Posts Tagged “mature age”

Older workers face ‘outdated stereotypes’ throughout hiring processes

Businesses encouraged to look closely at recruitment or miss out on valuable knowledge and experience

Grey matter: Older workers have invaluable experience and knowledge

Grey matter: Older workers have invaluable experience and knowledge

Date: 26 January 2015

Older workers looking for work are often alienated by outdated hiring practices, according to employment minister Esther McVey.

McVey was commenting on a Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) report in which one-third of employers admit they should be doing more to provide opportunities for older workers.

The survey of 200 UK employers also suggests that 37% cite advertising as a hurdle to attracting workers over 55-years-old.

One in five employers said that the language used in recruitment campaigns should be inclusive for all age groups – while 17% said that organisations should look beyond solely advertising online to ensure candidates of all generations are reached.

McVey commented that more and more older workers are now looking for a new challenge in employment – and that “they have a hugely valuable contribution to make to any workforce.”

“Despite the recent impressive trends in those over 50 getting back into work, older workers still in many cases face outdated stereotypes when it comes to business hiring practices,” she said.

“Not only is this a waste of valuable talent and ‘life skills’, but it’s a missed opportunity for businesses to make their most of their experience to support younger colleagues develop their careers.”

DWP business champion for older workers Dr Ros Altmann added that it is vital for the economy that people living longer and wanting to work are given the opportunity to do so.

“Businesses need to act now in order to benefit from the extensive skills and experience that older workers bring. It is important not to rule out older applicants when recruiting new talent,” she said.

“In March I will publish evidence of the business case for retaining, retraining and recruiting older workers. As today’s survey shows, ongoing training and ensuring all workers have up-to-date skills will also be vital to make sure older people are not overlooked in the recruitment process.”

Finally REC chief executive Kevin Green suggested focusing on older workers could be one way to address the UK’s burgeoning skills crisis.

“Simple changes to the language used in job descriptions and the way jobs are advertised could be significant,” he said. “We encourage hirers to work alongside specialist recruiters who understand the benefits that older workers can bring, and who can help tailor job roles to meet their needs.”

– See more at: http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/news-and-market-deals/business-news/2477897/older-workers-face-outdated-stereotypes-throughout-hiring-processes.thtml#sthash.IQ62aqdf.dpuf

Voters don’t trust politicians to plan for ageing population, survey shows

Focus groups show voters understand that demographic change requires policy change, but the Coalition and Labor should proceed with extreme caution

elderly couple
 Focus groups have expressed deep concern about the government’s policies to deal with an ageing population. Photograph: Alamy

The ageing population is cited by the Abbott government as the driver of many policy changes, including health cuts and tax reform.

But focus groups conducted across the country by the Ipsos Mind and Mood survey have a clear message for legislators. Voters understand that demographic change requires policy change, but politicians should proceed with extreme caution.

The survey “Our Ageing Population” found Australians are very worried about the issue and deeply concerned that governments haven’t got policy right.

“They are concerned about the broad-reaching implications for the nation’s housing, employment and healthcare sectors … Perceptions that the federal government is not introducing policies which will address these perceived problems only serves to heighten anxiety about Australia’s future in the face of this important demographic shift,” the survey concludes.

Most recently treasurer Joe Hockey raised the possibility of humans living to 150 as he foreshadowed a “deep conversation with the Australian people” about ageing after the government releases the latest intergenerational report. And the ageing population is also cited as a reason the government needs to cut spending on healthcare.

“The idea that health has to be cut to support the ageing population frightens people because they think the system is under immense pressure already and they can’t see how more can be taken away, and in regional Australia they feel especially under-serviced,” said Dorothy Dudley, director of the Mind and Mood report.

And while some respondents were prepared to accept the Abbott government’s $7 Medicare copayment (the policy that was on the table at the time of the surveys) they were suspicious that it would lead to even higher payments and a “US-style system” where healthcare became unaffordable.

The report includes quotes from focus group participants on the subject.

