At 90, oldest female McDonald's Japan staffer shares longevity secrets
KUMAMOTO -- As Japan's workforce ages, one 90-year-old worker at a McDonald's outlet in this southwest city in Kyushu continues to energetically greet younger patrons and coworkers with a smile.
At 7:30 a.m., Tamiko Honda picks up a dustpan and broom and starts sweeping outside the McDonald's location in Kumamoto's busy Shimotori shopping district. "I've had back pain for a few days now," she said with a wry smile during a recent interview with the Mainichi Shimbun ahead of Respect for the Aged Day on Sept. 18. With a steady step, she swiftly goes about collecting trash from the gutter and road.
Ideas:
Age is just a number, as we've all said, and here is a woman is is actually proving it. Unfortunately, society and some companies seem to think what you reach as certain age you are not able to continue working.
Of course, to be fair, it's important to let the younger workers to have a chance and build there careers, too many companies dismiss the aged as not being valuable or not being able to contribute to a company.
And to be even more fair, many 90+ years old people probably don't want to work and or can work, but there is growing sense many older workers want to continue and or need to continue.
Article:
Honda commutes 20 minutes by bus from her home in the city's Nishi Ward five days a week, resting on Wednesdays and Sundays. She works for three hours from 7:30 a.m., mainly the "Morning Mac" hours. She's been on board at the eatery for 23 years, since 2000.
According to Tokyo-based McDonald's Japan, the oldest staffer in the chain's approximately 3,000 outlets is a 95-year-old man in Toyama Prefecture. Honda is the oldest female currently employed by the company, and has been working there longer than the Toyama employee.
Ideas:
Even part-time work, at three hours a day is good for many older workers if they can find work. And most likely service sector jobs are good for them, as they are usually very attentive and very polite and are good workers, which makes them valuable to a company.
People in their 90's are no longer the frail humans beings of whenever, as there many in there 90's more than able to work as needed.
The challenge is society and many companies don't see the value of older workers as they have decades of experience and actually can mentor younger workers too.
Article:
The restaurant's manager, 51-year-old Hiromi Ushijima, said she is in the same generation as Honda's grandchildren. "I feel relieved when Tamiko says 'Good morning' to me every morning, and she both energizes and comforts those around her. As she can also be counted on to fill her shifts, she's an indispensable presence for the business," Ushijima said in gratitude.
Honda was born in the city of Uki, Kumamoto Prefecture. After being employed in nursing at a hospital in the city of Kumamoto for many years, she retired at the compulsory age of 61. She went on to work as a cleaner for a university in the city until that facility's compulsory retirement age of 67. Unable to shake the desire to keep working, rather than move on to end-of-life planning activities, she went back to job-hunting.
Ideas:
Older workers, as the article shows, are very dependable to come in and do their jobs and the managers haven't worried about whether she is going to show for her shift that day.
Can we say that about many younger workers, who sometimes who don't take their jobs as responsibly as they should.
Society and companies need to change their mindsets about what age is and allow older workers to continue on as needed. Who says a 61 year old or a 67 year old can't continue doing the same job, other than of course letting younger workers to have a chance to do the same job.
Its good that McDonalds in Japan allow older workers to work at the company. In fact as I travel to Japan very often, whenever I go to McDonalds or Mos burger for example, I've seen a lot of older workers at those places and almost never any younger teenage age workers at those places.
Maybe McDonalds and other food sector companies are having challenges finding younger workers and so they have turned, rightly so, to older workers.
There might be some very serious labor shortages in Japan these days and Japan needs to use and employ as many older workers as needed to keep the economy going. Its not a negative to have a lot of older workers working for a company if they can do the job, continue to be of value and can continue to be energetic in their jobs.
Article:
When her only daughter brought her a job posting for McDonald's that stated "all ages welcome," she jumped at the chance, applying the same day.
"I also want to work more," Honda has been told by fellow elderly customers. She is said to spend breaks chatting with younger crew mates and others over coffee and sharing her "rakkyozuke" homemade pickled Japanese shallots.
Ideas:
Of course not all older people are as energetic as this woman, but there are more and more older people like here in Japan, as Japanese older workers want and need to continue working.
The same with any older worker in any country, as working might keep people healthy and their minds young because for many older workers, once they "retire" their mind and health starts to go downhill quickly.
There should be more people like her around the world as productive work keeps people young and healthy compared to just sitting and wasting away in a retirement home.
Article:
Having grown up in wartime, Honda was 12 and had moved on to a higher-years school after elementary school under the old imperial education system when the war ended. "In those days, our meals mainly consisted of sweet potato and taro root. Food was always scarce," she reflected. "Now we live in an era of convenience, with all sorts of food available to order at the push of a button. Because I lived through tough times, I keenly sense the value of things."
As she's gotten older, her hearing has declined and her eyesight has worsened due to cataracts. Vision loss has made her sewing hobby difficult, but, she said cheerfully, "Now work is my hobby."
