"Regardless of age" : Australian university managers' attitudes and practices towards older academics
- Authors: Earl, Catherine , Taylor, Philip , Cannizzo, Fabian
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Work, Aging and Retirement Vol. 4, no. 3 (2018), p. 300-313
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- Description: As with other industrialized nations Australia's population is aging and older workers are encouraged to work for longer. At the same time, Australia's university sector, which is aging, is being reconfigured through changes that potentially marginalize its older workers as higher education institutions try to become more competitive in a global market. In this context, youthfulness appears to embody competitiveness and academic institutions are increasingly aspiring to a young workforce profile. This qualitative article builds on previous research to explore to what extent ageist assumptions shape attitudes to older workers and human resource management (HRM) practices within Australian universities even when HRM practitioners are well versed in antidiscrimination legislation that (unlike the Age Discrimination in Employment Act in the United States) applies to workers of all ages. Semistructured interviews conducted with 22 HRM practitioners in Australian universities reveal that university HRM practices generally overlook the value of retaining an older workforce by conflating "potential" with "youthfulness," assuming that staff potential and performance share a negative correlation with age. While mostly lower-ranked institutions have attempted to retain older academics to maintain an adequate labor supply, this study finds that university policies targeting the ongoing utilization of older workers generally are underdeveloped. Consequently, the availability of late career employment arrangements is dependent upon institutions' strategic goals, with favorable ad hoc solutions offered to academics with outstanding performance records, while a rhetoric of performance decline threatens to marginalize older academic researchers and teachers more generally.
Age management for the common good
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Economic and Labour Relations Review Vol. 34, no. 1 (2023), p. 179-188
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- Description: In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid the present reconfiguring of corporate purpose, there is an opportunity to realign actions focused on prolonging working lives. We put forward a transformative agenda concerned with workforce ageing that aligns with contemporary expectations regarding sustainability, inequality, and emerging conceptualisations of management. In this article, the new concept of Common Good human resource management (HRM) is utilised as a potential means of encouraging business responses focused on grand challenges such as population ageing. We suggest how these principles might be applied to the issue of managing age in workplaces, to recast debate about issues of age and work, to be used as an advocacy tool encouraging employer engagement, while providing a framework that might direct organisational leadership. © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of UNSW Canberra.
Australian employer usage of the practice of offering reduced working hours to workers close to retirement : Extent and determinants
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , McLoughlin, Christopher
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Journal on Ageing Vol. 35, no. 2 (2016), p. E13-E17
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- Description: Aim: This study aimed to determine factors associated with the implementation by employers of the practice of offering reduced working hours for workers nearing retirement. Methods: Data came from a survey of 2000 employers of more than 50 employees each (30% response rate). Results: A minority (33%) of employers offered reduced working hours to older workers nearing retirement. Factors associated with offering reduced working hours were: expecting workforce ageing to cause a loss of staff to retirement; being a large employer; being a public/not-for-profit sector employer; not experiencing difficulties recruiting labourers; having a larger proportion of workers aged over 50; experiencing national competition for labour; not experiencing difficulties recruiting machinery operators/drivers; not expecting workforce ageing to increase workplace injuries; and experiencing difficulties with the quality of candidates. Conclusion: A minority of employers were found to offer reduced working hours to those nearing retirement. Factors associated with their propensity to do so included industry sector, size of employer, concerns about labour supply and the effects of workforce ageing. © 2016 AJA Inc.
Bridging the grey divide : An international perspective on the ageing workforce and longer working lives
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Social Issues Vol. 51, no. 2 (2016), p. 119-125
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Challenges for the workforce development of older workers in Brazil
- Authors: Monteiro, Ines , Taylor, Philip , Iguti, Aparecida Mari , Cummings, Phyllis
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Public Policy & Aging Report Vol. 25, no. 4 (2015), p.
