Problems and Prospects for Current Policies to Extend Working Lives (original) (raw)
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Introduction: Key Issues and Policies for Extending Working Life
Extended Working Life Policies, 2020
Extended working life policies have been widely promoted in Europe and in wider international settings. However, to date, these policies have not, for the most part, taken sufficient account of the gender and health dimensions of working longer. This chapter outlines the empirical and policy landscapes that are present in Europe and several other countries. It examines the different meanings of 'extended working life' and the indicators used to justify raising the age of eligibility for a pension. Gender and health inequalities related to extended working life, such as gender pay and pension gaps and differential life expectancy rates are presented. The influence of the labour market on the employability of older workers is examined in the context of economic downturns and digitalisation. The chapter concludes that policy initiatives which meet the diverse needs of older workers and which address gender and health inequalities related to extended working should be a priority for governments and employers in the years ahead.
Extended Working Life Policies
Policies supporting longer working lives have to a great extent described older people as the problem. In this chapter we challenge this description by looking critically at some of the assumptions underlying the extending working life agenda. The chapter begins with a discussion about the homogeneous representations of increased life expectancy, where we show that the neglect of growing differences in longevity takes privileged aging as the starting point. Next we discuss the use of the concept of gender equality to illustrate how male life courses are taken as the norm. The chapter then considers how increased individualization and the conditions that work organizations provide frames older people as all the same leading to widening inequalities amongst those in retirement. All taken together, extended working life leads to be an individualization of the risks of working life. Based on an analysis of the debates at the country level we further argue that the extended working life agenda is a top-down process and a globally spread implementation of an economically based political project.
Policies for an Ageing WorkforceWork-life balance, working conditions and equal opportunities 2019
2019
At a time of rapid population ageing, a key means of sustaining current welfare states is to extend the length of working lives. In 2050, the share of people over the age of 75 years will be the same as the share over 65 years today. And just as not all are able to work to the age of 65 now, not everyone will be able to work to the age of 75 in 2050; even if future older workers will in all likelihood be healthier and have better working aids at their disposal. Extending average working lives by 10 years, and at the same time ensuring an adequate social safety net for those unable to work into their late 60s and 70s, is a major social policy challenge for the coming decades. And because people are much more likely to work late in life if they had stable careers before reaching 60, tackling this policy challenge means pulling on many more social policy levers than just pension policy. While being keenly aware of these issues and how they relate to the overall agenda of active ageing,...
Inequalities in employment rates among older men and women in Canada, Denmark, Sweden and the UK
BMC Public Health
Background: In most developed countries, governments are implementing policies encouraging older persons to work past 65 years to reduce the burden on societies related to disability benefits and pension payments. Despite this push to extend working lives, we know little about who already works past this age and any inequalities that may exist. Our study investigates the employment rates of those aged 65-75 years of age by educational level, health status and sex in Canada (CAN), Denmark (DK), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK). Secondly, we aim to relate findings on employment rates to prevailing policies in the different countries, to increase the understanding on how to further extend working lives. Methods: We used nationally representative cross-sectional survey data from the 2012-2013 Canadian Community Health Survey, 2013/14 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe for Denmark and Sweden and the 2013 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing to examine employment rates for those aged 65-75 years by sex, educational level and health status (having limiting longstanding illness (LLI) or not). Results: Employment rates decline by age, but we see a linear decline in CAN and the UK compared to an initial decline then a plateau of employment rates from 66 to 68 years in DK and SE. Employment rates among persons aged 65-75 years were lower in the UK than in CAN, DK and SE. Among women, employment rates were highest in SE. Women with low education and a LLI had considerably lower employment rates than men with low education and a LLI (employment rates for men ranged from 27% to 12% compared with employment rates for women which ranged from 12% to 0%). Conclusions: Our results suggest that educational level, sex and health all play a role in extending working lives. The variation in employment rates between the four countries implies that policies do matter, but that social differentials show that policies cannot be 'one size fits all'. Policy-makers must consider different groups (i.e. low-educated women with a LLI) when designing policies to extend working lives.
Active ageing and gender equality: A labour market perspective
DULBEA Working Papers, 2011
Active ageing strategies have so far strongly focussed on increasing senior workers employment rates through pension reforms to develop incentives to retire later on the one hand, and labour market policies on the other hand. Most measures are based on the dominant male trajectory of work and retirement and they are not explicitly gender mainstreamed. By contrast, a gender approach would prove fundamental to the labour market inclusion of elderly people, because in old age women suffer from the accumulated impact of the barriers to employment they encountered during their lifetime (e.g., repeated career breaks, part-time work, low pay and gender pay gap). Moreover, it appears that some pension reforms, by mandating a higher postponement of retirement and by establishing tighter links between formal employment and pension benefits may negatively affect the already high risk of poverty for elderly women.
