Posts Tagged “mature age jobs”

Good luck, Virginia

13:40:PM 17/10/2014
Virginia Trioli

Virginia Trioli.

It was such a lovely card – how thoughtful of a viewer to send me a note! Flowers and fruit adorned the front, and the cheeriest of greetings kicked off the epistle – “Hi Virginia!” Then it went on, travelling down a one way-road I’d been booked on many, many times before.

“I watch you every morning … and felt I had to write as I feel you are definately (sic) in need of a makeover.

“First, please get your hair cut short and get rid of those straggly bits around your neck, and maybe a few highlights!!!

“Next, the glasses – ugh! Go for LIGHT coloured frames as with your dark eyes black makes you look ‘owlish’. You will be very pleasantly surprised!

“Next, the clothes: get rid of blacks and browns, very ageing. Take notice of the other newsreaders (female) – light and bright is the go! Dare I say, did you obtain your clothes from charity shops?

“This letter is NOT meant to insult you but so that you look 40 not 60.

“Good luck, looking forward to seeing a NEW VIRGINIA.”

It says a great deal about the nature of my correspondence as a woman on television that this letter really was nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve received many such missives and these notes are read and discarded, along with the anti-Semitic rants written in block capitals and UNDERLINING, the long tracts alleging international banking conspiracies, and the regular Herald Sun frothings by Andrew Bolt.

As I have in the past, I shared it on Twitter and thought nothing more. When you’re half Italian, a Leo and raised by a strong mother, it takes a hell of a lot to shake your sense of self. I also happen to know exactly what’s in my wardrobe. And the shameful amount of money I’ve spent on it. Enough said.

But that wasn’t the end of the matter: it went, as they say, viral, and all day long the howls of outrage echoed across Twitter and the wider media. It was only after the matter started to be reported in the US that I realised what kind of nerve this had touched. Then The Atlanta Journal Constitution made this mild remark: “Working in the Australian media industry is particularly tough on women, who are more often judged on their fashion sense than their news reporting capabilities.”

That’s how they see us? A backward nation of boors intent on making women in television a bunch of dolly birds? It didn’t, and doesn’t, square with the substantial number of women I know and admire who work in TV. But the Journal had hit on a key difference between the nations, and my letter-writer had unwittingly done the same.

Because the point of this letter was not fashion, or style, or even attractiveness – it was the problem of age, and that is the greatest failing of all: my critic wrote so that I might “look 40 not 60”.

But one day, with luck, I will be 60, and if I don’t fall victim to vanity and cosmetic surgery, I might even look 60. I will be nowhere near retirement and nowhere near ready to give up work. Nonetheless I will still hope to have a meaningful career, perhaps still on TV.

Is that an impossible aspiration in Australia, when looking 60 is such an abhorrent thought?

The American experience cuts a great contrast to us, where women such as Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer and Christiane Amanpour have enjoyed long and illustrious careers in the public eye even as they age. But the mere appearance of ageing in a woman on Australian TV is enough to have most executives yanking her off air and replacing her with someone younger.

This is going to be an interesting challenge. Will a craggy-faced women be as acceptable to you on the box as, say, a craggy-faced Barrie Cassidy is? (Said with love, Barrie.) I am lucky to be part of a formidable generation of women journalists, at the ABC and the commercial stations, who are all going to become wiser, better and older in front of your eyes: you OK with that?

Older need not mean less productive

Radha Basu

The Straits Times

Tuesday, Oct 14, 2014

Professor Ursula Staudinger, who heads a centre dedicated to research on ageing at Columbia University, says old age and productivity are compatible but only if mindsets are changed so older people are motivated to continue working.

Rosa Finnegan loved sharing jokes, giggled like a young girl and went to work every day in Needham, the small Massachusetts town she called home. When she finally retired late last year, the snowy haired great-grandmother of three was 101.

Born in 1912, the year the Titanic sank, Mrs Finnegan died in June this year, four months after celebrating her 102nd birthday.

She may have been old, but she was certainly not the odd one out at her company, Vita Needle. The average age of workers there is 74.

But the family-run business which manufactures needles and steel pipes is no social enterprise, says Professor Ursula Staudinger, who heads a centre dedicated to research on ageing at Columbia University in New York. “This is a profitable company that has discovered the value of older workers.”

Vita Needle’s success, in many ways, reflects the findings of numerous research studies that show that human beings can remain productive and engaged right till the end of their lives, says the distinguished professor of psychology who has spent more than a decade leading inter-disciplinary research on the productive potential of human ageing.

“Old age and productivity can indeed go very well together,” Prof Staudinger told The Sunday Times. She was in Singapore at the invitation of the Tsao Foundation to deliver the charity’s annual lecture last Thursday on the opportunities presented by ageing.

In a field dominated by negative narratives – think the proverbial silver tsunami – the psychologist’s message is one of hope and promise. “We are not only living longer, but we are also healthier than ever before,” she says. “Rather than fret about ageing, we must realise that we have this enormous gift of a longer life. And we must use it well.”