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- Description: This sociodemographic country profile provides important background information to anticipate future demand for services in this middle-income country. Of Brazil’s population of 204 million people, 13% (about 26 million) are aged 60 and above. Life expectancy is 78.5 years for women and 71.2 for men. Currently, 31.9% of the population is aged between 40 and 69. Of those aged 60 or above, 55% are women, 53.4% are white, and 83.9% live in urban areas. As with other Latin American countries, Brazil is experiencing a marked increase in the aging of its population, with the percentage of those aged 65 and above projected to increase from 6.1% in 2005 to 19.4% in 2050 (Jackson, Strauss, & Howe, 2011). In fact, developing nations like Brazil will begin to converge with Japan, where by 2050 more than 40% of the population will be aged 60 or above (Beard et al., 2011). In response, alongside reforms to its social security system, it is argued that older workers in Brazil should be encouraged to remain longer in the labor force and postpone retirement while being productive (Gragnolati et al., 2011).
Discriminatory practices of older workers in an ageing residential care workforce
- Authors: Earl, Catherine , Taylor, Philip
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Work Innovation Vol. 1, no. 4 (2016), p. 391-412
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- Description: Job opportunities for older workers in the residential care sector are strong so there appears to be little age discrimination against them in recruitment, but it has been recognised that in the workplace age- and gender-based stereotyping challenges the efficacy of age management and generates intergenerational issues. This article focuses on the ageing of the female-dominated workforce in an Australian residential care organisation. Firstly, it argues age-based discriminatory practices are not only directed towards older workers but may also affect younger workers. Secondly, it argues older workers are not only the victims of discrimination but may discriminate against both younger and older co-workers. In doing so, they may draw on perceptions of age, gender and other attributes, including skills, qualifications and status in the organisational hierarchy. The potential policy implications of this complexity of age prejudices in terms of labour shortages and inclusive management practices are briefly discussed.
Drivers and patterns of early retirement in the neoliberal university
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Gringart, Eyal , Webb, Eileen , Carnemolla, Phillippa , Drake, Deidre , Oppert, Michelle , Harvey, Robin
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Economic and Labour Relations Review Vol. 33, no. 4 (2022), p. 715-736
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- Description: This article increases understanding of university labour processes. The antecedents and characteristics of early retirement schemes implemented by Australian universities between 2010 and 2020 were considered. Twenty-eight schemes were identified across 20 universities. Content analysis of descriptions of the schemes contained in official documents was undertaken. This revealed somewhat common justifications for the schemes, linked to concerns about organisational sustainability/resilience in the face of external threats and the implementation of modernising efforts. Such justifications appeared to be underpinned by similar ageist biases on the part of management. Despite this broad commonality, however, the schemes manifested a multifurcation of possible work-retirement pathways across institutions. Such reorganisation of labour processes, based on ageist representations that potentially place established workers in conflict with others, represents an incongruence between the market-oriented objectives of universities and areas of public policy responding to workforce ageing. It is argued that drawing momentum from emerging conceptions of sustainability and current diversity initiatives such as Athena Swan and Age Friendly Universities it may be possible to sever the link university leadership perceive between the divestment of older workers and the fulfilment of modernising agendas. © The Author(s) 2022.
Employees, employers and the institutions of work: The global competition for terrain in the ageing workforce agenda
- Authors: Jorgensen, Bradley , Taylor, Philip
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Foresight :The Journal for Future Studies, Srategic Thinking and Policy Vol. 10, no. 1 (2008), p. 22-36
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- Description: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess risks and prospects for older workers and to provide a number of recommendations designed to marshal the interests of employees, business and government. - - Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the terrain of competing interests and dynamic complexities of workforce ageing, by elaborating on the topic of economic globalisation, the policy approaches adopted by government, the actions taken by industry and the working and life preferences of older workers. - - Findings – In the absence of a deep understanding of the current relationship between demographic ageing, the labour market and economic globalisation, the policy aspirations of government face the prospect of limited success. The currently popular premise, that ageing populations go hand-in-hand with ageing workforces, appears to be contradicted by much of the available evidence, which points to rather more complex scenarios, in which outcomes are uncertain, but clearly where late career workers may not necessarily fare well. - - Originality/value – The paper brings analysis to the area of ageing populations and the labour market in the context of globalization – a complex and important topic that is usually dealt with far too simply.