Live longer, work longer: making it happen in the labor market
2008
An aging population and the corresponding shrinkage of the labor force will create a significant drag on economic growth and may jeopardize the economic well-being of some of the elderly. Thus working longer is an imperative-but extending working lives has proven difficult, both because workers do not want to work longer and because employers are lukewarm about employing older workers. As measures that can be taken to motivate workers to work longer, the paper proposes providing retirement incentives and attractive, flexible working arrangements. To induce employers to hire old workers, it suggests removing the obstacles imposed by restrictive labor market institutions, an increase in the human capital of workers via lifelong learning, and addressing age-discrimination. Chances for extending working lives will also increase as the health of elderly workers is improved.
Concern regarding older workers is not new to the ILO. In the late 1970s, the potential problems faced by aging societies around the world were discussed and debated in detail. The result of these activities was the creation of an international labour standard, the Older Workers Recommendation, 1980 (No. 162). This international standard was intended to frame the issues of concern regarding the employment and work circumstances of older workers and to stimulate action to improve them. Integral to this were provisions addressing the conditions of work and employment of older workers and the issues that needed to be considered when improving their circumstances. Consequently, the Recommendation includes conditions of work and employment provisions on age discrimination, working time and work organization, wages and older workers’ need to address family responsibilities. Using the ILO Recommendation as a framework, this paper explores these conditions of work and employment issues in greater depth. It commences by outlining reasons as to why there is at present a concern about the growth of the elderly segment of the population. It then highlights some of the problems older workers have faced in the past when remaining in or re-entering the paid labour market. While the authors suggest that the choice of continuing work should remain with older workers themselves, the paper outlines the situation that exists in the labour market of the countries with the most pressing concerns about extending the working lives of older workers. The paper addresses what is considered the largest obstacle for entry or re-entry of older workers in the labour market ― age discrimination ― and illustrates how it can be addressed. The attention of the work then turns to examining conditions of work in the form of working time and work organization, in order to determine which factors need to be considered for older workers to effectively and constructively contribute to the labour market. Wage issues, particularly seniority wage issues, are also considered. The paper then explores the under-examined, but nevertheless very real, problems faced by older workers who must reconcile work with family life. The paper concludes with a consideration of the factors that need to be taken into account in the future when developing conditions of work and employment policies for older workers and suggestions for how other countries, which may not currently experience this problem to the same extent, should consider addressing these issues in their own context.
Studies in Social Justice, 2010
In the present context of aging populations, the question of how to support older workers who want to stay in employment longer is of particular importance, especially from a social justice perspective with regards to income. The challenges faced by organizations and governments are unprecedented. Interesting conclusions can be drawn from our research with regard to these challenges. First of all, the perception of retirement appears more or less unchanged over the years and remains very positive. Consequently, one of the barriers to the employment of older workers may be the image of retirement itself, since it is still perceived as a gift or a right. Secondly, our results confirm that forcing people to stay longer in the labour market is a largely unpopular measure. Consequently, if public retirement plans offer limited income, governments and organizations should adopt a more voluntary approach to encourage older workers to stay in employment longer for a better income. Our results highlight the importance of the sector and type of job in the measures or incentives that could encourage older workers to stay in employment longer. Consequently, governments and organizations will probably have to adopt a contingent approach; i.e., all incentives do not necessarily fit all jobs or all sectors and social justice would require this be taken into account. We identified three sets of measures that could encourage older workers to stay in employment longer, and thus have access to better economic security: the reduction of working time, the flexibility of working time, and the individualization of retirement options and working time. The progressive reduction of their working time appears most interesting to our respondents. These measures appear to favour social justice in terms of income and right to employment at the end of active careers.
Ageing and Society 39(5):1093-1095, 2019
Each chapter engenders excitement and inspiration regarding the future of the field. Visionary calls for disciplinary advancement and agenda-setting provide a helpful framework for specific areas of development. This could be particularly useful to students and early career scholars forming their independent research platforms. In addition, the chapters include extensive citations and bibliographies for readers to dig further into a specific topic of interest. The book's comprehensive foundation and cues for future empirical work will enlighten and inspire fledgling and mature geographical gerontologists alike.
Older Workers: The ‘Unavoidable Obligation’ of Extending Our Working Lives?
Sociology Compass, 2010
Older workers are becoming an increasing topic of research interest and policy concern as the populations of Europe, the United States and many other countries age. Some commentators argue that living longer means that there will be an 'unavoidable obligation' to work for longer as well. This article considers the reasons for concern about an ageing workforce. It then looks at the different literatures, which seek to research and understand the position of older workers. It provides a snapshot of the work that those over 50 years of age in the UK currently do and poses the question of whether we want to work for longer or whether a culture of early retirement prevails. It concludes by arguing for a more fine grained understanding of the composition of the older worker cohort, differentiated by class, gender and race and for more research on flexible work, gradual retirement and managing health at work.