An ageing population and fewer children will mean lower productivity only “if we continue doing things the way we have been in the past” by keeping labour market regulations and retirement age unchanged, for instance.

However, if people are encouraged to spend longer working lives, not necessarily in continuous employment, but with breaks for periods of further education and tending to family needs, then it is possible to be economically productive way past 70.

Companies and countries alike must begin to focus on “qualitative growth”, rather than “quantitative growth”, says Prof Staudinger.

She was born and raised in Germany which, barring Japan and Italy, has the highest proportion of older people in the world, with a fifth of its population aged 65 and above. Singapore’s elderly population is set to nearly triple in 20 years, a feat that took Europe a century to achieve.

“By qualitative growth, I mean we must intensify the investment in each individual, we bring the health and educational level up and we change the labour market qualitatively so that people are motivated to work – and maintain their productivity.”

This, she notes, is very different from a worker being forced to work because he cannot afford to retire.

Her research on ageing in the workplace has provided valuable insights into what makes older workers tick.

A study that looked at assembly-line workers at a car factory in Germany showed that workers who changed tasks at least three times over 16 years tended to function better cognitively than colleagues who did not, other things remaining equal.

“You have to have enough variability in what you do. The simpler the job, the more frequent these changes have to be.”

A crucial determinant of productivity is the mindset of the company, and especially of supervisors.

“If everyone believes these workers are less productive and this is reinforced by supervisors and company leaders, then this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the end, the older worker believes what everyone else believes. If you are not entrusted, if you are not challenged, you will not live up to the challenge,” she says.

Incentives from the state and changes in labour laws to keep the current cohort of older workers employable are one way forward, says Prof Staudinger, noting that the Singapore Government has taken several steps in this direction.

It is subsidising the wage bills of companies that hire older workers and announced earlier this month that, from next year, eligible public servants will be offered re-employment till they turn 67.

When they reach the statutory retirement age of 62, eligible workers are already offered re-employment up to the age of 65 under the Retirement and Re-employment Act which came into force in 2012.

However, current rehiring laws in Singapore give companies the option to reduce a worker’s pay when they are rehired.

Prof Staudinger warns that care must be taken to see that state support does not end up being used against the interests of workers themselves.

In Europe, state incentives to companies that hire and retain older workers are tied to criteria that ensure the workers are not discriminated against. For instance, companies are required to pay older workers the same wage they would pay a younger worker for the same job. And strict minimum wage laws ensure older workers are not exploited as cheap labour.

“While crafting laws, you have to anticipate misuse and devise ways to avoid it.”

radhab@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Oct 12, 2014.

Here’s the good news about the ageing population

October 12, 2014

Here’s a radical thought: what if Australia’s ageing population was a boon not a burden? What if greying baby boomers spelt opportunity not crisis? The media, politicians, and Treasury have depicted the ageing population as a demographic time bomb. Too many old people and a shrinking workforce will be the country’s ruination. As the politically powerful and needy old squeeze the young dry, the result will be endless government deficits, higher taxes and lower productivity. It’s enough to make retiring baby boomers feel guilty for hoping to reach 80.

But increasingly other voices are pressing a positive view. Instead of fearing longer lives, we should be celebrating the longevity achievement as one of the greatest of modern times. Instead of regarding ageing as a period of decline, decay and dependency, we should positively embrace the ageing society. The Blueprint for an Ageing Australia is a recent report to argue this line. It says we debate the ‘challenges’ of an ageing population “as though ageing was something to be feared and shunned. We talk about the costs and burdens of ageing. This perception is misguided.” Instead, it says, we could “choose to see longer lives as a social and economic good.”

I’ve taken a while to be persuaded to this positive point of view. The growing costs of aged care, superannuation tax concessions, pensions, and especially health care are realand need to be addressed. The cost of treating dementia alone is estimated to be $83 billion by 2060. The growing inequality among older Australians is another cause of concern.

When the number of people over 65 rises from 3.1 million to 5.7 million over the 20 years to 2031 it will represent a significant shift. Australians over 65 will make up 18.7 per cent of our population compared to around 14 per cent today. The ageing population is a force that will re-shape Australia. And the wealthier elderly may have to accept some loss of government benefits in the name of fairness and revenue-raising.

But do we have to scared, very scared of this eventuality? Do we have to ring the alarm bells, and raise the pension age to 70? An ageing society creates opportunities. It’s not all about costs. And it’s time we framed the debate about the future in a more positive way. “The best way to approach it is to look for ways that older Australians can participate more effectively in our society and our economy to the best of their abilities,” the Blueprint says.

Let’s have a look at some of the opportunities. Business opportunities abound. If entrepreneurs took off their blinkers, they would see the over-60s not as an unfashionable demographic but a desirable one. It’s no secret older people have spending power. Baby boomers spend a lot on travel, recreation and culture. If you’re not rich enough to bankroll your adult children into housing, you might as well pamper yourself. The age group 50-69 alone holds more than 40 per cent of the nation’s wealth. It’s a market segment crying out for entrepreneurial attention. From dating websites, to longevity insurance, from IT products to toothpaste that promises healthy gums, and reverse parking systems that help drivers with bad necks, the possibilities are endless. It’s not just about incontinence pads, and devices of the “I’ve-fallen-and-can’t-get-up” variety that are needed. That’s the old business of old age. The new business involves technologies that promote mobility, autonomy and social connection.

