The Older Worker Essay - 2077 Words

The Older Worker The workplace for older adults is becoming a dynamic space rather than a unidirectional journey leading to retirement. Work life for older adults is situated in a dynamic pattern of periods of active employment, temporary disengagement from the workplace, and reentry into the same or a new career. The new older worker is developing a third stage of working life, the period beyond the traditional retirement age and final disengagement from the work role. The third age of life has been associated with choice, personal fulfillment, and liberation (Soulsby 2000). Using this idea, we posit a third stage of working life where older workers are active agents negotiating various roles within the workspace. The actions,†¦show more content†¦The concept of older worker encompasses different ages depending on the purpose of the organization as well as the needs of the worker. Age alone may not be a defining characteristic of an older worker. Perhaps becoming an older worker is more sit uational than chronological. Retirement Is the Final Stage of Working Life: The Retirement Myth Retirement for future older workers is becoming an outdated notion. From a societal perspective, the issue has changed from assisting older workers to retire and use leisure time to retaining and recruiting older workers. Recruitment and retention (Levine 1988) become a key policy issue to satisfy the increasing demands for productivity, worker shortages, and retaining corporate knowledge (Crampton 1996; Kinderlan 1998; National Alliance of Business 1996; Ohio Bureau of Employment Services 1996). From a national policy perspective, increasing work life eases the social security burden (Cowans 1994; Reynolds 1994), reduces age discrimination (Perry 1995), and requires programs for reemployment and continued employment of older workers (New York State Office for the Aging 1992; O’Donoghue 1998). In the future, retirement will be interspersed with older workers cycling in and out of periods ofShow MoreRelatedOlder Workers At The Workplace1616 Words   |  7 PagesOlder Workers in the Workplace (3rd draft) Does aging reduce the work effectiveness of older workers? In this fast-growing economy, many people believe that older workers should stop working at a certain age because younger workers will keep up with rapid economic development better. Lois Lowry describes this discrimination in The Giver when citizens get older, they give up their jobs and are treated as children instead of knowledgeable individuals to maintain the sameness in the community. SimilarlyRead More Older Workers Essay1969 Words   |  8 PagesOlder Workers The aging of the U.S. population is affecting the demographics of the work force. 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The essay will incorporate reflective evaluations of my practice which will be set out using Gibbs Reflective Cycle (1988), offering a description of the work, my feelings relevant toRead MoreExplain Factors Influencing Ageing, and Explain Ways in Which Health and Social Care Workers Support the Independence and Wellbeing of Older People.980 Words   |  4 Pagestheories: * Genetically programmed theory * Disposable soma theory * Disengagement theory This theory Cumming and Henry in 1961 suggests that when Andy is to get older he will withdraw from the society in preparation for death and this could be because the society is becoming less likely to engage with and include older people. Therefore this could lead Andy to feel lonely and not wanted in society itself. Cumming and Henry argued that this was a consequence of people learning their limitationsRead MoreThe Aging Workforce And Its Impact On Organizations1430 Words   |  6 Pagesthere are not enough younger workers to replace the older workers. Labor shortages in key industries will force a radical rethinking of recruitment, retention, flexible work schedules and retirement. About 76 million baby boomers are set to retire by the end of this decade. 35 % say that they will work part time just for the interest and enjoyment. 26% say that they will work mainly for the income. 17% say that they have a plan to start their own business. 5% of older workers say that they plan to work