Why Older Workers Can’t Be Ignored The article I selected to write on is ‘Why Older Workers Can't Be Ignored’ by Kerry Hannon, it speaks about the fact that the economic system is relying on workers 50 years and senior. According to the article (Hannon, 2013) • The amount of people 65 and older that have to work has increased from 12.1 percent in 1990 to 16.1 percent in 2010, according to a new analysis of Census information. (Howard, 2013) • The Census predicts a 67% increase in the 65-and-older population between 2015 and 2040. • By 2019, workers 55 and older will comprise 25 percent of the workforce. • Although the Urban Institute predicts workers 50 years and older will account for 35 percent of the labor force by 2019. Older workers who continue to work longer will continue to pay into Social Security, and continue to go out to dinner and take a vacation. Employers generally like older workers due to the fact that they bring experience, and mainly work part-time, which means saving on benefits. …show more content…
As the economy grows there will be plenty of jobs, but there will not be enough young workers to fill the need. Even though older worker will increase as time goes on there are some issues they will face in the workforce such as, they will not only need to stay on the job, but their training will have to be kept up to date, and who will be paying for it, finding out what skills are needed and keeping up to date, how to make the workplace breakroom older worker friendly, and finally, changing an employer’s idea and attitude about older workers. Right now employers are not worried about older workers, but within the next few years we will see a rise in their employment, so much so that they will have more choices and say in which jobs they will
The amount of people working into their retirement age is growing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that by 2014, 41 percent of adults aged 55 and older will still be in the work-place. The Metlife foundation and Civic Ventures found that 66 percent of adults age 50 to 59 plan to keep working during their retirement years and 15 percent of those say they will never retire (Sander 643).
Elderly folks are eminently mature and have the finest instinct about what is right and wrong though It’s challenging to change someone’s point of view in a matter like this. When such injustice takes place, it de-motivates senior workers from their work. In an article over Ageists by Vincent J Roscigno, he states facts about different views on older Americans in general and in workplaces such as, “most of the population consists of biases and preconceptions, and the accused are unashamed in their views of older Americans. Those who believe that younger employees have much more value than senior employees are inserting a strong assumption based on their age. “Ageist attitudes and discrimination is what results in lower levels of overall organizational commitment to older workers, and a “push” out of a particular workplace.” Just because of an older employee’s depiction, such unfairness circulates in workplaces which cause false impressions of older
An aging population is indeed a problem for the society and will possibly cause many social and economic difficulties in the future. According to David Foot (2003), professor of Economics at University of Toronto, an effective birth rate of 2.2% against current 1.75% will be necessary to replace the current work force in the near future and the government’s policy of bringing in more immigrants will eventually fail (Foot, 2003, 2). However some people predict that the increased size of an aging population will drive growth in the home, health care, and many other industries resulting in job creation and economic growth (Marketwire, 2013, 1). Majority of the people are of the opinion that the issue will be mainly in the health care and economic activity. As humans age, they start to develop health problems, leading to more visits to a medical clinic putting extra burden on health care system.
Stossel and Mastropolo’s thesis did not come until at the middle of the article when they talked about how Murray Schwartz is convinced “that older people can do the job just as well as younger people and believes that employment age discrimination laws are a crucial protection for older workers” (paragraph 11). With this issue, there are two sides of argument in this article: one is from the corporate as to why it is a necessity to fire people when they come of age, and the second one is from the workers being affected at this age discrimination. There are several people applying for jobs these days and a company attempts to fill that job with the best qualified person. If a per...