Everyday discrimination in the Australian workplace : Assessing its prevalence and age and gender differences
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , McLoughlin, Christopher , Earl, Catherine
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Journal on Ageing Vol. 37, no. 4 (2018), p. 245-251
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- Description: Objective: This study aimed to increase understanding of the nature and prevalence of discriminatory experiences in the workplace, focusing on issues of age and gender. Methods: The concept of everyday discrimination was operationalised in a survey of a representative sample of Australian workers. Results: It was observed that overall, experiences of everyday discrimination were rare. Among men, such experiences declined with age, whereas for women almost no age differences were observed. Conclusion: It is argued that the nature of labour market age barriers has been misunderstood and the extent of discrimination faced by older workers possibly overstated.
Everyday discrimination in the workplace, job satisfaction and psychological wellbeing: age differences and moderating variables
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , McLoughlin, Christopher , Meyer, Denny , Brooke, Elizabeth
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ageing & Society Vol. 33, no. 7 (2013), p. 1105-1138
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- Description: In this article we explore the importance of ‘everyday discrimination’ and other psycho-social variables for psychological wellbeing, considering differences according to age, gender and socio-economic position. Using employee survey data collected within Australian organisations we explore a statistically reliable model of the relationship between aspects of the psycho-social work environment, psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction. The employee survey was carried out in two phases during mid-2007 and mid-2008 in a national university, two international freight terminals of a large international airline, a national manufacturing company and the roadside assistance division of a motoring organisation. Structural Equation Modelling was used to configure a model including psycho-social factors: respect, support, training, job insecurity and personally meaningful work. Everyday discrimination and consultation with supervisor were considered in terms of their direct effect on psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction and their indirect effect via the psycho-social factors enumerated above. Importantly, this generalised model attempts to describe the interrelations of these factors effectively for various age groups, gender and socio-economic position. We identify age, gender and socio-economic differences in the strength and relative importance of these relationships. A further validation study with an independent sample will be required to verify the model proposed in this article. The implications for the design of workplace interventions concerned with age discrimination are discussed.
Indicators of job quality in the Australian aged care workforce : a scoping review
- Authors: Carnemolla, Phillippa , Taylor, Philip , Gringart, Eyal , Adams, Claire
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Australasian Journal on Ageing Vol. 41, no. 2 (2022), p. e94-e102
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- Description: Objective: As governments grapple with ageing populations, there is a need to understand more about the aged care workforce and how it is managed. Methods: We undertook a scoping review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Scopus and PubMed were used to identify papers published between 2010 and 2020. We mapped the breadth and scale of the evidence base according to the QuInnE indicators of job quality. Results: Out of 642 titles and abstracts that were screened, 122 were selected. Outcomes were measured across a range of domains, including wages, employment quality, education and training, working conditions, work/life balance and consultative participation and collective representation. These were distributed unevenly, revealing evidence gaps. Conclusions: We identified significant knowledge gaps regarding Australia's aged care workforce at a time when the sector is coming under fresh scrutiny and projections indicate that it will face critical labour shortfalls going forward. © 2021 AJA Inc.
Is Workplace flexibility good policy? Evaluating the efficacy of age management strategies for older women workers
- Authors: Earl, Catherine , Taylor, Philip
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Work, aging and retirement Vol. 1, no. 2 (2015), p. 214-226
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- Description: A combination of age and gender factors shape older women’s workplace experiences. Age advocacy groups, together with many academic commentators, argue in favor of workplace flexibility, pointing to benefits for both older workers and their employers. But knowledge about the policies of organizations and how they are enacted by managers is still rudimentary. What do managers understand flexibility to mean and how do they implement flexible working options? What are the perceived benefits and costs of flexibility for organizations and for older women workers? Drawing on qualitative interviews conducted with 58 human resource managers, this article considers the provision of flexible working arrangements targeting older women in Australia within 3 industry sectors: financial services, public sector, and higher education. Interviews revealed a gap between policy and practice regarding the management of older women workers. We argue that the efficacy of line managers and their willingness to innovate are crucial in managing such workers and prolonging their working lives.