Ideas:
Older workers, in many countries, remember what it was like back in the day, when maybe food and other resources were scarce, and they have sense of value of things that many young people don't today.
For example, again maybe many younger people. college-age students don't value the importance of working at food service companies or convenience stores as maybe they think it's too hard or some might think its beneath them to do that kind of work.
Again, as I have gone to many convenience stores in Japan I rarely see younger Japanese college-age students there but I do see a lot foreign college-age students and older Japanese working at 7/11, Lawson's, Minitop and so on.
Article:
Honda's daughter passed away from cancer 12 years ago at the age of 58. Before every shift, Honda makes sure to look at a photo of her daughter and say, "I'm off to work."
Her good friends' dementia has made it difficult to interact with them, and many of them have already passed away. And yet, "I have never missed a shift due to illness. Coming to work and talking with young people keeps me lively. Even the coronavirus is no sweat," she said with a chuckle.
Ideas:
Continue working in older age might be like medicine for many people as work keep the mind strong and the body healthy. Of course this woman might not be able to do construction type work, but she has found a niche that she is able to keep working and McDonalds seem to like her work.
How many younger workers can say they have never missed a day of work or even a day at school.
This woman should be a role model a mentor for younger people to aspire too. Of course many younger people might just see her as an old person and not a valuable member of the company or society.
Article:
Her grandchild asked her, "Haven't you worked enough already?" Honda, however, passes off the idea of retiring, saying that she remains healthy thanks to her job. "In order to keep from burdening those around me, I want to live and do my best at work as long as my body allows it."
"Working is the secret to health. In life, you need to have hope," Honda said in a distinctive Kumamoto dialect.
Ideas:
Hope is everything, and this woman's seems to have found it in continuing to work and do something everyday, instead of just staying home and wasting away.
Who knows, if she has stopped working at 61 or even 67, when those other companies said quit/retire, if she would be as healthy and energetic today, or would she have passed on like many younger workers when they reach those ages.
Of course not everyone is as lucky as her to be able to find meaningful work at her age, as again many countries don't want to hire older workers, as they might see them as a hindrance or not able to do the work
Article:
9.3 million elderly workers, double 30 years prior
According to the 2023 white paper on Japan's ageing population released by the Cabinet Office, elderly people aged 65 or over in the workforce numbered 9.27 million, representing 13.4% of all workers aged 15 or older based on 2022's statistics. This shows a doubling of 1995's 6.7% share, when the proportion of the population considered to be in "productive years," between 15 and 65, was at its peak. A breakdown of age groupings among the elderly also shows an increase in several generations since 2015, with those aged 65 to 69 comprising 52%, those in their early 70s at 33.9%, and those aged 75 and older at 11% of the total.
Ideas:
As Japanese society ages, and more and more workers want and need to continue to working, but the mindsets of companies need to change and many of these older workers can still be valuable members of a company and provide many years of experience for their younger workers.
Of course many older workers probably should continue working as they seem to lose energy and the drive to excel once they get to a certain age. But there are still many older workers, if given a chance and do a job as needed and do it well, and maybe even better than many younger workers, who at times, don't care about their jobs.
Article:
Under changes to the country's employment laws made effective in April 2021, companies have been required to make efforts to introduce measures aimed at helping people remain employed in old age, such as abolishing or raising compulsory retirement ages to 70 or allowing retired employees to continue to work on a contractual basis until 70. McDonald's Japan also announced its intent to no longer consider factors such as age or gender in hiring decisions and has not imposed a compulsory retirement age for crew members.
However, according to the white paper, just 3.9% of companies have done away with mandatory retirement ages, while only 2.1% have raised theirs to 70.
Ideas:
McDonalds is good at leading the way in Japan, as like the US, for many kinds of work, there is no retirement age limits and people can work as long as they are able and willing to work.
Age limits or retirement limits are a hindrance to economic growth at it shuts down a significant portion of society that can still be productive and help the economy grow.
The challenge might be again, as many older workers reach a certain age, they have lost hope, they have lost energy, and they have lost the drive to continue to be valuable to a company and society overall.
Article:
A January 2020 Cabinet Office survey revealed that 36.7% of working seniors intend to remain on the job as long as possible. Combined with those intending to work until either age around 75 or 80, over 60% of the working seniors wanted to work more. Regarding their motivation, 45.4% said they need the income, 23.5% said it's for their health, 21.9% find their job interesting or enjoy applying their knowledge and 4.4% wish to gain friends through their work. Considering the notable number who find meaning through their job or remain there for health reasons, there is a need for workplaces to provide the elderly with a supportive work environment.
Ideas:
As seen in the above paragraph, there are many reasons to continue working. Of course 45.4 % need to continue working for the income, 23.5 % because of health and 21.9% find their jobs interesting.
Maybe today 75 or 80 is a possible retirement time, but maybe in ten years or so it might even higher has the healthy of older people continues to get better and and better.
Back in the day 40 would considered old. And even 50 was considered old, now today 60/70 is not considered that old as older people continue to be active and have good health.
Have a nice day and be safe!
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