European companies are discovering the value of the expertise that older workers have to offer and are pressuring their governments to take measures to increase the number of seniors in the workforce. In a society where employees have traditionally been encouraged to retire early to free up jobs for younger workers, companies are now lamenting the loss of hands on experience and resulting effect on productivity.
See "The Workplace: When gray is better than green", Thomas Fuller, International Herald Tribune, July 4, 2005