  • “I don’t personally have a problem with the $7 co-payment, I’m happy for my taxes to go towards healthcare even if I’m not sick, it’s certainly better than a lot of other things.”
  • “We have one of the best systems in the world. If there’s no money, then put up the levy for the majority but don’t slug pensioners with a co-payment. It’s not just the visit to the doctor. It’s pathology, then their medication. It really adds up. The vast majority of people don’t abuse it, but people get sick all the time. If you discourage people from going to the doctor they’ll get chronically sick and it will cost more.
  • “They won’t just stop at $7 it’ll just keep going up, it gets to become like the US where you could be bleeding out of your head and they refuse to see you. But that’s where we’re headed. We’re not caring as much.”

Respondents were equally anxious about the plan to raise the pension eligibility age to 70 – a policy that applies to those born after 1965 – and generally worried at the prospect that the pension would become less generous but that they would be unable to continue to work.

“The Coalition government’s plans to increase the age pension eligibility age to 70 by 2035 created much discussion,” the report said. “The fact that the age pension is so strongly linked with the concept of retirement was evidenced by many participants confusing the ‘pension eligibility age’ with a ‘retirement age’, although an official retirement age does not exist in Australia.”

It recorded comments from respondents like this:

  • “We’re up in arms about the retirement age.”
  • “The goal posts are constantly moving.”
  • “Raising the retirement age is just weird. It would suck if you got to a point where you can’t keep going and it’s like ‘you have to work another five years’.”
  • “The retirement age thing, that must depend on your occupation.”
  • “Tony [Abbott] needs to come out here [to regional NSW] and see what it feels like to pick a tonne of apples every day. What your joints feel like at the end of the day. See if thinks he could do it till he’s 70.”
  • “The 70 age limit is problematic. Not everyone can do that, not if they have a really physical job. It’s got to be flexible. If you’re a tiler or a bricklayer, your body can’t just keep doing that. You’re lucky if you last to 65.”

The government has ruled out unexpected changes to superannuation this term, but will include superannuation tax breaks in its “root and branch” review of the taxation system,

But according to the report there is “also a deal of anxiety about gaining access to superannuation with a perception that the superannuation goalposts were continually changing”.

It found that “across the board, fingers were pointing at the government who many participants felt had not really fully addressed the challenges they foresaw”.

  • “Government needs to be creative, not so tunnel-visioned. They’ve got to think. What if that was my mum, my dad? What would they need?”
  • “What measures are our leaders putting in today to help us to make sure it doesn’t happen? I’m not feeling very comfortable with anything really, are you?”
  • “There used to be a difference between Labor and Liberal and now they’re the same. I’m also cynical about everything in our society. It’s all driven by the bottom line. Acts of goodwill, not for money, are pretty rare.”

Source:  The Guardian

How to slice years from your age in an instant

Date:  January 19, 2015

Could you engage in a conceited deceit that would make others think you were younger?

Could you engage in a conceited deceit that would make others think you were younger? Photo: iStock

You’ll have seen loads of ‘New Year, New You’ stories by now – do this, stop doing that, buy a different shampoo and you’ll look years younger, feel heaps better and be far more attractive.

The most consistent message seems to be that the appearance of youth is the key to success. Even for men, who traditionally have a longer shelf life than women, being young (or at least appearing to be) has enormous cachet.

There are plenty of ways to pass yourself off as a younger feller – new haircuts, plastic surgery, a spot of Botox, maybe getting rid of that unsightly beard. Best of all, try losing a few kilos – chiselled is always better than jowly.

But have you tried this? It’s simple and, while not entirely foolproof, it’s certainly guaranteed to bring results. What is it? Lie about your age.

Until quite recently whenever I mentioned how old I was, the response would be something along the lines of “No, really, you don’t look it”, “My God you are not” etc.

So imagine my surprise when I told someone my real age and their response was … “Oh yeah”.

My face had caught up with my birth certificate, something needed to be done, and the simplest thing was to rewind the clock.

It’s as easy as that. Now if anyone asks my birthday I give my wife’s. And just like that I’m six years younger.

