Age 63 still in a professional job but unable to cope with tech

My lovely friend was much the same - she just couldn’t get to grips with technology and at 57 decided her only option was to retire from teaching in a special needs school.

Without wanting to cause alarm, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s before she was 60.

It is very hard to get through to speak to anyone on the phone these days.
Companies invest a lot of money in systems designed to make work easier and therefore increase their profits. They don't care about what makes life easier for cutomers or indeed users who are working on them.
It is possible to get thought to people on the phone and, although it takes patience and persistence, it is far more effective and productive than trying to deal with robots and unwieldy systems.
If you are expected to use systems at work you should be given the correct effective training- not fobbed off as being useless and blaming yourself.
I would keep asking for more hands on training and not just doing the on-line units you get these days which teach you very little.
No one can learn anything if they aren't taught properly.
It isn't you.
You don't have Alzheimers.
Ask for better training and if you are asked to feedback on any training, be honest- don't be polite!
That's my take on it anyway...

I would say as well that the onus is not on you.

It is going to be easier for younger people - as they've had this around for much/all of their lives and we havent.

The pressure to learn stuff we don't actually need or want of ourselves is something I know I find most unfair. I certainly think "Why do you think you have the right to impose stuff onto me - just because you want it that way?"

I certainly don't think it's Alzheimers or the like - it's just you know you don't need/want whatever-it-is - but there's every chance your mind works better than other peoples does at stuff that other people struggle with or can't do at all.

People really really should stop trying to impose a "one size fits all" take on life - because it really ain't like that. You can probably do stuff the "pushers" can't manage to do. So why should you feel pushed like that?

NB; Dementia is when you can't do something you yourself can normally do. eg my father was very intelligent and was a maths teacher latterly (ie after retraining in mid-life). I knew it was getting to be a problem when he couldnt do something I knew he could normally do without a problem (ie go through sheets of figures and add them up). That was the basic clue - ie that he couldnt do something he could normally do and had been doing for years.

Do you need to do the IT tasks to continue to do your job competently without being carried by your colleagues mrsnonsmoker, or is it optional? If it’s an integral part of your job, I would initially seek some 1-1 tuition, because it may be a mental block, where your brain is telling you that you can’t do it, when with more tuition on a 1-1 basis you could pick it up.

Those are only examples, so just saying oh you can fix those 2/3 things isn't reassuring - this is what the Alzheimers society says:

Normal sign of ageing: Taking longer to work out new tasks, such as how to set up and use a new appliance or device.

Possible warning signs of dementia etc: Being unable to learn
new tasks, like setting up and using a new appliance or device.

We are being reviewed for redundancy at work so my asking for 1:1 training will not go down well; also I work in an unusual organisation were there are very few people under 60 and most are late 60s early 70s, and don't have these issues. So there would be zero sympathy!

I agree with Casdon an actual person showing you, then you doing it with them is easier to retain.

but anyway, I will take reassurance that posters coming back to me think its nothing to worry about!

My DH has always struggled with tech. We were both teachers and had lots of computer courses etc. He always took longer to learn and although he is quite happy doing our online groceries etc. anything new sends him into a tail spin. My theory is, he gets overly anxious and so cannot take things in. mrsnonsmoker, he is 78 with no sign of dementia so I don’t think you need to worry on that score.

I can learn a new system the problem I have is there are so many systems that I need infrequently keeping up with them all gets time consuming

I don’t think it’s anything to do with dementia!
I am fine if I’m actually shown how to do things but trying to understand instructions just doesn’t work for me, YouTube videos can be quite helpful.
Sometimes I think I go into a bit of a panic before I try something new which doesn’t help either, but usually if I persevere I can manage most things - just takes longer as you get older, for me anyway.

I think new technologies have been coming thick and fast, and then even faster for approx the last twenty years.

Even the experts seem to be increasingly worried that Artificial Intelligence is getting too powerful to control.

Lifting the lid of Pandora's Box, I suppose.

Its not dementia its lack of proper training.some people need to see things done practically, some can read instructions and follow.
In my last job I trained the new staff on the system. I sat beside them and for 3 days I worked and they listened in.then they did the typing for me then when confident I turned it over and it was my turn to listen till they had it confidently.
Some picked up fast some didn't, but in the end all managed.

I also think some people are more able to adapt to tech. We are not all the same.