Another area of opportunity is philanthropy. Many older people have considerable capacity to give more, and giving tends to increase with age. They should be assisted and encouraged to do so. “Giving provides a great way for older Australians to demonstrate that ageing isn’t a cost to society,” the Blueprint says. It recommends banks launch a “golden givers” campaign to encourage older clients to establish charitable trusts and foundations while offering services to manage the funds.

Other Australian voices also argue for a more positive approach. Patricia Edgar, author of In Praise of Ageing, says the productivity of older people is written out of the country’s GDP because we don’t include the value of the caring, voluntary and creative work they do. In this way the “dependence” of older people is exaggerated, and their economic contribution downplayed. “Our assumptions about the burden of the aged, the dependency ratio and the future workforce are riven with inaccuracy,” she says.

The Age Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, urges against “scrabbling round for a few sticks to beat our older citizens with.” At the same time she’s clear-eyed about the changes needed to embrace an ageing society. In her recent address to the National Press Club, titled Longevity Revolution – Crisis or Opportunity, she highlights the need for older people to stay in the workforce longer for their sake and the country’s. A further three per cent increase in workforce participation amongst workers aged 55 and over would contribute an extra $33 billion to the nation’s GDP – a sum to gladden the hearts of Treasurers, and young taxpayers alike.

But raising the pension age won’t achieve this. It will require a different mindset towards older workers, more flexible workplaces, an end to ageism, and more help for mid-career workers to plan for the long-term. The debate about the ageing society has used too many scare tactics. To embrace the opportunities we need a positive agenda: how can we best harness the talents, money, and willingness to work of older Australians without making them feel guilty for being alive?

Source: Adele Horin: Coming of Age

Intergenerational Report will reveal massive cost growth: Hockey

THE AUSTRALIAN
OCTOBER 06, 2014

David Crowe

Political Correspondent

Canberra

Budget blues

http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/external?url=http://content6.video.news.com.au/Q4MzV3cDpw7WBKfchAKYSPeHl02Wzmlb/promo236831354&width=650&api_key=kq7wnrk4eun47vz9c5xuj3mc

A MASSIVE spending burden threatens to tip the nation into decades of deficits, according to new government findings that will be released early next year to jolt parliament — and the public — into accepting another wave of budget reform.

Setting a new strategy in the political fight over difficult savings, Joe Hockey has decided to hold back the official analysis to maximise its impact on national debate when parliament sits in February.

The findings will set off a debate over the nation’s long-term challenges by feeding into the tax reform white paper, which will consider the GST, and influencing the federation white paper on key issues such as the mounting cost of healthcare.

Mr Hockey considered publishing the long-range Intergenerational Report this year but rejected the option in favour of timing the new Treasury analysis to prepare the ground for further savings in the May budget.

The Treasurer, who is in New York and Washington this week for a series of meetings with business leaders and fellow finance ministers, warned of a “massive growth” in costs to be revealed in the IGR as the population ages and the commonwealth struggles to keep paying for the services Australians have come to expect.

“The IGR will come out early next year — not late this year but early next year,” Mr Hockey told The Australian. “That will create a framework that will help define the destiny of the federation white paper, the tax white paper and the budget next year.

“So it is a document that will begin the national discussion about where our economy must go — which is to focus on growth and jobs, and to reduce the complexity and red tape of government.”

Highlighting the cost of inaction on major savings, the report is likely to contrast the long-term improvements from the Coalition’s budget measures with the steady increase in government spending if Labor, the Greens and others succeed in permanently scuttling the reforms.

Bill Shorten has vowed to destroy the government’s budget reforms in the parliament and at the ballot box, branding the savings unfair because those on low incomes feel the biggest cuts as a proportion of their income.

“Why is it that this is a government who always asks the most vulnerable to do the hardest and heaviest lifting?” the Opposition Leader said in parliament last week.

The government appears set to use the IGR to shift focus away from the immediate losers from each measure and pay more attention to the risks to future generations from continuing deficits.

The new document is expected to influence some of the government’s most fundamental tasks in the rest of this parliamentary term, including the federation white paper, as it examines the long-term savings from cutting duplication between commonwealth and state spending in areas such as health and education.

It will also have a direct impact on the tax white paper, which will examine incendiary ideas such as an increase in the rate and base of the GST, as well as the wider search for new savings for the May budget next year.

Mandated under federal law to show the nation’s fortunes over 40 years, the IGR was last issued in January 2010 and sparked a furious debate about an estimate that the population would rise to 36 million by 2040.

Labor initially aimed to produce another report three years later but chose not to as the 2013 election loomed, leading Mr Hockey to consider releasing the sensitive forecasts sometime this year. But a Senate blockade has contributed to another delay as the government tries to secure some of its budget savings in the upper house against the objections of Labor, the Greens, the Palmer United Party and others. The savings being stymied are worth about $30 billion over four years but would have a far greater impact on the long-term projections by cutting outlays on Medicare benefits, universities, family tax benefits and pensions.