Proof of youth

What’s wrong with that? It’s not like I’m trying to commit identity fraud. I’m not passing myself off as anyone else, just lopping 70 months off my age.

It obviously doesn’t work with banks or insurance companies which, annoyingly, want to know my actual birthday “for security purposes”.

It probably won’t fool HR when the grim reaper of redundancy next passes through the office, either. Everyone else will have no choice but to believe it.

And more people are doing it than you might think. I recently read a story about someone I’d interviewed  a few years back and smelt a rat. A quick look back through the clippings file revealed that he, too, had at some point been a bit elastic with his age. And good for him.

My sister admitted to me the other day that she’s been doing it for years and claims her partner’s birthday as her own now and again. She has to remember his star sign and act the part when she does but otherwise, she says, it’s a big success.

Getting away with it

But can you get away with it? Pick a new birth year – and stick to it. Maybe keep the same birthday. You might have to bone up on kids’ TV or pop songs from your purportedly formative years.

I’m luckier – an accent that identifies I’m not from around here gives me a degree of vagueness about these things. Don’t lop too much off, either – ideally, no more than 10 per cent of your real age.

I don’t think it’s a big deal. You are, after all, only as old as you feel. And if you feel like being a bit younger what’s to stop you? Go on, give it a whirl.

Is your age set in stone or do you tell the odd white lie?

Source:  The Age

How the unemployed ‘disappear’ and why it matters

 
Discouraged jobseekers are becoming invisible in official estimates. AAP/Julian Smith

With monthly unemployment figures due out this week, the usual attention will be paid to fluctuations up and down. In last year’s Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook Treasurer Joe Hockey predicted that unemployment could reach 6.5%, which is 0.25% higher than was predicted in the federal budget.

How the unemployment figure is actually calculated became a hot media topic when the Australian Bureau of Statistics was forced to substantially revise its seasonally adjusted labour force figures for July and August. The ABS cited difficulty with seasonally adjusting the unemployment figure, which meant only the raw figure was used. These difficulties were attributed to a variety of factors and are now considered to be resolved.

However these conversations gloss over how the official figure of unemployment underestimates the “real” figure of unemployment. For those of us who are interested in how unemployment contributes to the way we experience ourselves in the world, who is excluded from these figures is just as important as who is included.

The discouraged

So who is missing from this key data set that we have been hearing a lot about recently? To answer this we need to look at definition of “unemployment” more closely.

The International Labour Organisation states a person is unemployed if they have worked less than one hour, have been actively looking for work during the reference week, and could start a job in the week following. Recently, the ABS updated the Labour Force Survey to align “active steps” of job seeking with the ILO definition. Now a person is considered to be actively looking for work if they, at bare minimum, call an employer to ask about a job position as opposed to reading through a job notice board or applying for Centrelink payments.

Here we can see that a person who has given up on the job search, or feels so disheartened by the process that they looked at jobs on a notice board but did not make contact with any employer, are not considered to be unemployed and therefore are missing from unemployment figures.

Economists refer to this cohort of unemployed as the “discouraged”. We consider this term to be a euphemism because when we turn to psychological and sociological studies that examine the experience of unemployment we find paperafter paper that discusses the detrimental psychological impact that unemployment has on a person. Such research documents this distress in terms of anxiety, stress, depression, suicide and lower self-esteem – that is, many people can be said to be excluded from the unemployed count because of the psychological impact of unemployment upon them.

The ‘active subject’

What do we do about unemployment, then, if it is so devastating to people’s well-being? “Activation” is one solution favoured by current government figures for the “problem of unemployment” in Australia and has been for some time now.

Activation is not just about active job seeking or actively improving one’s skill base (increasing skills via training etc), it is also about actively working on oneself to improve one’s “job readiness” in terms of self-esteem, resilience and motivation. From this perspective any programs to improve psychological factors like “self-esteem” are to be encouraged.

