Anna Ford criticises BBC over ageism

Former newsreader Anna Ford has accused the BBC of "tokenism" in the debate over ageism on television.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Ford said she would not go back in front of the camera.

Host Kirsty Young asked her about BBC director general Mark Thompson's recent comments on his regret at the lack of older women on television.

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Age is a Mind Thing: Breaking the glass ceiling

Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Almost 20 years ago, towards the end of the summer, I was walking off the field after a hard fought game of soccer. I am a goalkeeper. I played a good game, and so did the other keeper. We met as we reached the sidelines. He shook my hand and congratulated me. I smiled, and I told him that this was probably my last season.

“Why?” he asked.

“Well, I am getting kind of old, over 30 now”.

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Older Workers Most Likely to Experience Very Long-Term Unemployment

Extended Struggle to Find Work Threatens Millions of Older Americans' Economic Security, Ability to Retire

Once they have lost a job, older Americans are more likely than any other age group to remain out of work for 99 weeks or more, as calculated in a new report by the Congressional Research Service.

Among unemployed adults over age 65, one out of eight (12.15%) had faced 99 weeks or more of unemployment, sometimes called very long-term unemployment. For unemployed adults ages 55 and over, 11.51% had spent almost the last two years looking for work, considerably higher than the figure of 6% among unemployed workers under age 35.

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Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being

Older Americans 2010: Key Indicators of Well-Being (Older Americans 2010) is the fifth in a series of reports produced by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics (Forum) that describe the overall status of the U.S. population age 65 and over. Once again, this report uses data from over a dozen national data sources to construct broad indicators of well-being for the older population and to monitor changes in these indicators over time. By following these data trends, more accessible information will be available to target efforts to improve the lives of older Americans.

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Tackling 'grey hairs': How companies can turn an ageing workforce to their advantage

With rising life expectancy and an ageing population, corporations are not only seeing more older workers wanting to stay employed but also older workers who report to younger supervisors. While older workers are generally valued as a rich resource for corporations to tap on based on their experience and expertise, their presence, especially when they have to report to younger managers, presents a certain tension. In their book Managing the Older Worker: How to Prepare for the New Organizational Order, Peter Cappelli and Bill Novelli suggest specific strategies and practices for younger managers to manage the “grey hairs” more effectively.

The thrust of the tension, which the authors concede might be an oversimplification, is that “younger managers don’t really know how to manage older workers – and older workers don’t know how to get what they need from their younger managers”. The book is divided into two main parts under the headings of “dispelling the myths about older workers” and “managing the older worker”.

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Exploring working and ageing: new publication and forthcoming workshop

Are there differences in how older workers learn? What are their best strategies of keeping up with changes in their job, or taking up a new job? And what can employers, governments and the world of training professionals do to encourage successful active ageing? A new Cedefop publication - and a forthcoming workshop – seek answers to these questions. The phenomenon of longer working lives can be examined under many angles.

The public debate on ageing at work, which focuses on financial issues, sees it as an unavoidable result of demographic trends. The contributors to Cedefop's new study, however, look at the possibilities this trend opens up for people, workplaces and the labour market as a whole.

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Why We Need Aging Workers

The rapidly aging global workforce - caused mainly by the number of retirement-eligible employees continuing to work - is both a challenge and major opportunity for corporations, according to a report by The Conference Board .

Currently, about 28 percent of the U.S. population is 50 or older. Projections show that by 2025, that figure will increase to more than 35 percent . By 2010, the number of 35-44 year olds, those normally expected to move into senior management ranks, will actually decline by 10 percent. Also by 2010, the number of U.S. workers 45-54 will grow by 21 percent, while the number of 55-64 year-olds will expand by 52 percent.

The key to a company's future success will be its adaptability - its capacity to deploy resources quickly to seize competitive opportunities and to draw from a labor pool that features a mix of multi-skilled, full-time workers, and specifically-skilled, contingent employees who contribute on a part-time or temporary basis.

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Quality of working life in an ageing working population

"With full-span lives having become the norm, people may need to learn how to be aged as they once had to learn to be an adult.", (Ronald Blyth).

We’re all getting older, things are starting to hurt on a daily basis, and… what’s this about again? I forgot. Sorry, must be my age.

The working population too is getting older. Pension changes, the credit crunch and other economic nasties, mean that for many of us, early retirement is no longer an option. Older people have to continue working longer in order to maintain their lifestyles into old age.

This prompts some interesting and important research questions:

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UK retirement age challenge fails

he High Court has upheld the law that allows UK employers to force workers to retire at the age of 65.

In the UK, a worker can see their employment end at the age of 65 without any redundancy payment - even if they do not want to retire.

However the judge in the case said there was a compelling case for the compulsory retirement age to rise.

Age Concern and Help the Aged, which challenged the rules, will not appeal because they expect the law to change.

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Immigration not the only way to counter our ageing population

THE Rudd government should be wary about using high levels of immigration in coming decades as a means to counteract the decline in productivity resulting from an ageing population because more over-55s are staying on in their jobs, a population expert warns.