Mr Hockey said he would not speculate on whether the next report would show any improvement in the deep deficits projected in the last report, which warned of a “fiscal gap” from the strain of paying for services as the population ages.

The January 2010 report found that federal government spending would exceed revenue by 2.75 per cent of GDP in 2040 on existing trends, as relatively fewer taxpayers had to carry the burden for a growing number of pensioners. Labor acted on the problem by legislating a future increase in the pension age to 67 and applying stricter tests on family tax benefits, but those reforms are not enough to fix the gap. “What the IGR will do is illustrate that the massive growth in costs associated with an ageing population have simply become more urgent for Australia to address,” Mr Hockey said.

The Coalition is seeking to extend some of the Labor reforms by making further cuts to family tax benefits — saving $7.4bn over four years from benefits worth $70bn over the same period — and trying to increase the pension age to 70.

While the pension age reform delivers no saving in the budget forward estimates, it starts to take effect from 2034 and would make a significant difference to the IGR projections. Mr Hockey confirmed to The Australian that the government was thinking of using contrasting projections in the next IGR to show the impact of its budget reforms when compared with “business as usual” if the Senate continues to stymie the changes.

“That’s certainly under consideration,” he said in an interview ahead of his visit to the US this week.

“There are some people who need to be reminded how important the structural reforms in the last budget were, and how essential they are for Australia to be able to live within its means in the future.”

A spending gap of 2.75 per cent of GDP would produce a deficit of about $50bn a year in today’s dollars. Last year’s deficit was 2.8 per cent of GDP but the government wants to cut this to 1.6 per cent in 2014-15.

Don’t let age bias limit your opportunities!

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Beverly Jones

Age Discrimination Starts Early!

These Strategies Can Help.

While finishing her MBA at a top tier university, Sarah was enthusiastically recruited by a large company. She accepted their offer to join the marketing department. Once there, she connected with a powerful mentor who helped her snag plum assignments. For several years Sarah was the most junior professional in her group, and she enjoyed being treated like a young star.

After a few years, the growing company made a wave of new hires and Sarah began to feel neglected. She said she was stuck with routine workwhile the interesting new projects went to her younger colleagues.

Sarah was asked to supervise the internship program, but didn’t enjoy the work. She said the interns didn’t have the right work ethic and were obsessed by technology. One day as she entered the kitchen, she heard them making fun of her for being clueless about the power of social media.

When Sarah came to me for coaching, she complained that she was past her career peak. She felt like she was cut off from the company’s high potential challenges and might be too old to compete for another good job elsewhere. Sarah was 34 at the time.

Sarah felt she was the victim of age discrimination and to some degree her concerns were well founded. Ageism is rampant in the workplace and can be hard to fight. And even 30-something careerists like Sarah can find themselves sidelined by employers seeking fresh talent.

Sarah found ways to demonstrate her energy, talent and enthusiasm, and soon worked her way out of her slump. One thing that helped her was finding examples of older professionals whose age did need not seem to limit their success. She noticed that while some in her circle were dissed for being out of date, others seemed timeless despite their years.

If you’re facing a subtle age bias, a starting point for getting past it is to understand the negative stereotypes on which it’s based. Then make it clear that the stereotypes don’t fit you. Consider these strategies for minimizing the burden of ageism:

Be tech-savvy. You don’t have to enjoy Skyping, sharing on Instagram or building a Twitter community. But if those are the ways that your colleagues or customers communicate, you absolutely must know how to join in. If you want to stay in the game, keep up with the technology. Take classes or find help, buy the devices, and do whatever it takes to keep your skills current. And when you don’t understand the latest developments, avoid the temptation to indulge in a Luddite rant. Express an interest, ask for assistance and get on board.

Look and act fit. Some employers and younger workers believe that their older colleagues may have physical limitations that will prevent them from performing their fair share of the work. And your boss or clients won’t offer you new challenges if they think you are about to have a heart attack. If you want to maximize your career options, it is vital not only that you stay healthy but also that you look healthy and you exude energy.

Talk healthy. Most of us have health issues from time to time, but we can manage the way they impact us in the workplace. Beware of sabotaging yourself by talking too much about your symptoms or crises. If you endlessly discuss your health challenges, not only will you be boring, but people may start to think of you as frail and over the hill. Talk about the great hike you took last weekend, instead of how sore you felt on Monday morning.

Be stylish. Looking shabby may seem cool when you’re 27. But the older you get, the more important it is to look polished and up to date. If your clothes, hairdo or glasses seem out of style, you may seem like you are past your prime. That doesn’t mean you should dress like a kid, but you should aim for a look that feels current.

Don’t bring up your age. If you are older – or younger – than the people you work with, it is very tempting to keep mentioning that fact. But if you can refrain from alluding to the age difference, there is a good chance that other people will forget about it.

Build a varied network. If you are accustomed to hanging out with friends of all ages, you are more likely to blend easily into a group of younger or older people. If you don’t allow age to be a barrier in your social life, you will be more comfortable talking and keeping up with different age groups at work.

