Australia: ACT Chief Minister Exploring Grandparental Leave

As part of an effort to examine measures to attract and retain mature workers, Austrialian Capital Territory (ACT) Chief Minister Jon Stanhope has asked the ACT Commissioner for Public Administration to examine the possibility of granting public servants unpaid leave to enable grandparents to look after grandchildren up to the age of two.

Mr Stanhope said that 2005 figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that grandparents were delivering childcare services to more than 660,000 Australian children. Grandparents cared for more than half of the one-year-olds who depended on child care and almost 40% of five-year-olds.

Almost all of the childcare undertaken by grandparents was provided at no cost.

“Our ageing workforce, and our need to retain older workers for longer, means that over time we will need to provide working conditions that better suit mature-age workers,” Mr Stanhope said.

Source: ACT Chief Minister Media Release (August 27, 2007)

Other Sources: ABC News "ACT plans grandparental leave" (August 27, 2007)

Survey: Older Workers More Satisfied with Their Jobs

A survey released by the University of Chicago study shows that job satisfaction increases with age, with workers over 65 among the most satisfied. According to the report--“Job Satisfaction in America: Trends and Socio-Demographic Correlates”--by Tom W. Smith, Director of the General Social Survey at the National Opinion Center at the University of Chicago, 86% of the people interviewed between 1972 and 2006 said they were satisfied at their jobs, with 48% saying they were very satisfied--for older workers, 71% said they were very satisfied.

Smith said that “job satisfaction is especially high among those 65 and over because most people working at that age are not those forced to still work due to financial reasons, but those who choose to do so because they like their jobs.”

Source: University of Chicago News Release (August 27, 2007)

Canada: Older Workers Staying in the Workforce Longer

According to a new study published by Statistics Canada, older Canadian workers are staying in the workforce longer and, as a result, may be dampening the threat of a sudden and severe labour shortage as baby boomers retire.

According to the article--"Participation of older workers", in the August 2007 issue of Perspectives on Labour and Income--by Katherine Marshall and Vincent Ferrao, an estimated 2.1 million individuals aged 55 to 64 were either employed or looking for work in 2006, more than double the total in 1976. Additional highlights include:

• The main thrust behind the upward trend is women's labour force participation rate, which rose from 38% to 62% between 1976 and 2006 for those aged 55 to 59, and from 24% to 37% for those aged 60 to 64.
• One in 4 older workers is self-employed and 1 in 5 works part time. Part-time work is one of the few job characteristics that is notably different for older and core-aged workers (those aged 25 to 54), suggesting transitional changes before retirement.
• Two-thirds of older workers who work part time do so from choice compared with only 28% of core-aged, part-time workers.

Source: Statistics Canada The Daily (August 24, 2007)

Other Sources: CTV.ca "Baby boomers staying in workforce longer: study" (August 24, 2007)--followed by posted comments

Singapore: Prime Minister Proposes Mandating Reemployment of Older Workers

In his National Day Rally speech, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that he will be seeking legislation to require the reemployment of older workers. In addressing the best way for the government to help older workers to stay employed and work longer, the Prime Minister rejected calls for raising the retirement age of 62, since that would discourage employers from hiring older workers.

Accordingly, he called for legislation for reemployment to continue working beyond 62 ad being more flexible for both employers and employees. While a worker would not necessarily get the same job or the same pay, employers must make an offer, taking into account worker’s performance, health and preferences, and company’s needs.

As proposed, the law would take effect from 2012. It would require employers to offer reemployment to workers reaching retirement age, i.e. 62. As a first step, this would go up to 65 age and later would be pushed up to 67. In addition, the government will offer financial incentives for older people to work, and for employers to hire them.

Source: Singapore Government Media Release (August 19, 2007)

Other Sources: Channel NewsAsia "Firms facing Re-employment Act can stay cost-competitive" (August 23, 2007); Bernama.com "Singapore To Make Re-employment Of Older Workers Mandatory" (August 20, 2007)

"Employ the Older Workers Job Fair Series" To Be Held during Autumn

A partnership between The Employment Guide and AARP Foundation will hold the first of what is to an annual "Employ the Older Workers Job Fair Series" from from August 22 to October 19. The job fair series is a national effort, reaching more than 40 cities, to bring together older workers and 50+-friendly employers, and is being held in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Employ Older Workers Week, Sept. 23-29, 2007.