The problem of the unemployed is (not) the unemployed

The problem with these programs of reformation is that they only contribute to constructing the problem of unemployment as the problem of the unemployed individual themselves, running the risk of becoming a form of victim-blaming which pathologises the unemployed and makes political discussions around the structure of employment, unemployment and the labour market even less likely.

In discussions about unemployment and welfare programs it is rarely mentioned that mass unemployment is required by our socio-political regime, a contemporary form of neoliberal capitalism. The Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment is a term used by economists and politicians to refer to the level of unemployment, between 4% and 6%, considered necessary to prevent inflation taking off.

We need to also consider that there just aren’t enough jobs to go around. Figures in August 2014, for example, showed there were approximately 147,200 job vacancies though unemployment totalled 735,500 people. Clearly unemployment can not be “solved” by unemployed people taking non-existent jobs and it is unreasonable to blame unemployed individuals for unemployment when there is no paid work.

If our politico-economic system needs unemployment, the active labour market vitriol poured upon the unemployed is unjust as well as ineffective.

5 Ways to Stay Positive When Job Searching Makes You Want to Cry and Give Up

Common interview hurdles for older jobseekers – and how to overcome them

Job interviews can be nerve-racking, especially if you’re stealing yourself for comments such as, “You’re too experienced”.
Posted by Angela Gosnell on 8 January 2015
Image: Getty

In part one of our two-part series we look at what interviewers might be thinking when you sit down in front of them and what you can do to overcome any misconceptions.

The biggest hurdles mature job seekers face is overcoming stereotypes, says Patricia Shaw, client services director at career management organisation Audrey Page & Associates. She says jobseekers can be pigeon-holed no matter what their age, but those over 50 are sometimes prone to being categorised as (brace yourselves):

  • Over-qualified.
  • Lacking energy and vitality.
  • Unable to adapt well to change (for example, in technology) or new ways of doing things.
  • Prone to health problems.
  • Being past their prime and only capable of delivering a reduced performance.

So, what can you do to combat these biases and other misconceptions?

1. Understand the stereotypes

Shaw says be aware that stereotypes like these might actually exist. This will help you prepare positive responses to questions that might arise.

“Understand what some of those myths and misconceptions might be and then ensure responses don’t play into the stereotype,” says Shaw. At the same time, she says it’s equally important to be authentic and honest in your responses.

One of the stereotypes may be that mature job applicants don’t keep up to date with technology. To ensure you don’t fit in with this it’s important to have a good working knowledge of social media platforms. “Understand what the cloud is; know what big data is.”

“Those things could well be on the agenda of most organisations,” she says.

Biases can begin affecting the interviewer’s perception when they seek to establish if you can do the job (based on your knowledge, skills and experience); if you will do it (based on your motivation and resilience), and if you will fit into the culture of the business.

When answering the questions, Shaw says be aware of your body language and the tone of what you’re saying. Make eye contact with the interviewer and have a positive sense of presence.

2. Listen for a subtext

“A good interviewer… will know that they can’t ask specific questions in the same way you can’t ask a 25-year-old woman, ‘Are you expecting to have children soon?’ There are things you just can’t ask because they’re either politically incorrect… or would fall under discrimination. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t be asked in a different way.”

It’s important to stay attuned to what you think the subtext is and remember that not all questions are evidence of a bias. Thinking this could cause you to misinterpret what is being asked.

“A lot of interviews are based on standard questions that are asked of everyone,” she says. “A very standard question would be, ‘How do you maintain your energy levels during very busy or stressful periods?’… and they will ask people of every age that question. But for a mature aged applicant it could sound like a thinly disguised way of asking them if they’re worn out, washed up and past it. It’s really important not to over-read it.”

3. Watch for red herrings

Shaw says that applicants will typically be asked questions in the negative, such as, ‘Tell me about a time when you did feel worn out,’ or ‘Tell me about a time when you didn’t feel up to date with what was going on’.

She says you don’t necessarily have to answer the question that is being asked of you, “because what you do is provide a litany of failure… of times when you haven’t been able to do it.”

Try to acknowledge the question and tell them how you managed that situation in a positive way.

