One of the many challenges seniors from around the world face is supporting themselves well enough to remain financially stable. Without a significant amount of help from social security, retirement funds, or assistance from loved ones, many seniors have a difficult time making ends meet. As a result, there has been a growing surge of initiative from businesses in recent years to provide suitable employment for seniors. For example, one Starbucks in Mexico City took a step up recently by offering employment exclusively to citizens age 55 and up. Learn more!
Senior Baristas
The store started with a host of younger baristas for training purposes but eventually plans to run entirely on a staff of 14 seniors. Medical insurance and 2 days off a week are guaranteed. To accommodate seniors, shifts don't last longer than 6.5 hours.
Benefits
Not only does this job provide much-needed financial support for seniors, but it also provides a number of other benefits for seniors, including:
- An environment for friendly human interaction
- The opportunity to learn new skills
- A chance to provide a useful service for other people
As much as we all love coffee, they're sure to meet an enormous amount of people from walks of life they might never have interacted with previously. Their loved ones can also rest easier knowing that they're both financially supported and engaged in their community.
It's a small step for now, but it's just the start of Starbuck's plan to hire 120 seniors across Mexico before the end of the year.
Challenges
There's a lot to appreciate from initiatives like these, however, there are still many challenges involved for seniors who're employed this way.
Like most food service positions, Starbucks employees are expected to stay on their feet for hours at a time, meet high demands for service, and occasionally do some heavy lifting. This could be an issue for those with disabilities or those who are otherwise physically limited.
The benefits are exceptional, but as anyone who's worked in a restaurant will tell you, it's not a stress-free gig.
It will be interesting to see how this Starbucks performs and how the company's long-term plan for senior employment pans out.