221). Conflict theorists focus on the issues that divide the young from the old such as ageism. Society does not embrace the elderly population, which results in a constant battle against stereotypes, ageism and fighting to maintain equal standing in the workplace (Dittman, 2003). In an occupation, elderly workers are seen as washed up and worthless. Competition amongst workers can therefore lead to ageism and the dismissal of the elderly (Carl, 2011, p. 222). Conflict theorists focus on the economical side of aging and therefore focus on profit. In a capitalist society, the elderly are seen as incompetent and less productive; because productivity is tied to profit, these people are consequently removed from their positions. This causes segregation amongst society’s age
(Bendick, Brown & Wall, 1999). A new awareness of older workers has emerged as retiring
The increase in older numbers has increases the political and social influence in the hands of older adults like never before. Now-a-days people are living 30 to 40 years longer than they did a century ago. Todays’ older adults are more educated,
The article goes on to list the basic stereotypes that are placed on older adults, for example, they are slow, aging is something not to look forward to and they cannot be independent by making their own decision when in reality. Today people 65 and older 91.2% of older adults live in private dwellings where only 7.9% older adults live in residences for senior citizens or health care facilities (stats Canada). With this hidden prejudice, it displays that the correct information is not being shared to the public it is important for the public to understand the difference between what is fact and myth. The news article goes on to how there is new technology, product, and new systems that are being placed in order to allow older adults to live a more independent live where there is less reliance on relatives or
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 is an act that was passed that clearly states that employers can’t be discriminate against someone based on their age 40 and older. The older adults are trying so hard to hold onto their jobs with dear life, because if not they will be nudged out and pushed aside. Not because of anything but rather because of their age. Age discrimination is on the rise as young as 50 years old. Age discrimination can happen to anyone regardless of your race, ethnic backgrounds or sexual orientation. A study was published in the Journal of Age Ageing and in the report it said that British People 50 years old and older faces discrimination about one third of them. In a resent survey older adults says job insecurity
The Aging Workforce in Canada Could we work as long as we want? The elderly are greatly appreciated by the Canadian society, due to how there is a national senior day in Canada, pension plans, and discounts on everyday living conditions. However, many adults aged 65 and over are still in the workplace and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. This may affect the younger youth, due to how they will become limited to what they can accomplish in the future. Therefore, to keep up with society, there has to be a renewal of sources sporadically.
Diversity can be differences in age, gender, ethnicity, and religion. Having such a diverse workforce can be very challenging. (1) Today’s workforce is very diverse in respect to age. Before, corporate America consisted of workers ranging from twenty one up to late thirties to early forties. Now, we see people in their mid to late fifties going back to work. This trend has both advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of an older employee over a younger employee is his ability to use his years of experience in situations where a younger employee lacks experience. Another advantage for an older employee is his built relationship with existing customers. The disadvantage of an older employee over a younger employee is his inability to quickly adapt to his changing environment. Younger employees are more “hungry” compared to their older counter parts. Their hunger is fired by their goal to quickly move up the corporate ladder.
The focus of this paper is to elaborate on the changing landscape of work in America during the twenty-first century. According to the researchers, as the economy continues to slowly recover from the recession and economic crisis, more of our baby boomers are reentering the workforce. In addition to the introduction of automation and computer technologies into the workplace, this has dramatically changed the nature of jobs for the older workers (Czaja and Sharit 2009). As stated in the Government Accountability Office in 2006, the number of workers over age 55 is projected to increase significantly over the next 20 years. Evidence shows that ageism, stereotypes, and misinformation about our older population continue to be major issues across
population of approximately 315,000,000 people. By 2050, 80 million baby boomers will potentially be on Medicare and Social Security. This will have a meaningful impact on the health care system and taxes owing for the retirees. The economy will be further positioned negatively as a result of fewer people working to support the staggering numbers of baby boomers. In 1935, Social security was implemented and the life expectancy at age 65 was 12.5 years. In 2012 this expectancy is now 19.15 years. Consequently, the compounded result of the baby boomers will cause many in congress to look for alterative ways to pay for the boomers rather then pass it onto the younger generations to foot the bill. Subsequently, the boomers will add 3% to the GDP every year after 2020, which may be circumvented through taxation increases. The end result will cause higher inflation or taxes or both that will overload an already broken economy (Mellor & Rehr
Harold had been with the company going on forty-five years. There was no doubt that his contributions over the past few decades helped the once intimate business flourish into an international corporation. As his sixty-fifth birthday rolled around, Harold was greeted with a staff party and a mandatory retirement notice that was effective two weeks from that date. Harold was stunned, inasmuch as he had no intentions whatsoever to leave his position with the company; indeed, he was still fully able to complete his duties better than any new hire ever could, not to mention the fact that his attendance record was spotless. Needless to say, Harold was completely taken aback with the discovery that his company loyalty was cast aside in order to accommodate a younger workforce.
The liberals unlike conservatives think that the government should assist the elderly because many older people never had the opportunities to earn the money needed to carry them through old age. They also state that many families now need both spouses’ earnings to achieve their own needs. And lastly the radical-left view states that due to the capitalist U.S economy the elderly are viewed as a costly burden to society (Macionis). To help explain this social problem even more we can use the social-conflict theory: aging and economic inequality. This theory focuses on age stratification and points to ways that the U.S. society limits the opportunities and resources available to elders. Even though there are laws that ban age discrimination in the workplace company still prefer to hire younger workers as well as wanting older people to retire so they can be replaced with the younger crowd. In conclusion, company while in pursuit of profit treat older people as second-class citizens (Macionis). Given these points, there are many solutions offered up. With the conservative view point they believe that a culture of self-reliance will motivate people to provide for their own old