HRzone blogs

How working life ends: not with a bang but a whimper

Posted by inmyprime on Mon, 27/06/2011 - 09:58
Back to blog homepage for: in my prime

One scenario which is sadly overlooked in the debate about when to retire is that of the increasing band of older people who retire by default. These are the individuals for whom working life ends not with a retirement party, gold watch, or any other type of excited celebration but rather the slow realisation and acceptance that their state of continuing unemployment has slid into inevitable, irrevocable and unwelcome retirement.

For those who have worked hard all their lives, built a career, and paid their dues this seems a shameful way to be rewarded. Whether it occurs as a result of redundancy, illness or simply a failed attempt to change careers, start a business or undertake some other type of reinvention, it is nevertheless becoming an increasingly prevalent problem as older people want to work longer and find that the opportunities are few and the barriers are many.

Whatever their type of work, specific age or gender, many unemployed older people still feel, quite rightly, that they have numerous good, productive years left in them to spend in paid work of some type. Evidence shows that a high proportion would be prepared to downsize both their previous ambitions and their pay and hours for a chance to do a job that equates roughly to their level of skills and experience and allows them to remain part of mainstream life.

Yes, of course, they could do voluntary work and countless older people – both employed and unemployed – are happy to do so, but it’s not acceptable that this is the only option for all but the fortunate few.

One of the biggest fears for older people now is that stepping out of the employment arena, particularly as a result of caring responsibiliites, a period of ill health, or an inability to continue to cope with the relentless pressure of their current job, will be a death sentence for their working life.

To be in a situation in which the end of working life equals the end of hope can create a huge negative impact on individual feelings of worth and value. Okay, so older people are more resilient, but what sort of way is that to embark upon the challenges of true old age?

www.inmyprime.co.uk

 

in my prime

A blog by inmyprime

in my prime is a specialist consultancy offering advice, strategic guidance and practical input to employers, marketing organizations and policy makers on issues relating to the employment and management of older workers, age diversity and the needs of the mature market.

Our aim is to assist employers to benefit from the strengths and opportunities inherent in their older workforce, helping them to devise, implement and evaluate new ways of managing and developing what can often be a much under-utilised and under-valued resource. We also help policy makers and marketers to understand the aspirations, values and drivers of the generation branded "baby boomers".

Our focus is much wider than age discrimination or pre-retirement planning; we believe that successful recruitment, retention and engagement of older workers comes from matching the unique needs of each business with the particular requirements and aspirations of older employees themselves, thereby creating new policies and practices that will benefit both. For more see www.inmyprime.co.uk

Create your free account

  • Access all articles in full
  • View multimedia
  • Receive email bulletins
  • Private messaging
Register now

Login

Forgotten your password?

Editor's Welcome

 

Hello! I'm a great believer in the power of stories, whether they be folk tales, novels, films or TV dramas.
 
They have a wonderful ability to get complex moral or social issues over to us in a palatable, easy-to-understand way and can provide many lessons if only we care to look just a little bit below the surface.
 
But they can also act as a fun starting point for discussion and debate on rather more serious topics that are all too often brushed under the carpet and ignored.
 

Hence our decision to start up a Review slot on the site to look at those everyday stories that are all around us from an HR perspective.

Although we've been publishing book reviews (take a look at our Book Club list of suggested possible non-fiction works for evaluation here) for some time, you may also have noticed that we've been running a weekly home page blog on The Apprentice courtesy of The Chemistry Group for a while now.

And Pauline Wood, managing director at specialist retail headhunter, court & spark consulting, was likewise kind enough to write our first film review on the Headhunters movie.

But the big question is, why don't you give it a go yourself? There's a world of choice out there and I, like the rest of the community, would love to hear your thoughts and insights.

So next time you watch a movie, see a TV drama or read a novel that you think has an HR message worth sharing, send your review to me at cath.everett@siftmedia.co.uk or post it directly to our blogs section at www.hrzone.co.uk/blogs.

So get critiquing and look forward to hearing from you very soon.....

Cath Everett
HRZone Editor 
 
 
Here's our pick of some of the latest hot topics on the site:
 

Spotligh on the Olympics