Tracey Rizzuto, professor of human resource and leadership development, gathered information from research on aging people in the work environment and found a common misconception of older workers lacking the capacity to meet the standards of the modern workplace.

“A lot of people in powerful positions hold these stereotypes,” Rizzuto said.

Although the public perceives older people to be resistant to new technologies and work methods or simply not able to “keep up,” Rizzuto said most cognitive declines do not occur until the 60s or 70s.

The most damaging part of these perceptions, though, is the aging population starts to believe them, she said.

Psychology professor Katie Cherry said ageism, or the discrimination of someone based on his or her age, leads to lower self-esteem in aging workers.

Cherry said though older workers can learn the same technologies as younger workers, changes in the central and peripheral nervous systems cause older workers to react slower. A young person can react 250 to 300 milliseconds after a stimulus while it takes an older person 500 to 750 milliseconds to react.

“You cannot speed up an older person,” Cherry said.

Rizzuto said the fluid capacity of cognitive intelligence, which includes abilities like solving puzzles, declines a little more, while the crystallized capacity of cognitive intelligence, involving the ability to remember names and dates, stays longer.

If a job demands fluid intelligence, she said the employer may have to accommodate by sending reminders to aging workers.

Employers can accommodate physical setbacks of aging workers by using computer programs that offer larger font or higher image resolution, she said.

Rizzuto said employers worry about jobs changing; therefore, they hire younger workers to train. These workers may be more accustomed to technology, but they lack the cultivated skills and knowledge older workers possess.

Companies try to trade older workers out for younger ones using early retirement, but Rizzuto said employers lose the valuable expertise, maturity and responsibility of aging workers.

“Trying to force older workers out can be incredibly damaging,” she said.

Rizzuto said it is possible for older workers to grasp new technologies. Older workers are actually accepting of newer technologies, but they may need training unlike younger people who use technology on a daily basis.

Aging successfully requires engaging in preventive health care, keeping tabs on mental and physical fitness and recognizing the importance of social support, she said.

Rizzuto said college students can begin aging successfully by taking care of their bodies before health problems begin.

A human reaches his or her cognitive peak in the early- to mid-30s, and it starts to decline in the 60s, she said. However, aging workers can still cognitively process well enough to positively contribute to the workforce.

“If every worker knew they are not necessarily handicapped by aging … they’d have more robust self-confidence,” she said.