Employers’ use of older workers in the recession

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the degree to which there have been changes during the recession in the behaviour of employers with regards to their employment of older workers. The paper aims to show that there has been substantial change since the last recession and that there are, potentially, significant developments still occurring. Design/methodology/approach -A small group of employers from a range of sectors were interviewed twice, once at the outset of the (first) recession and once towards its end. Findings -The situation for older workers in employment is better than in previous recessions, mainly because employers are less likely to resort to redundancies for workers of all ages. Instead, a range of flexible working options are being utilised, including flexible retirement and adjustments to work processes. In the main the flexibility was instituted and controlled by the organisations. Employers are looking for alternative strategies to deal with a shift in control over the retirement process as a result of the abolishment of the default retirement age.Research limitations/implications -The research was undertaken with a small sample, which has implications for the generalizability of the results. Although it would be difficult to further investigate the developments of employer behaviour during the recession, the long-term implications and the effects of the recession, in particular on older workers, are yet to emerge. Originality/value -The paper shows a new development in dealing with older workers during a recession.

Managing employees beyond age 65: from the margins to the mainstream?

“…While representing a relatively small proportion of the total population over over-65s, it is notable that this employment growth occurred through varying, often challenging, economic conditions. Historically, reduced labour market demand led to declines in employment over age 65 (Macnicol, 2006;Riach 2009), but this did not occur after the 2008 financial crash (Beck, 2013). One key change over the period has been the introduction of age discrimination legislation.…”

Workplace Flexibility across the Lifespan

“…While there is no fundamental problem with having different perspectives on a particular phenomenon (Suddaby, 2010), a tension arises when these views conflict and lead to contradictory findings. This is notable in research on flexibility for older workers, with a body of research pointing towards the potential positive roles (employee) flexibility for older workers may have (Siegenthaler & Brenner, 2001), while another body of literature shows the instrumental role of (employer) flexibility for organizational goals (Atkinson & Sandiford, 2015;Beck, 2013). The important notion here is that these conflicting conceptualizations should be taken into account when studying the role of workplace flexibility for older workers.…”

“…Beck (2013) Employer interviews 32 UK interviews, of which 19 employers Flexibility Flexibility may be important to retain older workers, to cut costs, and to avoid costly redundancy payouts. Flexibility is also important to balance content of a job with abilities.…”

“…Hence, workplace flexibility for older workers was used to achieve organizational goals (i.e., improving performance through better applicants). While in the interview studies, there was general agreement of the value of flexibility for older workers (Atkinson & Sandiford, 2015;Beck, 2013;Earl & Taylor, 2015), it was also recognized that formal practices were difficult to implement, and therefore organizations primarily used informal flexibility i-deals rather than implementing formal practices. The disadvantage of informal practices is the risk of arbitrariness in making decisions, and the potential lack of understanding or willingness among less proactive older workers to negotiate informal agreements.…”

“…Moreover, the use of flexibility by older workers was often related to reductions in income and retirement benefits as well as loss of status within the organization, which contributes to the idea of the use of flexibility to maintain organizational performance (Earl & Taylor, 2015). Finally, flexibility was also used by organization to cut costs, especially during the economic crisis (Beck, 2013), and therefore may also be used to force older workers into workload reductions, such that they would not have to be dismissed, but they would be affected through the loss of income and other benefits.…”