I've called out maybe two or three times, and the customers love me because I'm like Grandma," she says. "When Grandma tells you how to paint your house, how can you argue with that?"

Olson, who knows many of her regular customers by name, is willing to work any day of the week according to her availability, and any shift between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. She receives $17.50 an hour and no extra pay on holidays.

"But they love to feed us on holidays," she says. That includes hamburgers and hot dogs, a Thanksgiving feast and a Christmas party.

The work is very different from the civil engineering job she retired from. "I mix paint for people, collaborate with them on color selection and stock shelves," she says. "It's not rocket science, that's for sure."

Olson says the job does help keep her mental abilities sharp by requiring her to learn to interact with all kinds of people. More importantly, it forces Olson to move.

"My body was deteriorating before I started working at Home Depot," she says. "And it was very difficult in my first two or three weeks on the job because I had to sit down a lot. Now, I am moving better and I've lost weight. I'm fit."

Olson believes her performance has opened the door for other older people to be hired. "I'm seeing more and more older people working here," she says.

When I was a teenager, I remember seeking to work at my local McDonald's — and there were 300 applicants for one part-time job. Those days are gone. Now, it's often hard for retailers to find part-time workers and even harder to keep them.

That has opened the door for older adults and is one reason why the person who makes you a coffee or rings up your purchase today is less likely to be a teenager, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 2003, 44.5% of 16- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. worked. In 2023, only 36.9% did, and future projections show a continued decrease.

Conversely, in 2003, 21.4% of 65- to 74-year-olds worked; in 2023, the share rose to 26.9%. Over the same period, the share of people 75 and older who worked rose to 8.3% from 5.8%. Numbers for both age groups are projected to rise.

Not only are fewer young folks working, but they have many more part-time options than working in retail or at restaurants, including some that are more flexible, less physically demanding and sometimes higher-paying.

They can be food delivery drivers, picking up gigs whenever it suits them. Babysitters routinely get up to $20 or more an hour, according to my young adult daughter and many Facebook groups. And don't get me started on how much dog sitters charge.

The retail industry has always had high turnover rates, too, but they have increased since the pandemic. A Korn Ferry survey showed that in 2021 and 2022, the turnover rate for part-time retail employees was 85%. That number decreased slightly in 2023, but it's still high.

This environment is the perfect place for older workers to step into.

Luckily, initiatives have been in place for some time to provide resources for both employers and potential older part-time workers.

"Nineteen years ago, the Age-Friendly Institute was founded in response to stories of older workers struggling to get jobs due to age bias," says Bill Coleman, vice president for research & certification at the Age-Friendly Institute. It is a not-for-profit research and accreditation division within Age-Friendly Ventures, a for-profit, public benefit organization, which operates brands and initiatives with the common purpose of making aging easier.

The organization created the Certified Age Friendly Employer Program. "The program identifies those companies doing the right things to make their organizations friendly to older workers and to align work with skills, knowledge and abilities," says Coleman.

Participating employers are asked to submit answers to a confidential employer evaluation worksheet regarding recruiting and employment policies, practices and programs. This evaluation encompasses the categories of known best practices related to age-friendly employers.

Each year, between 200 and 300 companies are certified or re-certified (every two years, companies need to re-certify), says Coleman. Participants include a mix of large and small companies, including Starbucks, CVS Health, Crate & Barrel and Home Depot.

"In our research, we found a 20% uptick in over-50-year-olds applying for jobs when the employer made it clear they were an age-friendly or Certified Age-Friendly employer," says Coleman.

Outdoor-gear retailer L.L. Bean is a certified age-friendly employer through the Age-Friendly Institute. Almost 50% of the company's 1,655 part-time year-round employees in its 54 retail stores are aged 50 and older, with workers across the age spectrum from their teens to their seventies and eighties.

Kristin Okerholm, talent acquisition/volume recruiting coordinator for L.L. Bean, says she often hears older applicants tell the same story about what drew them to the company. "This is something I've heard often: 'I'm retired, and it seems like it would be fun to work at L.L. Bean. I'm looking to spend my money in a place where I'm working, and I'd like to get the discount,' " she says.

The employee discount (one-third off anything in the store) is part of a benefits program for all employees, including part-time sales associates and floor stockers. Other benefits include paid time off, paid sick time and paid holidays. The company pays its hourly workers at least $1 over the local minimum wage. Depending on the number of hours worked, some part-time employees may qualify for health insurance and other benefits.

Every employee is eligible to participate in the company's 401(k) retirement savings plan, and the company will chip in 4% of a worker's annual pay if the employee saves at least 5%, says Wendy Estabrook, L.L. Bean's vice president for HR shared services.

While the financial perks are nice, the company's annual survey shows that the people they work with are an important reason employees keep coming back year after year. The retention rate for employees in company-owned stores is over 80%, almost unheard of in the retail industry.

"L.L. Bean has a very respectful environment," says Estabrook. "We value collaboration and partnership here. Those who join us with a friendly attitude, a love of the outdoors and a willingness to work hard will fit in beautifully."

"I always said when I retired that I wanted to work for Trader Joe's," says Gayle Savage-Silverman, 71, a long-time shopper at the upscale grocery store chain. "Everybody looked happy, and they were so friendly and nice," says Savage-Silverman, a long-time Trader Joe's shopper.

Two years ago, Savage-Silverman began working as a Crew Member at Trader Joe's after retiring from her full-time job in geriatric case management. She received two weeks of training with various Crew Members, which is what the company calls its employees.

"In addition to learning the job, you learned everyone's style, and you learned you can get things done any way you want as long as they get done," she says.

On any given shift (typically five hours), Savage-Silverman may be a cashier, stock shelves, collect shopping carts from the parking lot, empty trash, clean bathrooms or provide food samples.

"I work there to keep busy; I love being around the people, and I don't mind the money," says Savage-Silverman.

Savage-Silverman makes substantially more than minimum wage and gets premium pay for working Sundays and holidays, as well as a 20% store discount.

While she stays fit by playing pickleball and walking, Savage-Silverman acknowledges that, occasionally, the job pushes her beyond her physical limits.

"During my training, I learned that it's OK to ask someone for help, such as when a box is too heavy," she says. "But in my experience, when an employee sees anybody struggling, they offer to help. You don't even have to ask."

Many of those helpers are younger employees.

"I am very fortunate that the young people I work with, who I call the kids, are very nice and helpful to me," says Savage-Silverman. "I like learning about them, and they will often start a conversation with me."

In addition to doing something you're interested in, "Leave your ego at the door," says Olson.

Your part-time work may be very different than what you did full-time, and you may get a few raised eyebrows.

"Someone I knew saw me working at Trader Joe's and told my friend, 'Why does Gayle have to work at Trader Joe's? And my friend said to him, 'She doesn't have to work. She wants to be there,' " says Savage-Silverman.

Another tip: "Be flexible with your schedule," says Savage-Silverman.

When she first applied to Trader Joe's, she was "very picky" about her availability and didn't get a call back. When she heard they were hiring again, she opened up her availability and got a call.

Don't forget that this is retail, and you will almost always be expected to work for part of the weekend.

A final tip: "Be willing to learn," says Savage-Silverman.

Margie Zable Fisher is a freelance writer and author of The Cabernet Club, a novel about a new retiree learning it’s never too late to be who you might have been. Her website is margiezfisher.com. Read More