Monash University demographer Bob Birrell said Treasury's new population estimate for Australia -- 35 million by 2050 -- was based on immigration levels of about 180,000 a year, a rate that may not be necessary to keep the economy running and will be difficult to provide for in terms of urban infrastructure and services.

"The government seems to have bought the argument that business in Australia needs a high amount of labour force growth to keep it going in the future. The rest of us are going to have to bear the consequences of that," Professor Birrell said yesterday.

"The government doesn't seem prepared to explore how we need to make social adjustments; rather, they are relying on the prop of bringing in more people of younger ages to essentially put all the older people to bed."

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The 20 Fastest-Growing Jobs for Aging Boomers

More older Americans now work as retail salespersons than in any other occupation. But baby boomers are expected to find other things to do besides being store clerks as they come to dominate the 55-plus age bracket.

Boomers are likely to land in growth fields that welcome older workers, according to a new Urban Institute study. And many boomers will breathe a sigh of relief to find that retail jobs did not make the top 20 occupations projected to be the fastest growing among the older set.

Most of the hot occupations already employ above-average shares of 55-plus workers and draw on an educated workforce. They include personal financial advisers, veterinarians, and social and community service managers.

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With age comes the wisdom to roll with the punches at work

Just the other day I came across a report on work by another Boston College center on the other side of campus. The study by Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging & Work, evaluated the effects of the recession on employee engagement and it hit home here at the Center for Corporate Citizenship – and specifically here at the desk of a baby boomer.

Employee engagement is a hot topic these days as corporate citizenship professionals struggle to keep their programs and initiatives alive in a tight economy. More than ever employees are seen as key stakeholders who are vital to successful corporate citizenship.

The Sloan Center report, “The Difference a Downturn Can Make”, explores how economic concerns have affected employees’ workplace experiences and how changes differ by employee age and perception of job security. What the researchers found that really piqued my interest: Members of Generation Y – workers ages 26 and younger – reported the greatest decrease in engagement, while engagement remained virtually unchanged for baby boomers and older (workers older than 43 – otherwise known as my contemporaries). And while employee engagement decreased across all groups and was most significant in the younger age groups, the decrease was almost nonexistent among employees over 53 (my fellow 50-plus boomers who remember watching Apollo 11 land).

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Generation B - Middle-Aged, Laid Off and Losing Hope Go

MICHAEL BLATTMAN, 58, took a prudent path to a successful business career. Armed with an M.B.A., he started with the federal government, working at the General Accounting Office and Federal Reserve, before moving to the Sallie Mae student loan program, where he rose to be director of national sales.

From 2001 to 2008 he was a senior vice president for a private student-loan company and at his high point earned $225,000 a year in salary and bonuses, he says. He also taught business courses at the University of Maryland; lived in a 4,000-square-foot home in upscale Potomac, Md., and drove a Mercedes.

And then, in short order, this stable life came undone. When his younger of two children was almost ready for college, Mr. Blattman asked his wife of 25 years for a divorce.

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Will Employers Want Aging Boomers?

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

The text below is an excerpt from the complete document. Read the full report in PDF format.
Abstract

Boomers will probably want to work longer than earlier cohorts, but their continued work requires that employers hire and retain them. Employers value older workers for their maturity, experience and work ethic, but worry about out of date skills and high costs. Slower overall labor supply growth will increase demand for older workers and occupations with higher shares of older workers will increase modestly as a share of all jobs. Future jobs will require less physical demands and more cognitive and interpersonal skills, trends that favor educated older workers, but job opportunities for less educated older workers may remain limited.

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AARP Bulletin Survey on Employment Status of the 45+ Population: Executive Summary

AARP Bulletin Survey on Employment Status of the 45+ Population: Executive Summary

AARP recently commissioned a nationwide survey to determine the employment status of people 45 years or older. The survey examined whether people in this age group had lost jobs or sought new employment over the last 12 months. It also asked them if they had uncertainty about keeping their current jobs.

About one-quarter of the 45+ population reported already being retired. The largest concentration of retirees was in the 65+ age group, with over half (56%) reporting being retired.

Survey findings include:

* Seventeen percent of respondents said they had postponed plans to retire. Twenty-seven percent of those in the age group approaching retirement age (ages 55-64) reported postponing plans to retire, and about one-fifth (19%) of this age group reported already being retired.
* Fifteen percent of respondents said they looked for a new job because of uncertainty about their current employment. Twenty seven percent of those ages 45-54 looked for a new job because of uncertainty. In the age groups with fewer people employed (those ages 55-64 and 65+), fewer respondents reported looking for new jobs because of uncertainty about their current employment.
* Sixteen percent of respondents in the 45-54 and 55-64 age groups reported having lost a job during the past 12 months. Of those, 28% of those ages 45-54 and 30% of those ages 55-64 reported finding another job after having lost a job.
* Twenty two percent of those ages 45-54 felt it was at least “somewhat likely” that their job could be eliminated within the next year. One-quarter (25%) of this group reported not working or already being retired, which means job insecurity is even higher among those who could conceivably experience job loss. In considering only those at risk for losing their jobs, thirty percent of those ages 45-54 felt it was “at least somewhat likely” that their jobs could be eliminated in the next 12 months.

