Shifting views on the over-50 crowd


When I reached 50 in 2010, I remember suddenly seeing advertisements on television informing me that I was eligible for a whole range of new products – they were aimed at people like me! I found this quite confronting, as I certainly didn’t think of myself as ‘old’ or a senior. I had an eight-year-old son and an interesting career, which ironically focused on the aged-care industry. Now, aged 55 and employed with a teenage son who is still living at home, I am even more aware of the challenges facing the over-50 crowd.

On average, a person turning 50 today has at least another 25 years where they could be engaged in work, both paid and voluntary. Government policy is also shifting, and the retirement age has increased from 65 to 67 for both men and women. The upside of this is that we are all living longer and healthier lives. The downside is that this potential does not appear to have captured the imagination of employers and the wider community.

This needs to change.

Susan Ryan, Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner, has spoken about the reluctance of employers to employ people over 50. Ryan is a passionate advocate for the rights of older people in the workplace. People have made complaints to the Human Rights Commission that illustrate the challenges older workers face:

“People being told they can’t undertake training that would be necessary for promotion or even to maintain their position because their employer thinks they’re too old or they won’t get their money’s worth investing in their training.”

She also argues that, economically, it makes sense to abandon these ageist views. The Australian Human Rights Commission undertook research that found a three per cent increase in workforce participation amongst workers aged 55 and over could contribute $33 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product. She suggests that it is important for people who are approaching 50 to undertake “a systematic check-up on their career prospects while they are still in employment.”

A career check-up

Ryan suggests that people approaching 50 conduct a ‘check-up’ on their career. Older workers should consider the following questions:

  • Can I do this job for the next 20 years?
  • Will I be able to?
  • Do I want to?
  • Have I got the physical strength to?
  • If I need to change what is available to me?
  • How do I find another job?

HR departments could use this simple checklist to begin to support workers to think about future career options – seeing this as a partnership between the worker and the organisation. This check-up would allow a conversation to take place about the needs of the worker and the needs of the organisation.

Stefan Theil writing in Newsweek highlights research undertaken by Birgit Verwonk from Dresden University:

“The way companies tend to be organized is also to blame. Companies often put new hires fresh out of college on their most innovative projects, while making older workers do routine jobs with existing systems, says Verwonk. Also, too few companies spend enough on continuous training to keep their employees’ expertise up to date. But workers themselves are at fault as well. Many older workers coast into premature obsolescence instead of keeping their skills current. In the European Union, for example, only 30 percent of employees over 55 participate in any kind of job-related training, compared to 50 percent of their younger colleagues.”

The landscape of work for ‘older people’ is undergoing a revolution at the policy level, community level and for the individual. Arbitrary numbers have their place, but we need to be aware that we might have to do more when it comes to negotiating the pact between the individual, the organisation and indeed the state. Organisations need to rethink what the workplace can offer people over 55.

Ralph Hampson is an academic and subject co-ordinator of the Master of Ageing program at the University of Melbourne.

Subscribe to receive comments
Notify me of
guest

3 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Lesley Taylor
Lesley Taylor
8 years ago

Hi, I think one of the biggest challenges for people over 55 is the pace of change and the high levels of stress in the many workplaces today. A lot of older adults that I know can’t wait to retire because they are exhausted and many of them are retiring early and taking their expertise and experience with them. The pace of change will not slow down but perhaps we need to look at how work is structured and allow for more flexibility if we want to retain workers. This also applies to young people just starting out in their… Read more »

Kristine Gatt
Kristine Gatt
8 years ago

Hi, I’ve been examining ‘Ageism’ in workplaces and typically people aim at employers and recruiters when expressing their thoughts on this topic, but what I’m finding is that the barriers seem to be inherently perpetrated by the mature employees or job seekers themselves responding to societal pressures and negative stereotypes. I’m still reading and researching but I’ve been taken aback at the early exit numbers in the UK and the apparent exit strategies being planned by my own friends in their 50’s. Competent, productive, happy people talking about their ‘end of career’. I’m 50, I have two active primary school… Read more »

Gauri
Gauri
6 years ago

It was on the eve of my 50th birthday that I decided I wanted more from life. My coach at the time asked me not to make a decision whilst I was menopausal 🙂 I did and 4 years on, have studied voraciously in the area of human flourishing that has fascinated me for over 30 years working in HR as part of senior leadership teams. Looking back, I think I wanted to put back in what I had been taking… learning in a disciplined way, pondering, travelling, hanging out with family. I am now ready to carve out a… Read more »

More on HRM

Shifting views on the over-50 crowd


When I reached 50 in 2010, I remember suddenly seeing advertisements on television informing me that I was eligible for a whole range of new products – they were aimed at people like me! I found this quite confronting, as I certainly didn’t think of myself as ‘old’ or a senior. I had an eight-year-old son and an interesting career, which ironically focused on the aged-care industry. Now, aged 55 and employed with a teenage son who is still living at home, I am even more aware of the challenges facing the over-50 crowd.