Listen to your colleagues. A great starting point for building strong relationships at work is to genuinely listen to what other people have to say. If you’re part of the older set, show an interest in what younger folks say and learn from their perspective.

If you put aside your own prejudices about age and look for opportunities to work on projects with people of all generations, you’ll become more skillful at avoiding the burden of age bias.

More incentives for first movers on higher rehiring age

Halimah Yacob for The Straits Times Friday, Oct 03, 2014

THE Government has accepted the recommendations of the Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers to raise the age ceiling for the re-employment of older workers to 67 from 65. This will be done through promotional means supported by incentives.

The idea is to give companies more time to prepare for this before legislation kicks in. The legislation will be introduced at an “appropriate time”.

The PAP Seniors’ Group (PAP.SG) welcomes this move, which is a progressive step and will help to boost the employment prospects of our older workers.

The Government has moved to bolster the position of our seniors in health care and housing through its recent policy changes, and it makes great sense now to focus on employment. This is an important way of ensuring that our seniors remain independent and can continue to live with dignity. To be able to work for as long as they wish to and earn a steady stream of income is greatly empowering for our seniors.

Raising the rehiring age to 67 is not just good for the individual. It also makes great economic sense. It is projected that by 2030, there will be 900,000 people aged 65 years and above. If our total fertility rate remains at 1.2 and we have no immigration, there will be only 2.1 working age citizens for every citizen above the age of 65 in 2030. If we do not extend the productive working age of our older workers, our growth will be affected.

Companies, too, benefit, and much has been said about the value of older workers. In a survey conducted last year by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, the majority of the companies which responded agreed that mature workers benefited them through lower turnover rates and reduced absenteeism.

While promotional means is a practical solution to give employers more time to adjust, I do hope that the Government will not take too long to legislate the extension.

I have no doubt that the unions will be able to push through the extension among unionised companies, but the worry will be the non-unionised companies, where this may not be a priority. To some extent, the proposed incentives may help and are a good move, as most employers have cited costs as a concern, but the question is whether this will provide enough push for companies to voluntarily raise the ceiling.

I also hope that incentives will not have the unintended consequence of devaluing the contribution of older workers, particularly for those who would be re-employed in any case because their services are needed.

Nevertheless, to really ensure that the incentives have an impact, the Government could consider introducing a sliding scale of benefits, whereby those who come on board earlier are given more incentives compared to those who respond later. In this way, hopefully, most companies would be encouraged to raise the rehiring age ceiling faster.

According to employers, they need more time to redesign jobs and work processes and to retrain older workers. I find this surprising as such measures should already have been put in place when the rehiring age ceiling was raised to 65. There cannot be that many major changes that have to be made for the working age to be increased by just an additional two years.

Also, employers’ concern about medical costs should, to a large extent, be addressed by MediShield Life that comes into effect next year, as a larger portion of hospitalisation charges will be covered. Hence, prudent employers may want to rationalise their own medical benefits scheme with MediShield Life, to address this concern.

The training of older workers is another major area in ensuring that their skills remain relevant and useful to companies’ needs. There are now already available training grants and programmes that companies can tap to prepare their older workers, so that lack of skills should not be an excuse. The tripartite partners could also do a lot more to highlight positive examples of enlightened companies that have voluntarily raised the rehiring ceiling, even without any incentives.

One example is Prima. A few years ago, I officiated at an event where the company gave out long service awards to its employees. There were employees who had served the company for more than 40 years and were in their 70s. It felt really good to see a company that values its workers so much.

In August last year, Prima signed a collective agreement with the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union to offer 65-year-old workers, with satisfactory performance and good health, employment contracts until age 68.

I urge more companies to emulate Prima’s example and waste no time in raising the rehiring age ceiling of their older workers. I am heartened, too, by the public sector’s positive response to the recommendation, as its hiring practices have a deep impact on the private sector.

Finally, we need to address the concerns of older workers who have lost their jobs and are trying to get back into the workforce, which the recommendation will not cover. Among their biggest hurdles in seeking employment are hiring practices that are still biased against them. Employers should be prepared to give them a chance, rather than turn them away just because of their age.

I would like to suggest that companies hiring unemployed older workers be given incentives too, and not only those who raise the rehiring age ceiling of existing workers. It would also be useful to conduct a study on the hiring practices of companies to ascertain whether this bias really exists or whether there are other valid factors involved that affect the hiring of older workers. In this way, more effective strategies could be developed to boost older workers’ chances of securing a job.

The tripartite partners have made a good move. The challenge now is to make sure that the recommendation works.

The writer is the Speaker of Parliament and chairman of the PAP Seniors’ Group.

stopinion@sph.com.sg

– See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/more-incentives-first-movers-higher-rehiring-age#sthash.MULRiXJp.dpuf

5 tips for older workers looking for work

A new generation of retirees is heading back to work. Here’s some advice on how to snag one of those encore jobs

By Adam Mayers

Encore! Encore! One more time.

That’s what many retired Canadians want to do: Go back to work, try something new, perhaps with fewer hours and less pay, but find a way to keep active, stay engaged and get paid for it.