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7 Tips for Finding a Job After 50

Advice from career coaches and hiring managers

If you suddenly find yourself back in the job market after age 50, you might need to dust off your résumé and spruce it up for today's changing job market. Here are seven strategies older workers can use to get their résumé to the top of the stack, score an interview, and—yes—land a new job:

Play down your age. Age often brings wisdom, but wisdom can seem awfully expensive to a hiring manager. You don't have to include all of your achievements on your résumé. "You should consider not putting dates like graduation dates on your résumé," says Tom Musbach, senior editor of Yahoo! HotJobs. "You don't want to lie if asked, but on your résumé, you don't want to broadcast that you graduated in 1960." According to an October survey by Gray Hair Management, a career coaching and networking firm, 65 percent of senior-level executives age 40 or older say they've adjusted their résumé to downplay their age. Older workers need to appear up-to-date with the modern workforce. Be sure to list the work experiences most relevant to the description of the job you're applying for so that your résumé will turn up in job bank searches.

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Career Changers After Age 50 Are Permanently Worse Off

Workers who find new jobs after age 50 often take pay cuts, give up pension and health care benefits, and lose managerial duties. But their new jobs often involve less stress and more flexible schedules, a new study found.

An Urban Institute and AARP Public Policy Institute analysis of 1,705 workers over a 14-year period beginning in 1992 when they were between ages 51 and 55 until 2006 when they were ages 65 to 69 found that 27 percent found new jobs during that period. The older workers who switched jobs saw their median hourly wage drop from $16.86 at the old job (in 2007 dollars) to $10.86 at the new job. Employees who changed places were also less likely to have a pension and health insurance at their new job. Only 20 percent of the employees received traditional pensions in their second career, compared to 61 percent in the old job. And the percent of employees receiving employer-sponsored health insurance dropped from 70 percent to 56 percent.

The reason workers left their previous position does play a role. About 35 percent of the workers left their jobs involuntarily because of business closures, layoffs, or health problems. “People who changed occupations because of a layoff ended up earning about 2/3 as much on the new job as on the old job,” says Richard Johnson, a principal research associate at the Urban Institute and coauthor of the study. “If you look at people who quit their old job, they are earning about the same as the old job at the new job.” Only 46 percent of the workers who were employed full-time in 1992 ever cite retirement as their primary reason for leaving the workforce. However, some people who separated from their job for other reasons did eventually start calling themselves retired.

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6 Tips for Dealing With Age Discrimination

Here’s what to do if you've been treated unfairly in the workplace because of your age

An increasing number of laid-off employees are claiming that they were unfairly dismissed because of age. In 2008, workers filed 24,582 complaints of age bias with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). That's up from 19,103 in 2007 and the highest level of age discrimination charges documented in records dating back 12 years. "When economic times are bad and people are losing their jobs, there tends to be an increase in litigation activities because people are looking for a reason to explain why it is that they are affected rather than someone else," says Rae Vann, a partner with Norris, Tysse, Lampley, & Lakis, which describes itself as a "management-side labor and employment law firm." Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, it's illegal to discriminate against anyone age 40 or older in the workplace with regard to hiring, layoffs, promotions, pay, and benefits. Here's what you should do if you think age is playing a role in your workplace woes:

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5 Ways to Prepare for an Unplanned Retirement

Since retirement can happen unexpectedly, you should have a backup plan

We like to think that we can carefully plan out when we'll retire and how we'll spend those carefree days. But too often, carefully planned retirements are derailed when people find themselves pushed out of the workforce. Steve Wolf and Mary Murley, a married couple with 11-year-old twin sons, are watching their retirement dreams recede farther into the future. Roughly 40 percent of their life savings has evaporated in the stock market in the past year. To make matters worse, Wolf, 55, was laid off from his engineering job in February, and now the family's sole source of income is Murley's part-time job as a classroom aide. Wolf isn't limiting his job search to their hometown, Grand Rapids, Mich., so the couple put their house up for sale—priced below what they paid for it seven years ago. But so far, there have been no bids on the house or job offers for Wolf. "I was hoping that we would be able to sell our house and make up the loss by purchasing someone else's foreclosure," says Murley, 53. "But if we sell the house tomorrow, we'll probably end up living with my mother in Ohio." Here's how to cope with an unplanned retirement.

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EHRC Millions of baby boomers fear age discrimination

Baby boomers are not slowing down, new research for the Commission reveals, but they clearly fear being stopped in their tracks by ageism.

Polling for the Commission by YouGov found that half (51 percent) of the post-war generation are looking to achieve as much in the next 20 years as they have in the last 20 years. But their high hopes for the future may be marred by being treated more unfairly as they get older. One in four baby boomers say they are already experiencing age discrimination and nearly half of them – 5.3 million people – fear ageism is getting worse.

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