Source: Employment Guide and AARP Foundation News Release (August 21, 2007)

Canadian Surveys Show that Attention to Health Policies Can Keep Older Workers on the Job

Derek Sankey, writing for CanWest News Service, picks up on two recent surveys to point out that "tweaking health-care benefit plans could help retain experienced workers for longer, yet most companies plan to reduce those benefits in coming years."

The first survey--the "The sanofi-aventis Healthcare Survey 2007"--reports that about two-thirds of workers aged 55 or older are "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to continue working or return to the workforce after retirement if their employers would offer health benefits that continue into retirement. However, the second survey--conducted by Hewitt Associates--shows taht 57% of organizations plan to reduce post-retirement health-care benefits over the next three years.

However, according to Cathy Course, a senior benefits consultant for Hewitt Associates in Calgary, emerging trends in health-care benefit plans would suggest taht there are ways to combat the increasing costs associated with such a large of number of workers exiting the workforce and wanting extended health benefits, with flexibility being a core concept.

Source: Saskatoon Star Phoenix "Health benefits worker-retention issue" (August 18, 2007)

United Kingdom: TUC Debates Accessibility to Training for Older Workers

In a web-based debate, TUC assistant general secretary Kay Carberry told her audience that "We need to look at the upper age limit for funding apprenticeships, because most apprenticeship funding at the moment is largely limited to people under 25." Instead of taking the "mistaken" view that once you’ve been around for a few decades that’s it, Carberry said that the priorities were to scrutinise everything that happens in the workplace to make sure that it ‘s free of age discrimination and to train older workers--give them more opportunities than they’ve got now.

Carberry was participating in a live tele-cast debate sponsored by Equal-works on the topic of "The value of experience: older workers, their importance and their rights".

Some employers felt it wasn’t worth investing in training older workers because they weren’t going to be around that long. This was a misconception, she said. It was also wrong to think "that older workers aren’t going to be susceptible to learning new skills because they ‘re getting a bit doddery and they’re getting a bit slow.

"I think there are a lot of people who have worked in one particular field, who get into their late 50’ s early 60’s, don’t want to carry on doing that particular kind of work but would welcome the opportunity to do something a little bit different and quite often they don’t get that opportunity maybe with the same employer, maybe voluntary work.

"What the unions are concerned about is that older workers or workers in other age ranges are not viewed as an undifferentiated lump. We would like to see public policy more finely attuned to individuals needs."

Source: Further Education News "TUC Asst Gen Sec: End discrimination against older workers and open up training to them" (August 11, 2007)

Manpower Inc. and Schneider National Certified as "Age Friendly" Employers

RetirementJobs.com has independently evaluated and bestowed its "Age Friendly Employer" Certification upon two Wisconsin-based companies: Manpower Inc. and Schneider National, Inc. Certification indicates an employer’s recognition of the value of age 50+ workers, as well as its commitment to take affirmative action in providing meaningful employment, development opportunities and competitive pay and benefits. These two companies join such previously certified national employers as H&R Block, Marriott, REI, Robert Half International, Safeway, and Staples.

Employers who’ve earned RetirementJobs.com Age Friendly Employer Certification must have demonstrated consistent performance on twelve criteria which define best practices that effectively retain and attract a mature workforce to the employer.

Source: RetirementJobs.com Press Release (August 9, 2007)

Canada: Calgary Chamber Recommends Changes To Encourage Older Workers

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce has recommended changes to the Canadian Pension Plan, Old Age Security, and RRSP programs to remove disincentives and entice older workers to continue in the labour force. The recommendations were made as part of a submission to the Federal Expert Panel on Older Workers.

