Burnt out or burning bright

Penny Tamkin

Some interesting highlightsBy 2025, people over 60 will

outnumber under 25 in Britain

In US, retirement only a breather but ‘want to’ or ‘had to’ (Putman, 2005)

4/5ths European employees believe age play a significant role in job prospects (Stepstone, March 2006)

59% say disadvantaged at work because of their age (CIPD, 2006)

An ageing population

Increasing life expectancy

Life post 60

Evidence of discriminationolder workers more likely to be

unemployedunemployed >45 take longer to

find workage used as a recruitment criteriamanagers rate promotability of

older workers lower

Older workers and work

>50s sharp decline in labour market participation

1990s trend of early exittwo thirds of those who leave

early do so involuntarily (PIU 2000)

Labour force participation

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

18-24 25-34 35-49 50-SPA SPA+

Male

Female

Total

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Activity Rate (Men 65+)

Long-term decline in activity rates among older men

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72age

Men

Women

Just slipping out

Inactive 50+ as % of labour force

* Assuming participation rates by age and gender remain unchanged at their current levels

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

Icela

nd

Mex

ico

United

Sta

tes

Switzer

land

Denm

ark

Sweden

Norway

Nethe

rland

s

New Z

ealan

d

Canad

a

OECD

United

Kin

gdom

Turke

y

Austra

lia

Portu

gal

Japa

n

Korea

Finlan

d

Irelan

d

Luxe

mbo

urg

Germ

any

EU25

Austri

a

Czech

Rep

ublic

Belgium

Poland

Franc

e

Hunga

ry

Slovak

Rep

ublic

Greec

e

Spain

Italy

2000 2050

Engagement diagnostic tool

Customer commitment

Engagement

Training and development

Health and safety

Performance and feedback

Co-operation

Equal opportunities

Feeling valued and involved

Pay and benefits

Colleagues

Communication

Management

Stress

Job satisfaction

Engagement by age

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.8

3.9

<20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Age groups

Mean

Engagement by development

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Excellent Good Adequate Poor Non-existent

Development opportunites

Mea

n

Different working experiencesOlder employees feel less valued

and involved

Training and development experiences differ

Engagement rather than age is the key

Experiences of training & dev

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

disengaged younger disengaged older

engaged younger engaged older

Received no training in the past

12 mths

Have a PDP

Good / excellent access to informal

dev

Engagement & career intentions

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Leavers

Stayers

Disengaged younger Disengaged older

Engaged younger Engaged older

Employer attitudes and practicesevidence of positive views on

reliability and loyaltynegative on flexibility, willingness

to train and adaptability to changeaffect views on suitability for jobsScottish study

■preference more experience, better temperament, greater commitment

■cheaper■lots of job typing

Employer attitudes and practices

doubt that law will make a difference

age equality not as much of an issue

concerns over healthexit through voluntary retirement

Stereotypes

more absences – short term absence decreases, long term increases, lower injury rates

memory problems and declining intelligence – no decline until >90, accounts for low % of variance

ability and performance decline – mixed evidence, objective measures steady or increase, subjective decrease. Manual workers maximum drop was 10%

Stereotypes (2)

less creative – science and art notable creations decline after 40s, musicians not till 85+

cannot adapt to new technology – longer training needed

cost more – experience greater salary drop when forced to change jobs, less training

do not fit – can help reduce absence and higher work ethic

not committed – evidence that more committed but may be due to factors other than age

Are older adults able to learn?vocabulary, general information and

judgement stable or increase up to 60

older do better than younger on tests needing preplanning or decisions amongst alternatives

learning and memory no difference between 40 and 65

but… more anxious, see learning as regressive, need longer sessions

What helps?

comfy furnitureconvenient parkingbathrooms conveniently locatedample breaksself pacedmemory aidesvisual aides, large fonts, reduced

clutterquick application

Learning need

older workers greater needlonger time since last trainedskills are obsoleteemployed in declining industries

Learning participation

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

20-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65-74

75+

Learning in 3 years

Learning > 3 years

None since leavingfull-time education

Trends in training

shift from off the job to on the jobduration declinesfrequency fallsless likely to be offered and less

likely to acceptwomen more likely at all agesqualified more likely at all agesmore likely within high skilled work

Trends in training (2)

related to sector, establishment size

regression analysis shows that age remains an important factor regardless of all others

Lessons for the design of workGood management is criticalHonest conversations about plans

– reviews, appraisalsFlexibility and part-time options

help retentionEnsuring respect and status

prevents early exitSocial motivation matters

Key messages

Mission and purposeMoneyHealth – intervene earlyImprove training – access and

relevanceRemember that people are

different

… thank you

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