Managing older workers during a period of tight labour supply

Abstract

This article reports on a recent survey of employer attitudes and policies towards older workers in Australia at a time of sustained economic growth and ongoing concerns about labour shortages. Findings from a survey of  employers with more than  employees in the State of Queensland point to an unusually strong orientation towards the recruitment of older workers among respondents, although the retraining of older workers is not prioritised by the majority. The issue of workforce ageing is viewed as being of medium-term importance by the majority of respondents, although for a substantial number the issue is of immediate concern. Both sector and organisation size are predictive of the application of a broad range of policies targeting older workers, with public-sector and larger organisations more likely to be active. Concerns about workforce ageing and labour supply are predictive of employer behaviours regarding older workers, suggesting that sustained policy making may be emerging in response to population ageing over and above more immediate concerns about labour shortages and that this broad thrust of organisational policy making may be immune to the point in the economic cycle. This study found no evidence that the flexible firm will not countenance an ageing workforce.KEY WORDS -Older workers, human resource management.

Working longer: What is the relationship between person-environment fit and retirement intentions?

“…In Australia, some recent research findings support the notion that employers have a ‘strong orientation’ towards older workers as employees or potential employees (Taylor et al. ), while others have suggested that this group of workers remains marginalised and a lack of coherent policy direction is contributing to the problem (Kossen and Pedersen ).…”

“…Evidence relating to the implementation of effective HRM policy in relation to older workers is somewhat mixed (Kramar ; Taylor et al. ). In addition, the GFC has complicated policy development; since the GFC worker supply has tended to exceed demand, and in these situations older workers are often targeted for redundancy rather than their younger colleagues (Encel and Ranzijn ).…”

Working and employability after 75 in Australia

“…; Taylor et al. ), but there is little evidence as to how, and to what extent, some prospective older employees act to counter these views and succeed against the tide in securing job opportunities. We need to explore what older job seekers themselves, and especially those who have been successful, believe to be the conditions that make them attractive to employers.…”

Negative Attitudes toward Older Workers and Hiring Decisions: Testing the Moderating Role of Decision Makers’ Core Self-Evaluations

“…Previous research has mainly investigated environmental circumstances influencing employers’ hiring decisions about older people (Earl et al, 2015). As such, scholars have indicated that experienced difficulties in recruiting or labor shortages in general are likely to facilitate hiring older people (Taylor et al, 2013). On the other hand, high cost pressure is likely to lower older people’s hiring chances as that has been found to lower the probabilities for older workers to receive training and development (e.g., Erber and Danker, 1995; Loretto and White, 2006).…”