Longevity is rising, we’re healthier and so the traditional notion of retirement has faded. Some want to work because they have to and others because they want to.

But if our needs are changing, our employers aren’t keeping up with the times, says Adina Lebo, chair of the downtown Toronto chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired People (CARP). Attitudes in the workplace are geared to forcing older workers out of full-time work and few employers have mechanisms to offer a transition to part-time work.

“The workforce is built to push people out at 65,” says Lebo, who joined CARP four years ago after a 30-year career in the film and TV industry. “While people are looking for a continuation of their career, or a way to apply their skills in a new area, the doors are often closed.”

CARP sponsored a job fair in Toronto last year to link employers with 50+ candidates. There was plenty of interest from companies with franchising and sales opportunities. The former requires an investment on your part and the latter uses your networks to sell products or services.

“There’s no ageism in sales,” says Lebo. “It’s on commission, so there’s no risk to the employer. They use you and your community to sell, so that was wide open.”

There are jobs out there for older works, but competition is stiff. For many, the first step is dusting off their resumes and polishing rusty interview skills.

Marie Bountrogianni, a former Ontario cabinet minister and currently Dean of the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University, has some advice. Here are her five top job hunting tips for older workers.

Three things to avoid in an interview:

Talking about your age: “This is always tricky,” says Bountrogianni, who has a Ph.D. in education and was chief psychologist for the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board before entering politics.

“Employers are not allowed to ask about your age, but they often hint at it. Talk around your age in constructive ways. [For example,] you can indicate that because you no longer have little children you have a lot of flexibility around scheduling.

Tipping your tech hand: “Be careful. Don’t just say you use Facebook and Twitter. Show how you have used social media to increase sales, or promote an event, so they won’t think you are on it all the time.”

Don’t say, I’m ready for a change: “While it may be very true, it sounds like you are bored, and have grown stale in your current job,” Bountrogiann says.

Two ways to spruce up your resume:

Age proof it: Don’t go back to the beginning of your career. Choose the experiences that relate to the job you are applying for. Do not put in specific dates for jobs or schooling.

Show what you have done: Use a functional, rather than chronological resume, so that you can bundle your experiences without dating them and relate skills to the job advertised.

Bountrogianni says employers want to know you’re not planning to coast at their expense.

They also want to know you are still current, so she advises taking courses in your field of interest and keeping up to date. Always have questions in an interview, because employers want you to be interested in them and about their job.

Bountrogianni is Ontario’s representative on Skills Connect Inc., a national non-profit organization founded by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce in 2010. It receives government funding and owns ThirdQuarter, a national employment recruiter for people aged 45 and over. More agencies are working with older adults, including The Challenge Factory, which has offices in Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa.

The Chang School offers programs of interest to 50+ workers. Wednesday, Bountrogianni is hosting a free breakfast between 8:30 and 10:30 as part of a panel discussion on aging in the workforce. It is being held at Heaslip House, 7th Floor, 297 Victoria Street.

Toronto Star

The Government hopes more companies will follow suit, as it pushes for workers above 65 to continue working.

Companies adopt practices to cater to older workers

SINGAPORE: It takes time for companies to develop practices to cater to older workers, but some have already done so. The Government hopes more companies will follow suit, as it pushes for workers above 65 to continue working.

Absolute Kinetics Consultancy, which provides safety training services, has about 130 workers, five of whom are above the age of 60. To cater to their needs, the company gives them screen filters for their computers to protect their eyes from the glare. They also get free yearly health screenings, which are extended to their spouses and parents.

Absolute Kinetics Consultancy’s executive chairman, Mr Fang Koh Look, said these practices have not been developed overnight. Since 2008, he has sought feedback from his employees, sometimes over coffee.

“You talk to them and ask them, ‘What can I do as an employer to make you feel more equipped, to make you feel more supported?'” Mr Fang elaborated.

Supermarket chain Giant also places importance on older workers. One hundred and forty-four of its 240 workers are above the age of 60. The company allows them to change job scopes to maximise their strengths.

The supermarket uses rolled cages to move products around the store. These can be heavy so a smaller version of the cage, which is much lighter, is available for older workers to use.

“Age is just a number. What we have to do as a worker is to have a positive mind. We must be able to think positively, do things positively, then I think we will succeed. And we will be able to share our experiences with the younger workers, and mentor them at the same time,” said Mr Arumugam Haridass, department manager of Giant.

On Monday (Sep 29), the Government announced that companies which voluntarily re-employ workers up to the age of 67 will receive incentives. Details will be announced at a later date.

– CNA/dl

Age is no barrier

Posted by Deborah Hutton on 25 September 2014

Living Well Navigator ambassador and respected Australian media personality Deborah Hutton talks about the positives of getting older and celebrating her 50th birthday – naked on the cover of a magazine.

Since I so unashamedly celebrated my 50th birthday naked on the cover of The Australian Women’s Weekly, I’ve somehow become the poster girl for the 50-plus set and that’s a very happy and empowering place for me to be.

