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Posts Tagged ageing workforce

age on an equal footing

Posted by Alison in Media on May 27th, 2011

This week saw the passing of amendments to the Sex and Age Discrimination legislation, paving the way for a dedicated Age Discrimination Commissioner in Australia. Thereby placing age discrimination on an equal footing with other areas of discrimination.

“This is a great day,” said Commissioner (Elizabeth) Broderick. “The Age Discrimination Commissioner will be responsible for raising awareness of age discrimination, educating the community about the impact of age discrimination, and monitoring and advocating for the elimination of age discrimination across all areas of public life.”

This, in the same week as research commissioned by Leadership Management Australasia found ‘Baby boomers are the most unpopular demographic in the workplace‘. Age-old stereotypes seem to be rife in this research (of a relatively small sample of 774 workers) which speaks of mature workers being ‘inflexible’ and ‘technologically inept’.

At SageCo we beg to differ.

Our most recent 60-something ‘flexi worker’ has joined the SageCo team to contribute his wealth of knowledge, skills and experience after expressing a desire to continue working ‘longer but differently‘.  Not only does Michael fit hand in glove with the SageCo team (a diverse bunch!) but he has just introduced us to new facilitation technology which will maintain our position at the cutting edge of the ageing workforce challenge.

Read the full article here

 

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Global issues and updates

Posted by Alison in Commentary, Research on May 22nd, 2011

Ageing Workforce News is a website you may wish to take a look at to stay informed on what is happening here and around the Globe.  You can also subscribe for a monthly email update.

We hope you find this useful in keeping updated on global ageing workforce issues!

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Bring down the barricades

Posted by Alison in Research on March 4th, 2011

In January the Productivity Commission released a working paper focusing on the labour force participation of women over 45.

A few key points arising from the paper;

  • there has been quite a significant increase over the past three decades in ‘contribution to total hours worked’, rising from 6% in 1979 to 15% in 2009
  • labour force participation rates for women 45-54 are currently 78% but decline significantly over 55, with women still retiring earlier than men (at 58 years compared to 61.5)
  • a woman’s health, care giving responsibility and access to flexible working hours are the major factors in determining workforce participation
  • half of women working full time want to work less hours and one quarter working part time want to increase hours
  • an acknowledgement that barriers to participation are significant and not easy to address

Around 7% of mature women (200 000 potential employees!) could be attracted back into the labour force…if we bring down the barricades and support care givers, create opportunities to work longer (but differently) and promote health and wellbeing.

There is much ado about gender diversity in the workforce with the new ASX reporting guidelines. But an opportunity exists to go one step further. Employers can view gender through the life course lens and take active steps to embrace women over 45. Those who do will attract enthusiasm, experience and empathy.

All qualities that customers love…

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demographic deficit

Posted by Catriona in Commentary on February 3rd, 2011

In a major speech on economic reform, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard said we need:

“… long-term strategies that address the expectation that Australia’s population over the age of 64 will nearly double to 25 per cent of the population by 2050. That is why this year I will continue to take steps to improve the incentives for such potential workers to rejoin the labour market, while also investing in the intensive support needed to lift their skills and job readiness,”

But it’s not just the workers who need incentives. The crunch comes when employers have not invested in creating a work environment that will attract this demographic. Investing in job redesign and support programs that challenge the traditional model of work is the key. People will work longer if they can work differently.


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freedom of choice

Posted by Alison in Commentary on January 25th, 2011

From 1 October 2011 the ‘default retirement age’ of 65 will be scrapped by the UK Government in a move announced by the Coalition last week.

The move will prevent employers from forcing staff out when they reach the age of 65. Despite protests from employer groups, the government will go ahead with the plan stating that it would give people “more freedom of choice” and employers will be able to utilise older worker’s skills for a longer time.

Older workers can play an incredibly important role in the workplace and it is high time we ended this outdated form of age discrimination, said Employment Relations Minister Edward Davey.

About two-thirds of employers in the UK no longer use fixed retirement ages. With over 850,000 workers 65+, there is no evidence that productivity declines after that age, Davey went on to say.

Population projections suggest more than 10 million people living in Britain today will reach their 100th birthday. This in itself will keep The Queen working hard ~ mailing out all those letters!

great news for older people, great news for business and great news for the economy

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