According to Heather Douglas, President & CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, older workers represent a significant source of underutilized talent and labour supply in the Canadian economy, but the federal government retirement programs do not reflect current and future demographic, retirement and life expectancy realities and create disincentives for older workers to participate in the labour force. The Chamber's submission to the Expert Panel--"Older Workers: Amending Federal Government Retirement Programs to Tap Into an Underutilized Pool of Labour Supply"--recommended several changes that have the potential to encourage 80,000 additional older Albertans to remain in the labour force:

• expanding the age range at which people are eligible to access their Canada Pension Plan benefits from 60-70 to 60-75;
• amending the Old Age Security program to encourage the most highly skilled and experienced Canadians to continue working after age 65;
• working with the provinces to develop harmonized and flexible part-time pension policies that provide incentives for Canadians to gradually transition out of the labour force after age 65.

Source: Calgary Chamber of Commerce News Release (July 30, 2007)

Armenia: Dismissal of Older Lab Workers Raises Concerns

Yerevan State University's decision to dismiss 65 laboratory workers age 65 or older who had spent years as assistants in the university’s chemistry, biology, and physics labs has raised concerns, according to an article by Sara Khojoyan. While national labor law is on the university rector’s side, since an employer has the right to cancel contracts with workers based on the national retirement age--61 for women and 65 for men, the University trade union president suggests that the workers, who are protesting their dismissal, are raising moral issues that the law does not address.

Source: Transitions Online "Out With the Old" (August 6, 2007)

Survey: EBRI Reports More Older Americans Working Full Time

According to new research published by Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), there is a trend toward more full-time, full-year work among older workers and that trend can be seen is virtually every demographic group.

Among other things, EBRI writes in "Employment Status of Workers Age 55 and Older" in its August issue of EBRI Notes that:

• those aged 55 or older in the labor force increased from about 29% n 1993 to 38% in 2006
  
• those aged 65–69 in the labor force increased from about 18% in 1985 to 29% in 2006.
  
• the percentage of workers age 55 or older who work full time, full year steadily increased from 54% in 1993 to 64% in 2005.
  
• across each race/ethnicity category, the percentage of workers age 55 or older working full time, full year increased from 1987 to 2005.
  

Source: EBRI News Release (August 2, 2007)

Survey: New England Employers Not Ready for Replacing Aging Workforce

A survey conducted by the Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA) reports that over 85% of all firms did not have a recruiting strategy in place to offset the impending retirement of the baby boomers from the workplace, and only 5% responded that they did have a plan in place. In addtion, the NEHRA's e-Survey on the Aging Workforce shows 83% of respondents as not having a formalized plan to retain retirement-eligible workers. Of the 7% that reported having one in place, 74% reported flex-time was the best tactic to retain these workers, with job sharing ranked second at 26%, and telecommuting third at 40%.

"We are already facing a talent shortage in the New England area, and with the retirement of the baby boomer generation at hand, it will only get worse," advises Dan Henry, Chairman of the Board of NEHRA. "We hope these findings help generate some serious discussions and solutions for local businesses before any real crises occur."

Source: Northeast Human Resources Association "Aging workforce a challenge for most firms in the region, NEHRA survey says" (July 23, 2007)

Canada: Analysis of Age and the 2006 Census Released

According to Statistics Canada, data from the 2006 Census shows that the number of seniors aged 65 years and over surpassed the 4-million mark for the first time and that the working-age population (15 to 64 years) is becoming increasingly older. As a result, the proportion of senior citizens has increased from 13.0% in 2001 to 13.7% in 2006--an increase that can be seen at the national level as well as in every province, territory and census metropolitan area (CMA) in the country.

In addition, the report--"Portrait of the Canadian Population in 2006, by Age and Sex, 2006 Census"--shows that there are barely enough young people entering the working age group to replace those approaching the age of retirement--between 2001 and 2006, the population aged 15 to 24 increased by only 5.3%; for each person leaving the working age group, there was just over one individual entering it.

Source: Statistics Canada The Daily (July 17, 2007)

Book Review: "Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life"

Most baby boomers aren’t ready psychologically and far more often aren’t set economically to stop working entirely, writes Vince Carducci, and Marc Freedman is getting a bead on the situation and offers a solution in his new book "Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life."