Making the case for older workers
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Management Revue Vol. 27, no. 1-2 (2016), p. 14-28
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- Description: Against a background of population ageing, and with it, concomitant effects on social welfare systems and labour markets, public policy makers in affected nations are seeking ways of pushing out the final age of withdrawal from their labour markets. Central to such efforts is promoting the contribution of older workers to organizations and overcoming labour market age barriers. Within this advocacy approach there has been recent interest in identifying and promulgating examples of employer best practice in order to emphasize new dimensions of the business case for employing older workers. Drawing on literature concerned with advocating an ethical concern in human resource management as it pertains to older workers, this article examines an exemplar set of employer case studies aimed at promulgating best practice. It considers the concept of age management and its manifestations to argue that many standard HRM practices are firmly, although probably unwittingly, grounded in ageist assumptions concerning the capacities, potentiality and contributions of both younger and older workers. This, we argue, is a consequence of an unnecessarily narrow conception of good employment practice based in an economic rationality that is not conducive to the effective management of age in organizations.
Managing older workers during a period of tight labour supply
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , McLoughlin, Christopher , Brooke, Elizabeth , Di Biase, Tia , Steinberg, Margaret
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ageing & Society Vol. 33, no. 1 (2013), p. 16-43
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- Description: This article reports on a recent survey of employer attitudes and policies towards older workers in Australia at a time of sustained economic growth and ongoing concerns about labour shortages. Findings from a survey of 590 employers with more than 50 employees in the State of Queensland point to an unusually strong orientation towards the recruitment of older workers among respondents, although the retraining of older workers is not prioritised by the majority. The issue of workforce ageing is viewed as being of medium-term importance by the majority of respondents, although for a substantial number the issue is of immediate concern. Both sector and organisation size are predictive of the application of a broad range of policies targeting older workers, with public-sector and larger organisations more likely to be active. Concerns about workforce ageing and labour supply are predictive of employer behaviours regarding older workers, suggesting that sustained policy making may be emerging in response to population ageing over and above more immediate concerns about labour shortages and that this broad thrust of organisational policy making may be immune to the point in the economic cycle. This study found no evidence that the flexible firm will not countenance an ageing workforce.
Managing the working body: active ageing and limits to the 'flexible' firm
- Authors: Brooke, Elizabeth , Taylor, Philip , McLoughlin, Christopher , Di Biase, Tia
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ageing & Society Vol. 33, no. 8 (2013), p. 1295-1314
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- Description: Workforce ageing is considered in the context of four Australian employing organisations which are each in the process of change. In these organisations, perceptions regarding the relationship between the declining body and productivity led to a depreciation of the value of older workers and their consignment to less productive edges of organisations. While this was viewed as benefiting older workers, it was also acknowledged that workforce ageing will place severe constraints on the use of such practices, already regarded with suspicion by operational managers responsible for cost containment. Policies which aim to restrain biological and psychological decline, by supporting individual functional capacity and health, workplace design and ergonomics and developing the work community are advocated.
Older workers and organizational change: corporate memory versus potentiality
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Brooke, Libby , McLoughlin, Christopher , Biase, Tia
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Manpower Vol. 31, no. 3 (2010), p. 374-386
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- Description: Purpose – Drawing on the recent work of Sennett and others who considered the position of older workers in dynamic economies subject to rapid change, this paper aims to examine the perceived fit between employees of different ages and their employing organizations in four Australian workplaces. Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of qualitative data, collected among workers and managers in four Australian organizations, was performed. Findings – Results suggests that potentiality tended to be prized as an asset over corporate memory. While managers were frequently paternalistic towards their older employees, ageing human capital was often devalued as managers tried to balance operational budgets and organizations sought to remain responsive to changing market demands. Originality/value – The paper discusses the implications for the prolongation of working lives.
