Many of you may remember my blog on HuffingtonPost last April about a Massachusetts company that makes big profits by targeting the hiring of older workers – as in much older! – because of their superior track records on loyalty, output and dependability. I had just read Caitrin Lynch’s book Retirement on the Line: Age, Work and Value in an American Factory.,

Paul Solman at PBS-TV’s Nightly News ran a wonderful piece last night about this story … INVESTMENT IN OLDER WORKERS TURNS A BIG PROFIT ….. , with fascinating interviews with workers (ages 94, 100 … ), the owner of the firm (emphasizing the consistent profits which the company makes – and then shares!) and Lynch, an anthropologist at the Olin School of Engineering. WATCH IT  … it’s a great 10 minutes.

Once again, as with Lincoln Electric, the important point to consider is not whether this is just an exception, an oddity  …. that’s just an easy excuse to avoid change.

The key point is to ponder why our economic system seems so reluctant to explore alternative work environments that fulfill the profit mandate while being so much more creative in respecting the needs of workers and society at large.