Myths about mature-age workers contribute to negative stereotypes that limit their opportunities. Constantly debunking these myths in a range of forums is necessary to encourage employers and younger people to think differently about their older colleagues.
The idea of a linear career is being disrupted. The traditional career trajectory is changing as workers, especially those of mature-age seek opportunities to move in new directions.
New research indicates that it will be all but impossible to turn back the clock on flexible working arrangements. The pandemic has created a preference for a mix of both remote and office-based work. While it will create challenges for employers, it will also open up opportunities to reimagine work.
Compared to many other OECD countries, Australia has fewer older workers in the workforce. Indeed there is often a ‘deficit’ view of our ageing population as a burden rather than recognising the potential of this under utilised talent pool. Mature-aged entrepreneurs, the fast growing segment of entrepreneurship in the country, are a great example of a strength-based view and we should be doing more to foster this form of workforce participation.
Mature-age professionals often prefer to move to part-time work either as they transition out of the workforce or when they want to start a new business. However, finding good quality part-time jobs that utilise the high level skills and experience of older professionals are rare. As holders of significant corporate knowledge, a lack of attention to this issue by employers seems short-sighted.
Kick starting a job search after a holiday break is never easy. To reinvigorate your search it may be necessary to have a plan and at the top of the list should be working your network
The proliferation of AI or machine learning technologies pose some real concerns for bias including age bias. This bias is often unconsciously built into algorithms. Diversity among people developing algorithms and also in those assessing them for bias are critical to overcoming this problem.
It can be difficult to make a career transition at any age but it is particularly daunting as a mature worker. At the same time, as people get older interests often change and the desire to do something more meaningful or make a different kind of contribution can motivate a move in a new direction. It’s important to recognise that it is never too late to find work that you love as long as you are willing to put in the time and effort to understand your transferable skills and how they can benefit you in making a transition.
Mentoring programs and sponsorship, which aim to help people advance their careers or build a new business, are now commonplace. However, they are not without their pitfalls. That’s why it’s important to put in place some clear parametres.
In some workplaces five generations may now be employed. While this age diversity is great for the unique perspectives each generation brings, organisations will need to pay more attention to how they leverage the benefits and meet the challenges of a multi-generational workforce into the future.
The federal budget has been criticised for its lack of support for older workers. In particular, questions have been raised about the impact of the wage subsidy for younger people on the chances of mature workers remaining in, and finding work. What has been overlooked in the debate is what the loss of experience in the workforce might mean for the economy.
Midlife, as a life stage, now spans more than 30 years. It is a time of life when we navigate some of life’s great challenges. Researchers suggest midlifers need more support to develop resilience but especially a growth mindset to help us live our best lives.
As we live longer, healthier lives, the idea of retirement as a concept is being called into question. In this blog we look at whether it is time to ‘retire retirement’.
Mature-aged entrepreneurs are the fastest growing segment of enterpreneurship in Australia. Older workers have great networks and experience, which are critical to starting a new business. Could now be a good time to take the plunge?
There’s nothing like a crisis to help us find new purpose in our lives. Developing purpose has implications for long term health outcomes and psychological well-being. Covid-19 can have an upside by giving us time for reflection to find new purpose in our lives.
Covid-19 has been responsible for some interesting innovations in the way we work. With mature-aged workers among the worst affected by the pandemic, these new models of work may provide opportunities to this cohort at a time when they need them most.
Co-working spaces have provided innovative environments for aspiring entrepreneurs but they are often designed to appeal to young innovators. Could virtual co-working be a better fit for senior entrepreneurs because of their potential for age-diverse, global membership?
Many people don’t understand what their transferable skills are and how to best promote them, especially when making a career transition. Understanding what ‘portable’ skills you have may make the difference between getting an interview or being overlooked.
Innovation is not the domain of one age demographic as the growth in senior entrepreneurship shows. Entrepreneurship among the 55-64 age group is the fastest growing in Australia and debunks some commonly held assumptions about older workers not being innovative or creative.
The importance of upskilling and reskilling are reinforced by the need to maintain brain health. New knowledge about neuroplasticity, tells us we have the ability to improve the brain’s precision, speed and retention as we age. However, we can only achieve this by stepping outside our comfort zone and constantly learning new things.
The COVID-19 pandemic is having significant emotional and financial effects on older workers that may have long-term consequences on their ability to find work or remain in a job.
As the workplace dramatically changes through automation and advanced digital technologies more specialized skills will be required creating jobs for some and leaving others behind. But is there an answer to creating more jobs for all that is right under our noses?
Researchers suggest that we must prepare for the 100 year life and therefore a much longer working life. Traditionally we think about life as education, work, and retirement but this will evolve into the multi-stage life. If people are to have 50 year careers we must rethink the linear career to incorporate periods where we pursue other passions, give back to the community or reskill.
With COVID-19 leaving many of us with more time on our hands, maybe we could use that time creatively rethinking our careers and where we might like to head into the future, whether its a complete reinvention or a new business.
Charles Handy asserted that for tech to be used effectively in communications, you had to combine it with at least some face to face communication but COVID-19 has made the ‘touch’ no longer possible.
Unlearning is considered a vital component of life in the 21st century for employees and organizations because everyone acquires knowledge, habits and beliefs that are no longer fit for purpose.
Internships, or ‘returnships’, which are specifically aimed at women returning to the workforce after a break, have the potential to reboot careers for professionals reaching midlife.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand and regulate your own and others’ emotions which is what underpins effective relationships.
Whether you have ambitions for entrepreneurship or just remaining relevant in the workplace, having or building enterprising skills is seen as an imperative.
Older Australians are challenging ageist perceptions in their expectation of continued employment well past the age of 65.
World-wide, age diversity rarely figures in organisational diversity programs. As a result, organisations often have limited understanding of how mature-aged workers fare in relation to professional development and upskilling compared to their younger colleagues.
World-wide, age diversity rarely figures in organisational diversity programs. As a result, organisations often have limited understanding of how mature-aged workers fare in relation to professional development and upskilling compared to their younger colleagues.
World-wide, age diversity rarely figures in organisational diversity programs. As a result, organisations often have limited understanding of how mature-aged workers fare in relation to professional development and upskilling compared to their younger colleagues.
If you’ve ever recruited a new staff member, one of the things you probably looked for was ‘cultural fit’. After all, it makes sense to
Here’s the news, we are at the beginning of a moment in history when there will be more older people in the world than at any other time. This is necessarily going to reshape the way we work and the workforce, yet there is little understanding of how to tackle the pervasive issue of negative stereotypes of older workers.
One of the strategies suggested to mature workers looking for work is to disguise their age by not including their date of birth on their