She says if you’re asked a technology question such as, ‘Have you been involved in a conversation about a subject that isn’t on your radar?’ say something like, ‘Of course, there are always times where somebody will be more informed. If I talked to the IT department they will talk about technology that will be well beyond most people. What I do is ensure I keep up to date with technology and I’m a regular user of Snapchat and LinkedIn.’

“Again, you’re just putting the concept to them. You’re not being defensive; you’re being honest.”

Have you been faced interview hurdles as an older jobseeker? How did you overcome them? Please comment below or start a conversation over on the Living Well Navigator forums.

Helpful links

Audrey Page & Associates
Living Well Navigator Job Search
The Power of Oldness
Why age positive workplaces are the future

Source:  Living Well Navigator

Grappling with an ageing population, Singapore begs older workers to stay on the job

Posted on January 7, 2015 in Briefs

Photo credit: ChrisGoldNY / Foter / CC BY-NC

Rina Chandran

(Bloomberg) — Everyone calls her Auntie Helen. At 69, she’s one of the oldest employees at the food court at Raffles Place in Singapore, where office workers grab sandwiches and bowls of soba noodles in the lunchtime rush.

As she cleans and stacks cutlery, Helen Wong might seem to represent the workforce of the city’s past. For a government grappling with an aging population, rising costs and curbs on immigration, her generation is the future.

“Food, transport, medicine are all more expensive now,” said Wong, who works seven hours a day, five days a week in the canteen-like basement, where diners can choose dishes from more than a dozen different vendors. “If I’m healthy and my body allows it, I’d like to work for as long as I’m able.”

In a culture that traditionally expects children to look after elderly parents, Singapore’s employment rate for those between ages 55 and 64 is now 66 percent, among the highest of the 34 nations in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The government has made it mandatory for companies to offer three more years of work to those turning 62, the official retirement age, and plans to extend that to five years by 2017.

“The earlier mindset that having elderly people working indicates a lack of respect by younger people has changed,” said Theresa Devasahayam, editor of “Gender and Ageing: Southeast Asian Perspectives” and a visiting senior research fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. “There are fewer children to take care of the elderly.”

Global Trend

The trend in Singapore is a microcosm of what’s happening across much of the developed world as families shrink and people live longer, increasing the strain on government pension systems.

South Korea, with the fastest-aging population in the OECD, told employers to provide retirement plans for staff starting in 2016 after realizing that its state pension fund may go broke by 2060, when its population over 65 is set to triple. Germany and the U.K. plan to raise their retirement ages to 67 from 65, while Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey wants to increase the threshold to 70, the highest in the world.

Singapore has gone a step further. Rather than simply extending the working age, the government is encouraging companies to bring retirees back into the workforce. New registrations by those over 60 at state-run career centers, which help find jobs and retrain workers, almost doubled to 4,799 in 2013, from 2,494 in 2008.

“This is a huge change that has enormous social consequences that we haven’t fully grasped yet,” said Randolph Tan, an associate professor at SIM University in Singapore and a nominated member of parliament. “I’m not sure there’s much benefit to be had from raising the age any further.”

Better Society

The push to hire older workers follows an attempt to increase the population by as much as 25 percent by 2030 through immigration, a policy that prompted a public backlash as the arrival of migrants pushed up property prices and strained public transport. More than 40 percent of the country’s population was born abroad.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong responded by tightening rules for foreign workers, warning that the cost may be higher taxes over the next two decades. In his New Year statement on Dec. 31, Lee said weak productivity gains for three straight years amid a labor crunch was “disappointing.”

“We need to employ all facets of labor of our very small workforce,” said Wai Ho Leong, a Singapore-based senior economist at Barclays Plc, who was previously head of the trade and industry ministry’s microeconomics unit. “Society is better off when older people are active.”

Salmon Filleter

To help address the labor shortfall, a committee for the employability of older workers unveiled an advertising campaign last year showcasing a 65-year-old lifeguard, a 76-year-old assistant inventory manager and a 60-year-old salmon filleter.

