Role ambiguity: Older workers in the demographic transition

Abstract

This paper presents recent empirical evidence to support the argument that policies designed to increase workforce participation of older workers have been unsuccessful because they have not recognized the contradictory attitudes towards older workers of employers, government, and older workers themselves. Qualitative and quantitative research with Australian employers, employees, and older job seekers were used to test two hypotheses, about the low success rate of mature-aged job seekers and about the worth of older workers with regards to the work-related attributes required in the new world of work. It was concluded that currently employed older workers are valued for their task-and organization-specific skills which, however, count for little when competing for a new job. The paper concludes by suggesting that a radical change in attitudes towards the training and trainability of older workers is required of all parties. A strong emphasis on training should be a cornerstone of policies aimed at increasing mature-aged workforce participation, which will be increasingly essential in coming decades.The aims of this paper are twofold. The first aim is to present empirical evidence to support the argument that the differential goals and expectations of employers, government, and older workers themselves have created ambivalent attitudes to older workers which militate against their retention in the workforce. The second aim is to suggest a solution based on the changing attitudes towards the training and trainability of older workers.

Advances in Occupational Health: From a Stressful Beginning to a Positive Future †

“…The second trend is that older workers disproportionately suffer from downsizing and layoffs (Bovbjerg, 2001), receive less training and development (Ranzijn, 2004;Simpson, Greller, & Stroh, 2002;Spiezia, 2002), and receive less on-the-job training (Booth, 1993;Frazis, Gitterman, & Joyce, 1998). Based on the Displaced Workers Survey for 2000, 9% of older workers versus 11% of younger workers lost their jobs, and 57% of older workers retired following a job loss.…”

On the scrap‐heap at 45: The human impact of mature‐aged unemployment

“…Most people in middle age towards the end of the twentieth century would have grown up with the expectation of having a job for life until they were in a financial situation to retire. For men especially, self‐esteem is largely linked with being employed (Ranzijn, 2004). Becoming unemployed, commonly as a result of major workforce restructuring in the 1990s, would therefore be expected to have severe financial, as well as psychological, consequences.…”

Being trusted: How team generational age diversity promotes and undermines trust in cross‐boundary relationships

“…Even positive stereotypes of younger or older workers may not be sufficient to overcome conflicts because age paradoxes exist. For example, older workers are considered dependable and wise but “the rapidly changing nature of work means that the skills and knowledge of older workers may not be those that younger people (value or) need to develop” (Ranzijn, , p. 287). Moreover, research suggests a “clear mismatch between the perceived value of the accumulated skills of older workers and the current and anticipated requirements of the rapidly changing world of work” (Ranzijn, , pp.…”