Personally I like to think that by the time you reach your fifties you’re in a great place. You’ve gathered a wealth of knowledge, a lifetime of experience, hopefully you’re stronger, smarter and more active than you’ve ever been, you have an enormous amount to contribute and you’ve fine-tuned a decent sense of humour because you’ll need it!

We all appreciate getting older does have its challenges, but for me it’s about making positive choices around my future and importantly, my own happiness. When I was approached to join with NRMA as an ambassador of Living Well Navigator, I immediately connected with how necessary and comprehensive a tool this is, and how it offers clear direction around mature-age concerns with real answers and real services.

I want to congratulate NRMA, not only for this brilliant initiative, but for their foresight in calling it Living Well Navigator, because the words LIVING WELL are what it’s all about for me.

I’m very fortunate in my work that I come across some extraordinary people from very different walks of life, and I am in the position where I get to sit down, have a chat on camera and discover what makes them tick. I am continually inspired by age and wisdom.

Only this week I had a very funny, candid and inspiring chat with our own living legend Dawn Fraser, who continues to be as active and valued in the community as ever. She was telling a wonderful story about how an 83-year-old woman from the Sunshine Coast wanted Dawn to teach her how to swim 50 metres. And sure enough, with Dawn’s help, she reached her goal in only a few weeks – 83… bless her!

I was in the Barossa Valley recently filming an interview with the one and only Maggie Beer for my websiteBalance by Debora Hutton. I have been very lucky to have crossed paths with Maggie over the years through my work with Qantas and Channel 9, and I always come away amazed by her level of energy, commitment and good humour.

She was awarded Senior Australian of the Year in 2010 and has used that platform to create the Maggie Beer Foundation, which focuses on supporting the wellbeing of people in aged care facilities by providing them with food that looks appetising, and is full of flavour and nutrients. It’s a major passion for her and we love her for it.

I look at Ita Buttrose who I met many moons ago when I was modelling in the early 80s and she was the queen of the Packer publishing empire. She’s lived a full life of being a mum, wife and businesswoman. She’s now busy hosting a morning show on Channel 10, still sitting on numerous boards, and spending her time speaking and mentoring others. Ita is in her early 70s with no signs she’s about to slow down.

And it’s not just the women who stop me in my tracks. Did you see Clint Eastwood’s latest movie, Jersey Boys? Clint is 84 and still producing exceptional movies that make big dollars for the box office.

My point is, let’s not hold back as we get older but utilise all the wisdom and knowledge we’ve gathered over the years and put it to good use.
What will you regret later if you don’t do something about it today? You don’t have to be an award-winning actor or Olympian to recognise this – it’s about playing to your strengths and never giving in.

I like to think about getting older not as a number that comes round every year but how I actually feel in myself. I don’t like to put limitations on myself. I know that I always want to be fit and flexible enough to move freely and play golf. I want to be doing something valuable, giving back to the community in some way and feeling connected with people. I want to be travelling like my mum in her late 70s and booking cruises overseas. I don’t want my health issues to become a daily conversation. I want to continue to be kind and considerate and hope that if I step out of line, one of my best pals will tell me to pull my head in!

Whatever it is you want, you have to acknowledge it as a priority. It might be as simple as choosing to get a little fitter and starting with a daily walk. Whatever it is, commit to it and make the most of every day. It’s a gift.

Have you recently achieved a personal goal? Do you have any tips to share? Please comment below or start a conversation over on the Living Well Navigator forums.

What’s the real cost of ageism?

By Neil Patrick and Dean Goranson

The debate about the relationship between employee age and business performance has been going on for ever. But the recent economic turmoil and its after effects on young and old alike have resulted in the topic surfacing again. It’s time to ditch the prejudices.

Employer attitudes can be summarised as:

Younger workers are cheaper to hire, have more up-to-date skills – especially in the area of technology and have more energy and dynamism. They also have lower reliability and significantly less loyalty.

Older workers stick around for much longer than their younger peers. They attain greater mastery of their work and have higher interpersonal skills. But they are also more expensive, less energetic and struggle with today’s technology.

This simplified view distorts the real question. There is no simple correlation between employee age and business performance. Having an older or younger workforce doesn’t automatically make your business perform better or worse. Neither does providing a great working environment result in greater staff loyalty.

The surprising truths about age and employee retention

According to the PayScale report, the Fortune 500 company with the highest median employee tenure (20 years) is Eastman Kodak. More than half of its employees are older than 50. Over the five years through 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, it delivered an average return on assets of negative 12%…

Another myth is that creating a great working environment and culture for staff increases loyalty.

The perks Google lays on for its youthful employees are the stuff of legend. Free gourmet food all day, the best health insurance plan anywhere, five months’ paid maternity leave, kindergartens and gyms at the workplace, the freedom to work on one’s own projects 20 percent of the time, even death benefits. The tech behemoth has topped Fortune Magazine’s list of best companies to work for every year since 2007.

Despite this, Google ranks amongst those with the highest employee turnover rates. The median employee tenure at Google is just over one year, according to the payroll consultancy PayScale.