My last 3 years before retiring were very similar. I was in a fairly technical role but new IT systems and new ways of working were continually being rolled out. I knew I was going to retire when I was 65 so I simply went along with the flow. There was so much I didn't understand and couldn't grasp. Hilariously it hardly mattered as another roll out would follow very shortly. I just learned and mastered the bare minimum and got away with it until I retired. Four months before I retired a place on a course I had, for 6 years kept applying for, finally came along. Although it was nothing to do with my current role but was credits towards an MSc which I had been expecting to study (and never did) I attended it. I have never been more relaxed on a course with homework and an exam. I passed it but suspect I had the lowest marks. The certificate etc. was posted to me at home after I retired. This rambling response is basically saying, don't worry about not "getting" all new technology, you will find work arounds both at home and in the workplace, we all do.

kittylester

I also think some people are more able to adapt to tech. We are not all the same.

I agree. A primary school teacher and SENCO, I became an advisory teacher for IT in 1986. We taught teachers to use the newly arrived BBC machines and for the next decade I worked with children with serious illnesses and disabilities, identifying and implementing equipment to help them communicate and learn. After that I became an Inspector of Schools for IT in Local Authorities working with schools to encourage good practice.
I would say that for teachers, learning to use IT resources was about the ability to keep an open mind, adapt and be willing to learn. It can be helpful to be shown how to do things, but it depends who is doing the showing; if someone takes over and tells you how to do it, you won't learn. Generally speaking it is about finding ways of learning that suit the individual, such as YouTube videos, practice and patience. Anything that is badly designed can be frustrating and discouraging, but I would argue that understanding and a level of competence suited to our lifestyle is essential for survival in the world we live in.

I was exactly the same way as you mrsnonsmoker in my last 4 years of work. My role involved the constant simultaneous use of 8 pc systems which was fine but I just felt bombarded by the 100's of weekly emails and over time was less and less able to digest and store the constant new info and policy updates which were crucial to doing my role. Told management this but they'd just say that I'd be fine but I knew it wasn't happening so felt there was no support there so ended up deliberately very gradually slowing down my work pace and insisting on time out to digest the incessant new info. We had to do 2 compulsory courses yearly with a test at the end which, no if's or buts, had to be passed. Really struggled with these in the latter years and kept failing. Then came up with a brainwave of opening the application twice so I could refer back to the info if stuck on a question - cheating I know but.. Having spoken to others, it was surprising how many were also struggling - even younger ones. So no,it's not you but more likely those examples you gave are just normal forgetfulness that we all have.

I worked in a bank, and found all the new ‘techy’ stuff difficult, until I got ‘into’ it.

Trouble was, new initiatives came thick and fast, just felt confident with one, and it changed.

I was in charge of a small outlet, and it caused me sleepless nights, not feeling on top of things.

I retired at 60, which was always my plan as my bank pension started then, (but not my state one).

I would probably have carried on as I used to love my job, but all the changes stressed me out.

Have never regretted finishing, it’s a different (not better) world in banking now.

I don’t think it’s you , it’s the lack of teaching you the new systems . We all learn differently. I’m better at learning through reading text or books or someone showing me . I’m not good at online videos and sometimes the people in these videos have such a boring voice or are non engaging
I’d ask for some 1-1 .
As for dealing with companies over the phone , you need the patience of a saint to go through all hoops , you’re not alone.

Plaease stop worrying. It’s not you and has probably nothing to do with your age.
My daughter tests the sites that web developers design and build.
For instance the Home office wanted a new computer system.
She would be instructing the staff as to what they have to do to make sure the site is working and safe.
I can’t begin to tell you how many of the ( mostly young people) couldn’t grasp what they were told to do.

I have find that some online firms send you round in circles if you try to make a complaint. In many cases it is impossible to phone and you can start off following the complaints procedure, pass go then end up at the start again. Amazon, in particular, is notorious for this.

I have been fairly tech-savvy for years.

Before anyone says why use Amazon - because it is difficult to get to the shops, it is generally useful and yes, I do order from independent British firms too.

Perhaps you just didn't have a very good teacher?

everyone leans differently and it's quite apparent where I work that lots of people struggle with technology and online learning. Even people mid 40s onwards

I was in my 20s when I took a COBOL course; the instructor, a colleague, was so incredibly intelligent, went too fast and didn't actually explain it terribly well because he just couldn't understand why some of us couldn't pick it up as quickly as he did.

Of course, it was all in its infancy then.

That doesn't surprise me - re an instructor shooting through saying things because he personally didn't find it a problem.

It is very annoying when people go "Ach! Technology - I can do it/I don't have a problem with it/I'm okay" and they totally seem to think the rest of us are "in the wrong" and say so disparagingly!!! To which I think - "Well you've just proved who is the nicer/more understanding person - ie that you can't seem to grasp others don't have a techno brain. A lot of us don't have a techno brain. We are not the minority".

I guess the ridicule we get coming at us is one of the tactics used to make us all swop - whether we can or can't....ie to try and make out a general issue is a personal/"summat wrong with YOU" issue. It's a form of bullying or "blindness" or both....