Silver strivers: Korean IT firm hails age of the older worker

AT FIRST sight, the presence of bloodpressure machines in the breakout area of its modern office is the only clue that EverYoung, in downtown Seoul, is not your average tech start-up company.

But look more closely at the employees tapping furiously at their computers, and EverYoung’s unique business model becomes more apparent – the internet content-monitoring company has a strictly ageist policy of employing staff only over the age of 55.

The company, founded by 56-yearold executive Chung Eunsung, aims to address South Korea’s demographic time bomb and challenge a corporate culture steeped in age discrimination in favour of the young.

“If seniors are working even after retirement, and being globally competitive, then it will be a good solution to our future social problems,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.

His staff work four-hour shifts, monitoring platforms such as Naver, South Korea’s Google equivalent, to censor sensitive information such as a child’s identity, on publicly available sites.

Several also conduct coding classes for school pupils.

The oldest worker is 83, and managers praise the workforce for its dedication and for being less addicted to their phones.

Mr Chung does not draw a salary, but pours profits into wages and fringe benefits, including two free annual eye tests, fitness centre membership, and a cash bonus for new grandchildren.

Staff are encouraged to exercise or test their blood pressure in the chill-out zone in their hourly 10-minute breaks.

After-work clubs, such as the EverYoung rock band, are a pillar of office culture.

Mr Chung wanted to prove that the older generation can easily contribute to Korea’s high-tech-focused economy.

His initial experiment with 30 employees has now expanded to four offices, employing 420.

Amid low birth rates, the over-65s account for 13.2per cent of South Korea’s population, a figure projected to rise to 24.5per cent by 2030.

His company is now so popular that pensioners compete to join.

Yang Jae-seon, 70, said the job had given him a new lease of life.

“I thought after I retired, I would travel a lot, seeing new things, but it’s not like that when you’re old,” said Mr Yang. “Even the same cloud that you see in the sky, it doesn’t look the same when you’re not working.”

He felt a new sense of responsibility, he said, and he could think of only one downside. “Because we’ve lived for so long, we think our wisdom is the standard for the whole universe. So I can only imagine how difficult it is for our job trainers.”