The simple truths are staring us in the face

So what are businesses to do? If you hire younger people, you are burdened with higher turnover rates. If your workforce is older, you risk stagnation and loss of competitive edge.

A friend of mine, Dean Goranson has provided a valuable perspective which I provide below. It’s a simple tale about his experiences when seeking to get his watch strap repaired.

Here’s Dean’s tale:

A while back I had somehow managed to break the watch band on my high end wrist watch. I finally got tired of running around with it in my pocket, so one day I decided to go down to the mall and check out the jewellery stores to either get it fixed or replaced.

The first store I stopped in, I showed the young lady my watch. She took it to her manager. He asked if I had purchased the watch in their store. I said , ”No”. He replied, “I’m sorry it’s the store’s policy to only work on Items we sell from here.” I then asked, “Isn’t that the style of watch you have in your display case?” “Well yes” was this young man’s reply “but we don’t service anything we haven’t sold. Perhaps you should try that watch band kiosk across from us.” This young manager who must of been well on the south side of thirty was definite in his conviction of his being right. Consumer experience was nowhere to be found on his radar screen. So off to the kiosk to see if I would have any better luck there.

The experience with the young lady who also appeared to be well on the south side of thirty turned out to be quite similar to the first store I had stopped at. I asked if she thought she could fix my watch band. “No, I’m afraid I can’t. We only sell watch bands and put them on for the customer and I don’t have anything that nice. I have an imitation leather if you want me to put that on for you?” I declined and bid her adieu. I really started to feel like this was becoming a quest by this point with no easy answers, yet on I trudged to the next jewellery store.

At the third store I was confronted by another well under thirty something young fella. I showed him the watch and asked if they could fix it “Let me get my manager.” The manager is summoned. Another under 30 something, he takes a look at the watch and say’s “Let’s see what my jeweller can do with this.” so over to the jewellers station we go he looks at it and say’s ” I’m not going to be able to fix this band.” the manager then asks ” Do we have any watch bands in the store to replace this?’ They look and no can do. “Well, I guess we’ll need to call home office to order a replacement.”

The manager asked the jeweller to call home office for the order, the jeweller came back and said he couldn’t get home office on the phone. The manager then asked, “Let me get your phone number and I will call you as soon as I find out something.” At least this young manager was trying to make my experience worthwhile but his operation was in such a state of chaos that he couldn’t make it happen. So off I went disappointed and frustrated.

By now I was a bit dejected at not being able to either get my watch band fixed or replaced.

Walking past the fourth jewellery store, I happened to look in and behind the counter were a couple of ladies. They were well up in age – the grey hair, the glasses and thick figures. I thought to myself what the heck, let’s see if they have any ideas.

Into the store I go and ask these two women, “I’ve got a broken watch band is there anything you can do with it?” “Let me see it,” the white haired gal asked. “We’ve only just started selling this brand of watch; you’ve had yours for a while haven’t you?” “Yes I have.” I could tell in her mind she was fussing over what her next move was going to be. “Let’s take this over to Bill and see what he has to say”.

So over to Bill we go who turns out to be their manager. He too is older and greying. The lady explains the situation to him and asks what they could do to help me. Bill looks at me and says ” Technically I’m not supposed to work on a watch we haven’t sold to a customer, the upper management has the fear we will get sued by someone who claims we broke their stuff.” “You wouldn’t do something like that if I worked on your watch would you?” I said “It’s already broken, what have I got to lose.”

Bill then asks,” Where did your watch fit on your wrist before the band broke?” I showed him and he said “Let me try something.” He took my watch over to another counter and came back in a couple of minutes and said “See if that fits over your hand?” My watch fits better now than it did before I broke the band. Bill even refused to charge for the repair.

A few weeks later it was a good friend’s birthday. And I bought her some diamond earrings. Did I shop around? No I just went straight back to Bill…

Horses for coursesDean’s experience is not research data of course. It’s no more or less than a personal experience. But I am sure it is one that most of us can relate to and have probably shared.

In the effort to improve on profits, what ends up being missed is the consumer experience – the part which keeps the customer coming back for more and recommending the business to others. This hinges on those people the business owner has retained to be the company’s representatives to the public. The higher the quality service the customer receives, the better the results for the business.

As Dean’s story relates, the different levels of service received directly influenced his purchase behaviour now and probably for many years to come. An older employee might be well past the dynamic approach of their youth. But today, youthful distractions are behind them. They have the rich experience of what quality service and customer care really mean.

It seems to me that it’s time to forget the over-simplistic and pointless debate of young versus old. What we need is a simple recognition that age in and of itself is not the issue. Skills and attitudes are what matter. If you want to give your customers excellent service, there is a strong argument for hiring older people. And even if they are slightly more expensive, you’ll recover these costs in longer tenure and enhanced customer loyalty. If you need the sort of perspective that the young have and can afford to replace them frequently, then hire young people. But don’t expect there’s anything you can do to keep them for long.

Let’s not be trapped by the pointless argument about which is better. The key to getting the best business results is about understanding the distinct merits of young and old, making hiring decisions on the value of each and the requirements of the role regardless of the candidate’s age.