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Archive for category Commentary

CEDA focus on demographic change

Posted by Alison in Commentary on July 14th, 2010

The Government’s renewed focus on workforce ageing was apparent at yesterday’s CEDA Workforce Skills and Demographic Change forum held in Sydney.

Senator The Hon Mark Arbib, Minister for Employment Participation acknowledged that whilst the ageing of the Australian workforce is indeed a significant challenge, employers can combat the challenge by actively boosting the labour force participation rate of mature workers.

The Senator added that there is a ‘supply and demand’ imbalance. This is only set to worsen through the unprecedented retirement of a generation of workers who occupy roles falling under the Skilled Occupation Categories (including engineers, IT and health workers).

“The most common letters across my desk are from writers aged 45+. We are talking about highly skilled and experienced people. Yet, they take 52 weeks on average to find a new job. Government AND employers need to work together to effect culture change”.

It was good to see that many enlightened employers were in the room to hear the address yesterday. AMP, Telstra and TransGrid to name a few. All of whom are already on the ‘age management journey’.

Professor Peter McDonald, ANU Director of Demographic Research, cited scenario modelling by Skills Australia and Access Economics that estimates 4.36m extra workers will be required over the next 15 years.

Almost the same number of boomers exiting the workforce over the same period to retirement…

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ageing with grace

Posted by Catriona in Commentary on July 12th, 2010

RobertButlerWe want to acknowledge the passing of Robert Butler, a Pulitzer prize-winning author and psychiatrist who coined the term ”ageism”.

Butler helped create the modern notion that ageing is a time of choice, of opportunity, of growth. He is recognised as having conducted one of the first long term studies of older people in 1955.

Some of the groundbreaking findings of that study were that senility is not an inevitable consequence of age and that psychiatric care is not wasted on the elderly, as was commonly believed. It also found that older people were more contented and tended to live longer when their lives were filled with goals, structure and a sense of purpose.

His work has certainly contributed to the core values and philosophy of SageCo’s programs for redirecting retirement.

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the dangers of retirement: a word from Aristotle

Posted by Catriona in Commentary on June 30th, 2010

We love this quote from the write up of Jeffrey Smart’s (aged 89) latest exhibition.

Life, happiness and activity, as Aristotle suggests, are all the same thing. There is a higher experience of transcendent joy, but happiness in general consists in being active; that is, exercising agency and initiative, fulfilling our vocation, acquiring and practising skills, enjoying the freedom to think and to make.

This is why retirement is so dangerous. People imagine they want more leisure, but they confuse leisure with idleness. The former is a state of freedom from material necessity that should allow one to pursue activities of intrinsic interest; but idleness is a lack of activity, and even the dull routines of work are more energising than having nothing to do.

Rethink retirement. If not a dangerous concept, it is at best outdated.

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double trouble

Posted by Alison in Commentary on May 12th, 2010

The number of age discrimination complaints in the first quarter of this year has doubled, according to Elizabeth Broderick, Commissioner responsible for Age Discrimination. “I think that’s because the issue has had more airing in the last six months through the Intergenerational Report that Treasury launched, which talked about the eligibility for the pension going up to the age of 67” she says.

This continues a rising trend with a 20% increase in age discrimination complaints seen between 2008 and 2009.

“The Government is sending strong signals that we need to work longer but the question is can we when there’s a culture that says you’re not valuable when you’re over a certain age.”   More…

Let’s hope Risk Managers have this topic firmly on their agenda. Organisations who are the subject of a complaint suffer not only significant costs but damage to their coveted employment brand.

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a bright future

Posted by Catriona in Commentary on April 15th, 2010

Great article from last weekend’s Sunday Age. Here’s an excerpt:

Here’s another image: a newer, more sombre reality. You work in an office. Your 65th birthday comes and goes. Life as you know it ticks on, the humdrum of the office continues. You turn 67, then  70. You watch your salt-and-pepper hair turn grey, then take on a silver-white shimmer. You look across your ergonomically designed desk (with the adapted lighting to aid your weakened eyesight) at your colleague; he or she is older and more silvery than you. Forget the  golf course; you are not going there – at least, not yet.

Welcome to 2050, where, according to the Rudd government’s intergenerational report, nearly one in four of us is over 65. The future is grey.

Here’s the trick: How do we work longer but work differently? I’ve had a stab at providing an alternative picture. Organisations who invest now in workforce development for their late career employees could assure their staff of something like this:

Here’s another image: a newer, bright reality. You work in an office. Your 65th birthday comes and your Gen Z manager gives you a day off to celebrate with your grandchildren.  Work as you know it has taken on a whole new dimension, the hum of the office alternates with the trill of birds when you work at your home office two days a week. You turn 67, then  70. You watch your salt-and-pepper hair turn grey, then take on a silver-white shimmer. You add a purple streak to it in acknowledgment of the wisdom you share with your two mentees over lunch. They thoroughly approve.

You look across your ergonomically designed desk (with the adapted lighting to aid your weakened eyesight) at your colleague; he or she is older and more silvery than you. Forget the  golf course; they are packing up for ‘snow goose’ leave and will return in three month’s time from their beach holiday to be part of the contingent workforce for the ‘busy season’.

Welcome to 2050, where, according to the Rudd government’s intergenerational report, nearly one in four of us is over 65. The future is surprisingly bright.

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