According to Carducci, Freedman considers that the trend of corporations shedding older employees and slashing payroll and benefit costs is creating a tremendous waste of human capital. While he goes through policy issues that are underlying this trend or contributing to the problems, he also profiles individuals who are part of the solution. In particular, he focuses on career shifts and "highlights several innovative programs that give an idea as to how we might usher in what he terms the 'encore society.'”

Wonks will debate these and other proposals Freedman puts forth, but average readers will no doubt be most interested in the self-help section at the end of the book. Freedman provides a self-reflection matrix—Are you a “recycler,” leveraging your past experience to enter a new field? Or, are you a “changer” looking to start anew? Are you a “maker,” trying to mold an interest into a career, turning an avocation into a vocation? Whatever your persuasion, Freedman offers online resources, networking ideas and other tips to help you follow your bliss in a more well-managed way.

Source: PopMatters.com "Work, the Sequel" (July 17, 2007)

Maine: Paper Industry Facing Aging Workforce

According to a story by Colin Hickey for the Kennebec, Maine, Morning Sentinel, paper company executives are losing sleep contemplating that the industry--the largest manufacturing sector in Maine--will have 2,200 workers turn 63 within the next 10 years. "They know paper does not get produced without skilled people."

Unlike some other industries that may be facing such issues, the paper industry's problems are compounded because of perceptions that it is a dying industry:

[Mike] Barden of the Pulp & Paper Association acknowledges that this is the central question the industry faces.

"It is still that public perception (of a dying industry)," he said. "It is trying to overcome that. The reality is I just don't see the industry going away. I think there will always be an industry here."

Bill Cohen of Verso Paper, which has mills in Bucksport and Jay, confirms that the paper industry faces a labor challenge.

"It is harder to recruit, because of the perception that it is a dying industry," he said. "That is one thing we have to overcome. We are not dying; we are continuing to reshape."

Hickey reports on efforts by the industry to raise enrollments in Maine programs that are the principle sources for new recruits.

Source: Kennebec Morning Sentinel "Graying workforce a problem for paper industry" (July 15, 2007)

India: Older Workers Beng Ignored in Economic Boon? A Commentary

Ravi Srinivasan, writing in the Hindustan Times, suggests that "India’s absurdly low retirement age of 58" means that by 2010, one-fifth of India’s current workforce ("from shop-floor workers to top managers") will be out of the workforce. Even though India has had a demographic drawing card--its vast supply of young workers entering the workforce, Srinivasan reports on recent surveys that show that several industries in India are already facing moderate to severe talent shortage.

“Opening the doors to older workers is a major benefit…it will help organisations retain knowledge and experience, widen the recruitment base and could lead to more customers and greater profits,” commented Soumen Basu, executive chairman, Manpower India.

Thus, "looking beyond those grey hairs makes sound business sense." Otherwise, in a few years, India may have found itself "untutored and fertile" over "educated and aging."

Source: Hindustan Times "India’s overlooked ‘grey market’ workforce" (July 12, 2007)

Indiana: Employers Unprepared for Aging Workforce

Few Indiana employers are taking concrete steps to manage the transition as the baby boom generation begins to reach retirement age, according to a report published by the Center for Aging & Community at the University of Indianapolis. Even though employers recognize that their workforce is getting older, the survey of over 400 employers showed that many organizations seem unconcerned about the aging of the workforce and are not adapting HR practices to manage the resulting employee turnover.

In Gray Matters: Opportunities & Challenges for Indiana's Aging Workforce, Phase II: A Workplace Conundrum, the Center surveyed employers about their understanding of the ongoing demographic shift, any preparations they are making to deal with the changes, and their perceptions about employee loss and its impact on their operations. It also "onvened an expert panel of business, government and education representatives to discuss trends in the state and national workforce. The panelists agreed that intergenerational issues will have increasing impact in the workplace, and that the ideal employee--regardless of age – will be resilient, intellectually agile and responsive to change, with a broad foundation of knowledge, skills and abilities."