“Tap Into a Wealth of Experience,” exhorted an ad plastered across the side of a bus driving through the central shopping district, featuring a 58-year-old assistant front office manager at Raffles Hotel.

“Given the tight labor market situation, you actually would find many employers coming forward to say they’re willing to hire older workers,” Senior Minister of State for Manpower Amy Khor said in parliament in September.

Older workers have found jobs in companies including Hotel Royal Plaza on Scotts, Singapore General Hospital Pte. and ComfortDelGro Corp., which runs the island’s biggest taxi service, according to the committee. The government in 2012 raised the age limit for taxi drivers to 75 from 73.

Low Pay

Singapore offsets part of the costs of hiring elderly workers and companies can tap government funds to redesign jobs and human resource systems for them. Older employees are especially useful for lower-skilled positions that otherwise might not be filled, said Leong at Barclays.

Cleaners, laborers and production and transport operators accounted for the highest numbers of older workers, according to a survey last year by Singapore-based DBS Bank Ltd. A majority of the elderly who were employed drew gross monthly incomes of less than S$1,500 ($1,124), it showed.

“When you see elderly people cleaning the pavement in the middle of the day, you have to wonder if this is sustainable,” Devasahayam said. “It’s not practical to expect them to keep doing it; it’s cruel, there’s a moral dimension to it.”

About one-fifth of Singapore’s employees over 55 work part time, such as Margaret Lee, who retrained after retiring from a childcare center and now works two days a week at a school cafeteria.

Extra Money

“It gives me something useful to do, and some extra money to spend,” said Lee, 62, whose husband is retired. Working part time allows her to help look after her grandchildren while their parents are at work.

By 2020, more than a third of Singapore’s population will be over 50, and by 2050 the nation’s median age will be 54, according to the committee on older workers, which includes representatives from government, business and trade unions.

“It has become essential to hire older workers because of the aging population,” said Angelina Toh, co-founder of AJA Enterprises Pte, which adapts buildings to withstand bomb blasts. She said her company employs them in supervisory and marketing roles where they adjust better than foreign workers. “They’re more mature emotionally, more independent,” Toh said.

Singaporean men live more than 20 years beyond the official retirement age on average and women 25 years, the longest out of the 68 countries in the Global Sunset Index released by Bloomberg Rankings in 2013. While retirees can draw from their pension savings at 55, at least S$155,000 must be kept in the account to provide a steady income stream.

Only one in five Singapore investors is confident their pension accounts will meet their retirement needs, with 47 percent indicating the savings will be insufficient, according to a survey released in August by Toronto-based insurer Manulife Financial Corp.

Auntie Helen says the money from her job in the food court covers her daily expenses and she enjoys chatting with her younger colleagues.

“What else is there for me to do, watch TV?” she said. “I was getting bored at home.”

Everydayonomics: The despair of being over 60 and jobless

Stuck "on a human hamster wheel": Older unemployed people are likely to remain unemployed much longer than younger people.

Stuck “on a human hamster wheel”: Older unemployed people are likely to remain unemployed much longer than younger people. Photo: Greg Newington

One of the most confronting interviews I have done this year was with Glenda Ellwood-White, a 60-year-old who has been out of work for more than five years.

She lives with her 23-year-old son in a granny flat in Sydney’s inner west. Her income is so low she often cannot afford meals and when she does eat, the menu is monotonous.

“I often think my stomach will kill me if I have any more noodles,” so I often just have a piece of toast and a cup of tea,” Ellwood-White told me.

She likens life on the Newstart benefit to being stuck “on a human hamster wheel”.

We do not hear that much about the struggles of older unemployed people such as Ellwood-White, but it turns out they are likely to remain unemployed much longer than younger people.

Analysis by Marcia Keegan, an economist with consultancy SGS Economics and Planning, shows that a quarter of those aged 45 to 64 remained unemployed for more than a year compared with only 15 per cent of people aged under 44.

