Yellow panthers get new energy from working life work energises and inspires mauri

Mauri Niemine works as a permanent substitute in customer service at SOL’s headquarters (SOL City) in Helsinki

“I work here a few hours or days a week, as needed. I fill in for others on holiday or sick leave and come to work if the regular employees are attending events and help is needed here. This kind of irregular work suits me very well,” Mauri Nieminen says.

Mauri Nieminen got his job through SOL’s Yellow Panthers age programme. The objective of the age programme is to make active and motivated senior citizens part of working life.

The work at the SOL City reception is ex- tremely versatile.

“I receive guests, distribute passes, send mail and handle customer service over the phone,” Mauri says.

The work also involves helping jobseekers when they call the SOL centre number. The job requires good language skills and a sharp mind.

I go to work to stay active. I got tired of being retired.

The Yellow Panthers programme at SOL was launched more than 10 years ago. At the moment, there are about 200 active Yellow Panthers

This kind of flexible work suits me well. I can also decline a job offer if I have other important things to do

According to Mauri Nieminen, succeeding in one’s work requires curiosity and interest in new things – these are the things that keep the mind active.

You learn new things when you keep an open mind and have the courage to ask if you don’t know something

He believes that long work experience gives you the courage to ask even when you are unsure. Experience has taught him that covering up one’s own insecurity is not worth it, and asking others helps to sort things out

A certain calmness and knowing that things will be resolved one way or another helps move the work forward.

An older person brings tacit knowledge to the workplace, from which younger people can also learn

Employers should not be afraid to hire older people. There is a lot of workforce in the reserve that could work shorter days, for example, in work tasks that do not require full-time commitment.

With long work experience, these people have accumulated a lot of knowledge and useful skills. In addition, employees like this are often highly motivated

According to Timo Sairanen, Head of HR and Legal Affairs at SOL, the Yellow Panthers are a great resource for SOL.

“The goal of the SOL Life programme is for employees to retire healthy and return to work as enthusiastic Yellow Panthers. Finland’s demographic structure is ageing at an accelerating pace, which is why we will invest more in the employment of pensioners in all our companies in the future”