Aging and Social Change I
Sustainability of Late and Extended Working Life: Unequal COVID-19 Impact on Older Workers
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Indre Genelyte, Rachel Crossdale, Gerhard Naegele, Jolanta Perek-Bialas
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis had an impact on the employment situation of older workers. Despite of that, most of the available research thus far has focussed on other groups and less attention was paid to the issues related to late and extended working life. Namely, on job losses, coverage of furlough schemes, increased chances in involuntary early retirement as well as social inequalities in terms of impact on chances of continued employment and/or re-entering the labour market. The EIWO programme focused on the impact on older workers’ situation in four country studies in: Germany, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The results show variation in social and economic impacts and responses in the included countries. Accordingly, this paper gives an overview of selected focal points in the country-specific impacts on the one hand and the respective reactions at the welfare state, labour market, sector and company levels on the other. Social inequalities are particularly evident with regard to already socially disadvantaged groups of employees (in terms of qualifications, health, employment status, gender and familial situation), e.g. with regard to the unemployment, involuntary early retirement, the switch to teleworking or COVID-19 related income risks. In the analysis, it was also possible to identify relevant sectoral and regional specifics. The results draw attention to the unequal spread of the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 on older workers and contribute to the debate on the sustainability of late and extended working life in times of crisis.
Barriers to Extending Working Lives in the UK: The Role of Ageist Practices and Perceptions View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rachel Crossdale, Alan Walker, Liam Foster
The challenges presented by the ageing population have driven the Extended Working Lives (EWL) agenda to become an important policy goal. Despite the implementation of the Equality Act 2010, in the UK millions of older workers leave the workforce each year because of an unsupportive work environment attributed in part to ageist practices and perceptions. This presentation uses the findings from 25 interviews with older workers to explore the role of ageism in the decision-making processes of older workers when considering their future. These findings identify two interlinked categories: Practicalities and Perceptions. Practicalities include events within the workplace that led to feelings of separation from younger peers, such as development opportunities, social interaction, and digitisation. Perceptions refers to older workers’ internalised expectations of themselves and their abilities which our findings suggest do not align with the reality for older workers, thus contributing to internalised ageism. Although the need to target stereotypical attitudes towards older workers was highlighted as an age barrier to employment before the turn of the century in the UK, with the emergence of the EWL, Active Ageing and Fuller Working Lives Agendas changing the policy context around older workers, this research suggests that the same stereotypes continue to pervade older worker’s experiences both externally from policy and practice and internally in the form of self-perceptions. A life course approach to policy that promotes the contribution of workers of all ages is needed to improve the working environment and to challenge ageist stereotypes in a meaningful way.
Resilient Workers and Resilient Markets: Lessons from the Work Life Courses of Older Workers
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Joy Torge, Lina Homman, Indre Genelyte
The working lives keep being extended by the policies. At the same time workers face various work-related risks. The latter pose barriers for staying in- and re-entering the labour market. As most of the working lives are not risk-free, it raises questions about the resilience of the labour market and of workers themselves. Consequently, the focus should be on those who currently are in late working life and their work trajectories during work life course. This paper draws on the material from 100 interviews and presents a comparative analysis of the individual experiences of older workers in four European countries: Germany, Poland, Sweden and the UK. The analysis of the employed coping strategies and received formal and informal support reveals the psychosocial resilience of the individuals and the resilience of the labour market as well as existing support systems to work-related risks. Individuals’ evaluation of the coping strategies and received support together with mapping of unmet needs helps to identify the potentials for increasing resilience of individuals, labour markets and support systems throughout the work life course. Altogether, the study contributes to the increased knowledge on possibilities for extending working lives by focusing on the psychosocial and social resilience.