Among other recommendations for workers, employers, policymakers, educators, and trainers, the Center encourages employers to prepare for the future workforce by:

• conducting a skills audit of their organizations to
  determine the core competencies essential for business success now and in the future;
• understanding the skills needed and who possesses them or where there are training needs within the organization;
• developing the agile worker for the new economy, with the ability to move between projects and embrace the changing technologies; and
• educating managers in ways to manage a multi-generational workforce.

In the first part of the study issued in 2006--Gray Matters: Opportunities & Challenges for Indiana's Aging Workforce, Phase I: The Aging Matrix, the Center analyzed nationwide data to assess the level of demographic change in each state and the extent to which older residents were active in the economy and community life.

Source: University of Indianapolis’ Center for Aging & Community News Release (July 9, 2007)

Recognizing Four Stages of Age in the Wokplace for the Multigenerational Workforce

According to a new paper published by the Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College, in response to the age demographics of the 21st century workforce, employers have started to consider how age diversity can offer both opportunities as well as challenges to “getting the work done well.”

Authored by Center Directors Drs. Michael A. Smyer and Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, "The 21st Century Multi-Generational Workplace," the paper suggests that there are four different ways to look at age in the workplace and each can prompt different responses:

• Age: "Using the perspective of chronological age helps employers to answer the questions, 'How does typical adult development affect the performance of young adult employees, employees at mid-life, and older employees?'”
• Generation: "Looking at age from the perspective of generation can be a helpful, short-hand way to factor-in historical events or culture that may have a long-lasting impact on a specific age cohort."
• Life Course: This "perspective focuses attention on individuals’ 'personal histories' in the context of the wider social-historical-cultural context."
• Career Stage: Not all employees experience careers as a steady upward progression, so that employers can "engage employees in conversations about the next opportunities appropriate for their careers-–regardless of the employee’s age."

In conclusion, Smyer and Pitt-Catsouphes offer this advice to employers:

The effective management of a multi-generational talent pool requires that employers are able to adjust their thinking so that they can make appropriate use of the four paradigms of age . . . . Each of these helps employers to ask different questions and to think about different strategies for harnessing the experiences of all their employees.

Source: Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility
Issue Brief No. 9 (June 2007)

Health Insurance's Impact on Employment of Older Workers

According to a new paper published by the Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College, health insurance costs are one factor that affects employer's employment decisions: "When faced with expensive healthcare, employers may cut back on hiring older workers, but not reduce their wages." On the employee side, older men in cities where health care costs are higher are more likely to stay in the workforce than retire; however, people with higher outside health care costs are not more likely to be employed, suggesting that employer decisions may be an influence.

The principal investigator of the paper--"Does Health Insurance Affect the Employment of Older Workers?"--was Joanna Lahey, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. Among other things, she also investigated how state health mandates can be driving up some of these health costs. As for the options for employers, Lahey suggests:

As firms try to control the effect of rising health care costs on their bottom line, they will discover options other than decreasing employment. For instance, they can change their workforce composition and increase their use of part-time jobs that do not offer insurance benefits. Older workers with other sources of insurance benefits may find this option attractive. Firms may also consider hiring fewer workers for more hours.

Source: Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility Issue Brief No. 8 (June 2007)

Older Cancer Survivors Pull Their Weight in Workplace

According to a new medical study, "cancer survivors between 55 and 65 years old who remain cancer-free for two to six years after diagnosis are as likely to be working as their peers who have not had cancer." However, those people recently diagnosed with new cancers are less likely to be working.

As published by Health Services Research, the article--"Long-Term Effects of Cancer Survivorship on the Employment of Older Workers"--by Pamela Farley Short, Joseph J. Vasey, and John R. Moran concludes that "survivors with recurrences or second primary tumors may particularly benefit from employment support services and workplace accommodation. Reassuringly, any long-term effects on the employment of cancer-free survivors are fairly small."

In the cancer-free group, 63.4% of men and 51% of women in the surveyed age group were working full-time; among the cancer survivors who had no new cancers, 55.8% of men and 50.9% of women were working full-time. Short, director, Center for Health Care and Policy Research, and professor of health policy and administration and demography at Penn State, said that "What this is saying is that there is every reason to believe that survivors will continue to be productive workers and will stick with their employer."

Source: Penn State News Release (June 27, 2007)