“If you become unemployed at an older age, your chances of finding a job are a lot lower than someone who becomes unemployed at a younger age,” she said.

The problem is most acute for those aged over 60 – two-thirds of Newstart recipients in that age group have been out of work for more than 12 months.

So why are older workers so much more likely to be unemployed long term?

Prejudice is a major factor. The Australian Human Rights Commission says discrimination can be found among the job applicants as young as their mid-40s. A recent job search experience survey found almost one in five people aged 45 to 64 felt their age was the main difficulty they faced in finding work. Ellwood-White claims her long search for a job proves age-based prejudice is “rife”.

Another explanation is that employers fear a short period of service from older workers.

“If an employer interviews someone in their late 50s or early 60s, they might think the person is going to retire in a few years or take their superannuation tax-free,” Dr Keegan said. “They think they might be able to keep a younger worker for longer, but this is very unfair, because workers in their late 50s or early 60s often want to work for another 10 years or more.”

But older workers can sometimes be demanding. When Keegan explored what wages unemployed people wanted, she found older people, especially men, tended to have higher expectations than younger workers. This might encourage employers to go for younger workers, especially if they have been out of work for a long period.

Disability is another factor. More than 30 per cent of workers aged 60 to 64 have some sort of disability that limits job options. In contrast, the rate of disability among those aged 15 to 24 is only about 8 per cent. The good news is that the proportion of older workers with a disability is falling – among 60 to 64-year-olds, the rate dropped from close to 40 per cent in 2003 to about 33 per cent in 2012.

This year’s federal budget introduced a new policy to reduce mature-age unemployment called Restart. Employers will receive $10,000 over two years when they employ a person aged over 50 on income support for at least six months.

Even so, older workers are a significant part of a growing longer-term unemployment problem in Australia. This year, the rate of long-term unemployment has climbed to 1.2 per cent of the labour force – well above the decade-long average of 0.92 per cent. The Fairfax-Lateral Economics Wellbeing Index – which puts a dollar figure on national welfare – shows the well-being cost of long-term unemployment has surged in the past year and is now a $2 billion-a-year drag on the nation’s collective well-being. Much of the pain is being felt by those aged in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

Source:SMH

Younger workers take more fake sick days

January 2, 2015
Credit: Thinkstock

A new, Australia-based survey has found that younger workers are more likely to fake a sick day, or at least admit to it, than older workers.

According to the survey from the University of Melbourne, 39 percent of workers between the ages of 18 and 24 and 43 percent of those between 25 and 34 admitted to calling in to work to take a sick day in the past 12 months.

The researchers said older workers, who tended to be in managerial positions, were much less likely to take a fake sick day off.

“The people less likely to fake a sick day were workers over 45 years old or in executive and senior management positions,” said Peter Gahan, director of Centre for Workplace Leadership at the University of Melbourne. “These more senior employees were also more likely to look forward to returning to work after their weekend.”

The survey also reported that full-time workers were more likely to say they had faked a sick day than part-time workers. Full-time workers also were more likely to say they dreaded coming in on Mondays.

“The results show that if you take a sickie, you’re less likely to look forward to going to work on a Monday,” Gahan said. “This may imply that people who take ‘mental health days’ do so because they feel disgruntled at work, and that those who work part-time are more enthusiastic about returning to work.”

Additionally, only 19 percent of Aussies in management said they dreaded Mondays, compared to 42 percent of all employed surveyed.

“There are also warning bells for middle managers,” Gahan added. “Thirty-six percent of middle managers admit to faking a sick day in the past twelve months and forty-seven percent believe that their counterparts are being paid more than they are.”

The University of Melbourne team said they plan to follow up with a similar poll focusing on small and medium businesses.

A different study published in November found that men and women in managerial positions react differently to their elevated role. The study, from the University of Texas at Austin, found that female managers were more likely to experience increasing symptoms of depression, while their male counterparts were more likely to experience decreasing levels of depressive symptoms.

The researchers noted that they considered many factors associated with taking on a management role, such as the number of hours worked and schedule flexibility.