On average, a person turning 50 today has at least another 25 years where they could be engaged in work, both paid and voluntary. Government policy is also shifting, and the retirement age has increased from 65 to 67 for both men and women. The upside of this is that we are all living longer and healthier lives. The downside is that this potential does not appear to have captured the imagination of employers and the wider community.

This needs to change.

Susan Ryan, Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner, has spoken about the reluctance of employers to employ people over 50. Ryan is a passionate advocate for the rights of older people in the workplace. People have made complaints to the Human Rights Commission that illustrate the challenges older workers face:

“People being told they can’t undertake training that would be necessary for promotion or even to maintain their position because their employer thinks they’re too old or they won’t get their money’s worth investing in their training.”

She also argues that, economically, it makes sense to abandon these ageist views. The Australian Human Rights Commission undertook research that found a three per cent increase in workforce participation amongst workers aged 55 and over could contribute $33 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product. She suggests that it is important for people who are approaching 50 to undertake “a systematic check-up on their career prospects while they are still in employment.”

A career check-up

Ryan suggests that people approaching 50 conduct a ‘check-up’ on their career. Older workers should consider the following questions:

  • Can I do this job for the next 20 years?
  • Will I be able to?
  • Do I want to?
  • Have I got the physical strength to?
  • If I need to change what is available to me?
  • How do I find another job?

HR departments could use this simple checklist to begin to support workers to think about future career options – seeing this as a partnership between the worker and the organisation. This check-up would allow a conversation to take place about the needs of the worker and the needs of the organisation.

Stefan Theil writing in Newsweek highlights research undertaken by Birgit Verwonk from Dresden University:

“The way companies tend to be organized is also to blame. Companies often put new hires fresh out of college on their most innovative projects, while making older workers do routine jobs with existing systems, says Verwonk. Also, too few companies spend enough on continuous training to keep their employees’ expertise up to date. But workers themselves are at fault as well. Many older workers coast into premature obsolescence instead of keeping their skills current. In the European Union, for example, only 30 percent of employees over 55 participate in any kind of job-related training, compared to 50 percent of their younger colleagues.”

The landscape of work for ‘older people’ is undergoing a revolution at the policy level, community level and for the individual. Arbitrary numbers have their place, but we need to be aware that we might have to do more when it comes to negotiating the pact between the individual, the organisation and indeed the state. Organisations need to rethink what the workplace can offer people over 55.

Ralph Hampson is an academic and subject co-ordinator of the Master of Ageing program at the University of Melbourne.

Subscribe to receive comments
Notify me of
guest

3 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Lesley Taylor
Lesley Taylor
8 years ago

Hi, I think one of the biggest challenges for people over 55 is the pace of change and the high levels of stress in the many workplaces today. A lot of older adults that I know can’t wait to retire because they are exhausted and many of them are retiring early and taking their expertise and experience with them. The pace of change will not slow down but perhaps we need to look at how work is structured and allow for more flexibility if we want to retain workers. This also applies to young people just starting out in their… Read more »

Kristine Gatt
Kristine Gatt
8 years ago

Hi, I’ve been examining ‘Ageism’ in workplaces and typically people aim at employers and recruiters when expressing their thoughts on this topic, but what I’m finding is that the barriers seem to be inherently perpetrated by the mature employees or job seekers themselves responding to societal pressures and negative stereotypes. I’m still reading and researching but I’ve been taken aback at the early exit numbers in the UK and the apparent exit strategies being planned by my own friends in their 50’s. Competent, productive, happy people talking about their ‘end of career’. I’m 50, I have two active primary school… Read more »

Gauri
Gauri
6 years ago

It was on the eve of my 50th birthday that I decided I wanted more from life. My coach at the time asked me not to make a decision whilst I was menopausal 🙂 I did and 4 years on, have studied voraciously in the area of human flourishing that has fascinated me for over 30 years working in HR as part of senior leadership teams. Looking back, I think I wanted to put back in what I had been taking… learning in a disciplined way, pondering, travelling, hanging out with family. I am now ready to carve out a… Read more »

More on HRM