Older workers, government and business: Implications for ageing populations of a globalising economy
- Authors: Jorgensen, Bradley , Taylor, Philip
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Economic affairs Vol. 28, no. 1 (2008), p. 17-22
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- Description: Though there is a consensus surrounding the importance of people working at older ages – and in a more flexible way – trends in employment and trade patterns mean that existing policies are not as effective as they need to be.
Psychological effects of unemployment across the lifespan : a synthesis of relevant literature
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Gringart, Eyal , Adams, Claire
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Aging and Social Policy Vol. 35, no. 2 (2023), p. 154-178
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- Description: Amid ongoing global economic uncertainty and long-standing efforts to tackle age discrimination and increase older workers’ labor force engagement, it is pertinent to consider age differences in the individual effects of joblessness. This is paramount for informing support services, policy formulation, and research. This article is based on a literature review of international peer reviewed quantitative research that has examined the relationship between age, psychological wellbeing and unemployment. Two hundred and twenty-six studies were screened and 36 were included. No relevant qualitative studies were identified. Among the studies, there was a broad consensus that there are age differences in terms of the psychological consequences of unemployment. However, they showed mixed evidence, and critical conceptual and methodological deficiencies were identified. We conclude that the body of evidence is weak and that drawing from it for the development of practice and policy in support of jobless individuals is to be cautioned against. © 2022 Taylor & Francis.
Recent public policy and Australian older workers
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine , McLoughlin, Christopher
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Social Issues Vol. 51, no. 2 (2016), p. 229-247
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- Description: This article considers the characteristics and utility of pro-work policies targeting Australian older workers that have emerged in the context of population ageing, amid concerns that this will lead to labour shortages and an increasing social welfare burden. There has been a recent surge in public policy regarding the ageing workforce, the efficacy of which has not been tested by evaluation studies. After considering the conceptual foundations and objectives of various government initiatives, it is argued that the present public policy approach may have serious flaws that are not only detrimental to the stated overall objective of prolonging working lives, but may, in fact, be harmful to older workers and fail to address the needs of business. This stems from programs reaching only a small proportion of those older people who would potentially benefit from assistance, and from misdirected effort aimed at encouraging behavioural change on the part of employers or industries. It is argued that there is a need for greater targeting of policy efforts on the actual needs of industry and for public policy itself to become more age-aware. S (Australian Bureau of Statistics), 2010, Older People and the Labour Market, Australia, 2010 S (Australian Bureau of Statistics), 2010, General Social Survey: Summary Results, Australia, 2010
The enduring myth of endemic age discrimination in the Australian labour market
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , Earl, Catherine
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ageing and Society Vol. 43, no. 5 (2023), p. 993-1002
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- Description: It has often been stated by older people's advocates that discrimination affecting older people is commonplace and ongoing in the Australian labour market. In this article, we contrast such rhetoric with a review of evidence from recent large-scale surveys which demonstrates that low and declining numbers of Australians experience age discrimination, while highlighting the complexity of the phenomenon. We identify the emergence of a fake 'age' advocacy that is acting to the detriment of an informed public discourse concerning issues of older workers' employment. To counter this we propose five underlying principles for advocacy on ageing and work: countering myths concerning the extent and nature of age barriers in the labour market; avoiding and challenging the use of age stereotypes in making the business case for older workers' employment; recognition that age interacts in complex ways with a range of other factors in determining people's experiences of the labour market; challenging public understanding that is grounded in the notion that generational conflict is inevitable; and discarding traditional notions of the lifecourse in order to overcome disjunctions and contradictions that hamper efforts to encourage and support longer working lives. Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.