“What’s striking is that women with job authority in our study are advantaged in terms of most characteristics that are strong predictors of positive mental health,” said study author Tetyana Pudrovska, an assistant professor in sociology at the university. “These women have more education, higher incomes, more prestigious occupations, and higher levels of job satisfaction and autonomy than women without job authority. Yet, they have worse mental health than lower-status women.”

“Women in authority positions are viewed as lacking the assertiveness and confidence of strong leaders,” she added. “But when these women display such characteristics, they are judged negatively for being unfeminine. This contributes to chronic stress.”

Source:redOrbit

Key Abbott government employment scheme struggles to meet target

Date: January 2, 2015 – 
Employment Minister Eric Abetz.

Employment Minister Eric Abetz. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

A key plank of the Abbott government’s employment strategy is on the cusp of failure, with just over 500 job seekers so far joining a scheme meant to benefit 32,000.

The $10,000 Restart incentive was unveiled in Treasurer Joe Hockey’s May 2014 budget, the latest bid to tackle a policy area that has long vexed both sides of politics: how to encourage employers to hire mature-age Australians.

Moments after the budget was handed down, Employment Minister Eric Abetz said Restart “more than delivers on the government’s 2013 election policy commitment to lift workforce participation and improve quality of life”.

It was projected to help up to 32,000 people annually.

However, Senate documents show employers have hired only 510 job seekers through the scheme in the five months since its July introduction.

There are nearly 175,000 Australians over 50 looking for work through Job Services Australia.

The documents warn it is difficult to predict the take-up rate for the $10,000 incentive but it was “likely” demand would grow. If it does not, it’s possible the program could fall 95 per cent short of the government’s target.

Job seekers aged 50 or over who have been receiving income support for at least six months are eligible. Employers who hire them receive up to $10,000 depending on whether milestones are met.

The government has budgeted $524.8 million to fund the project over four years.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Senator Abetz point to the scheme as an important component of the government’s so-called Economic Action Strategy.

“As our population ages it’s more important than ever that we try to ensure older people are contributors economically as well as simply culturally and that’s what will happen under an incoming Coalition government,” Mr Abbott said during the 2013 election campaign.

Senator Abetz on Thursday said the government “expects that take-up will increase as employers become aware of the programme”.

“As it stands, there are more than 600 mature-aged workers in jobs today that weren’t as a result of this programme,” he said, suggesting the total number has grown slightly since the 510 figure was reported in the Senate documents.

“The government is focused on building a stronger and more prosperous economy which will see more employment opportunities as employers gain confidence.”

Luring more mature-age Australians into the workforce is a potential boon for the economy but finding the right policy settings to make it happen has vexed both sides of politics for many years.

Under questioning at Parliament House earlier this year, Department of Employment deputy secretary Martin Hehir said programs targeting mature-age workers had proven to be “quite intractable”.

Just 230 employers took advantage of a $1000 annual subsidy under the two-year life of the Gillard/Rudd government’s Jobs Bonus scheme. That program was also meant to benefit up to 10,000 employers.

“So in one sense we know what has not worked in the past, and it has been quite an intractable area,” Mr Hehir said.

“So while the days are very early and the numbers are probably still low to begin with, you would probably have to say that it [Restart] is making faster progress than the previous work in this area.”

The Abbott government’s Commission of Audit noted that the effectiveness of wage subsidies “is open to question” because they may displace other job seekers and jobs may be lost once incentives expire.

Meanwhile, another job-creation scheme has also struggled to gain traction. The Tasmanian Jobs Programme, which offers $3250 to employers in an effort to revive the state’s sluggish labour market, has created 114 jobs in its first year. The government said it would employ 2000 Tasmanians over two years.

Opposition employment services spokeswoman Julie Collins said wage subsidies were “not enough” to support older Australians.

“We have Tony Abbott telling Australians they need to work longer – but in what jobs? People aren’t taking up wage subsidies because the jobs aren’t there,” she said.

The government has pledged to re-evaluate Restart in mid-2016.

Source:  SMH

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