Mature workers news roundup – December 2019

Retirement And The Laws To Help Older Workers (USA)

A provocative article from William Baldwin, suggesting that salaries should be automatically reduced 3% a year beginning when a worker turns 55 and age discrimination laws should be repealed. – Forbes, 12 January 2020

Special Report: Ensuring well-being of the old, poor, sick, childless and jobless in the coming two (Malaysia) 

Come May, it will be two years since the landmark general election that brought Pakatan Harapan to power and three years since Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid raised a red flag on the need to prepare for an ageing society with the headline-grabbing statement of Malaysians being “old, poor, sick and without children” in 2050 and still having to work.  – The Edge, 12 January 2020

Older workers concerned they are seen negatively

Research from AIG Life Limited shows nearly one in 10 (9 per cent) of over-50s did not admit to turning 50 at work for fear that colleagues would regard them as old. AIG Life’s study of more than 3,000 working adults suggests there is still an unconscious bias of ageism among individuals in the workplace, with over-50s and younger workers equally worried about the implications.  – The Global Recruiter, 20 December 2019

These words are a sign of age bias in job postings

Age discrimination in the hiring process is real, and you may even be able to spot it the next time you look at job listings. There are some phrases and language that signal age bias, according to a new report recently distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research. They may mention physical ability, such as lifting a specific amount of weight, or specify computer programs, like Microsoft Word, to discriminate against older workers, said Patrick Button, a professor at Tulane University and an author of the report. These ads may also say the job requires working certain shifts or “must have reliable transportation.” Different language is used for different types of jobs and whether the applicant is a male or female.  – Market Watch, 21 December 2019

How exoskeletons are strengthening Japan’s workforce

Wearable devices help aging workers stay on the job if they want to. An exoskeleton suit or device helps workers lift and carry objects more easily and with less risk of injury. – Mother Nature Network, 19 December 2019

Does happiness in your 50s signal the end of ambition?

A couple of years ago, my relationship with work started shifting. For 25 years as a writer and editor, I had run the rapids of Washington’s river of ambition, always seeking the next challenge, the next triumph. If I wasn’t under a deadline or bowing to a self-imposed task list, I didn’t feel whole. I assumed that the ambient unease this brought was what experts call “good stress.”

But then I started finding myself bobbing in an unfamiliar eddy: contentment with my station in life. I was a healthy 50-year-old with a wife, two kids in elementary school, aging but remarkably spry parents and a deep community of friends. It hit me: Perhaps I should enjoy this setup while it lasts.  – Washington Post, 18 December 2019

Why women in their 40s, 50s and beyond are a force to be reckoned with in the workplace

⁠A new study commissioned by Know Your Value shows 70 percent ⁠of women believe age discrimination in the workplace is a serious problem, compared to 54 percent for men. But that doesn’t mean women aren’t seizing opportunities that come their way.  – NBC News, 18 December 2018

Forget ‘OK, boomer’ — workplaces of the future will be multigenerational

Can workers of all ages learn to get along — and thrive? These companies are betting on it. – MarketWatch, 16 December 2019

Almost half of employers offer at-retirement support

The value of providing at-retirement support is becoming gradually more apparent to UK employers, with 46% of HR decision-makers stating that their organisation helps staff with this life stage in 2019, compared to 39% of employers in 2018 and 40% in 2017, according to research by Employee Benefits.  – Employee Benefits, 17 December 2019

The women still working into their 70s

The proportion of women working into their 70s in the UK has doubled in the last four years and is starting to catch up with men.

Analysis of official data reveals that 5.6% of women only stopped working after the age of 70 in 2012. This had risen to 11.3% in 2016. – Stock Daily Dish, 14 December 2019

Poor and on their own, South Korea’s elderly who will ‘work until they die’

SEOUL: As the snow falls heavy on the city streets, Madam Kim trudges on through the sub-zero weather that has most others huddled indoors, going through her daily routine of gleaning alleyways for waste paper and other recyclable trash.

Severely hunched over, the 81-year-old does this for a living. On a typical day, she circles the city a few times on foot, gathering more than 100 kilogrammes of trash which she takes to a junk depot that buys it for 100 won per kilogramme. That’s barely 10,000 won, or roughly S$12, for a day’s heavy haul.

It’s a measly sum to live off in one of the most developed and expensive cities in Asia. But for about 3 million seniors in South Korea who live in poverty, this is how they will live out the final leg of their lives.  – Stock Daily Dish, 13 December 2019

Civil servants at Deutsche Telekom complain to Justice Minister of age discrimination

A group of civil servants working at Deutsche Telekom has written a letter to German Minister of Justice Christine Lambrecht to protest against age discrimination at the company … The civil servants were transferred to an internal employment agency called TPS ,Telekom Placement Services, without reason. The two main TPS locations in Darmstadt and in Bruhl are “torture camps” where officials whom the company wants to dismiss are “tortured, humiliated, threatened and harassed,” until they resign voluntarily and without fair compensation, according to the letter. Telekom targets those who have still to work ten to fifteen years and are over the age of 55, they claim.  – Telecompaper, 11 December 2019

Europe’s ageing workforce: Untapped potential of skills and knowledge

With greater numbers of adults over 55, the resources needed for pension schemes are bound to increase and strain social budgets of many countries. One way to decrease this pressure, is to empower individuals to choose postponing retirement.

Many EU countries have already increased the state pension age to keep adults in the workforce for longer, which has led to almost a doubling of the workforce for those 55 and older. [1] This reality illustrates both great benefits for the economy and the workers themselves, but it also poses challenges for creating an inclusive society, where older adults can work and contribute with their skills.  – AAL, 9 December 2019

79 Year Old Delta Flight Attendant Fired In Bizarre Case

This has to be one of the strangest instances of a former airline employee suing the company for wrongful termination.

Ida Gomez Llanos, a 79 year old who had been with Delta for 56 years, claims she was targeted by the company and colleagues, and wrongfully terminated.  – One Mile At a Time, 7 December 2019

Outlook for the Thai economy is bleak and will get bleaker due to its rapidly ageing population

Thailand is facing an array of economic challenges that will take radical and strong leadership to even keep at bay in the next twenty years as the number of Thai people over 65 years of age expands to record levels with a diminishing workforce. On top of this, even as the vast majority of the hard-working Thai population adjusts to their lots, there is an emerging generation on track to aggravate the problem by borrowing without restraint while turning its back on traditional family life.  – Thai Examiner, 1 December 2019

Age is no barrier: Why Australian businesses need to give older workers a fair go

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s recent call for senior Australians to stay in the workforce in order to boost the economy is far easier said than done. The reality is ageism — age related discrimination in employment practices — continues to be a major problem in this country. If we are to tap into the talent and energy of workers at later stages of their careers and lives, we need a dramatic shift in mindsets and decision-making from many HR and business leaders.  – Smart Company, 11 December 2019

Age discrimination begins at 40 for job-seekers in Sweden

Even job applicants in their early 40s start feeling the effects of age discrimination in the Swedish labour market, according to a new study. And 20 years later, your chances are extremely slim.  – The Local, 9 December 2019

A multigenerational workforce is a stronger workforce (podcast)

In this episode of Work in Progress: Marci Alboher, vice president of Encore.org, discusses how to better train, then integrate older adults into the workforce, and the value to everyone — employers, workers, and co-workers — of a multigenerational workplace.   – Working Nation, 3 December 2019