BUS2SUS-Managing the Aging Workforce

As the people who are under the working class bracket get older an older, there is some pressure that is in most cases felt by the governments, families and also industries. There is a promising pay off that is big if at all the government can manage to constructively deal with this issue (Scales, 2014, p. 86). The latter will be achieved if there is a reduction in the obligation in the social welfare, increased productivity in the organizations which will be done through retaining the skilled workers and the increase in the personal fulfillment for the workers who are already aged. The obligation is therefore left to the organizations, the leaders in the particular businesses, colleagues and the older people who are facing a prolonged stint in the labor market (Australia and Swan, 2016, p. 77).

The responsibilities and functions of humans are changing following the advancement in the new technological know-how and hence the workers who are experienced and are of any age are nowadays required to either opt for a reskill or up skill (Australia. Department of the Treasury, 2013, p. 58). The employees who are relatively older are faced with the added disadvantage of social bias and the stereotyping thing and this is accompanied by the deteriorating expectations of health and families.

Increase in the interpersonal conflicts at work is brought about by the differences in the experience and outlook among the workers .The problem then lies there on how to manage the differences. The first step in dealing with this is the comprehension of the attitudes towards the older workers and then doing investigations on how we shape these attitudes. Research shows that attitudes are based on stereotypes (Healy, 2014, p. 165). The older workers get less motivation, they are not easy to train and they are also very adamant to change. There is a great inaccuracy in these and many other stereotypes. This is evident even in the definition of what makes up the older worker since the definition is definitely not clear. The definitions for an older worker are many, approximately ranging from 40 to above 60 definitions. The older workers on the other hand also hold these stereotypes to themselves and this compound to a negative effect in the participation in the workplace and hence the creation of a division in culture. 

There is the existence of a bias in the process of selection and therefore recruitment is well known to show much bias and this at long run results to many older people missing the chances for entry (Glover & Prideaux, 2015, p. 30). Research shows that over one-quarter of the Australians are the people over 50 years have experienced either one or multiple types of age discrimination in the previous two years and four people in every firm agree that they would not be able to employ people who are above 65 years. The people who think that they are old end up leaving the workforce themselves. There is more complication in age than in the chronological years. There is, therefore, need for organizations to be transparent an also make sure that there is fairness in the matters of recruitment and performance so that there is no biasness at all (Hugo & Morriss, 2014, p. 132).

 Quality contact that exists between generations has been able to lower the negative perceptions and also has led to the reduction in the intention to quit job among the older people. Workers are therefore provided with an opportunity for the different generations to work together and this is also important (Schoo , Stagnitti , & Mercer-Grant, 2015, p. 156).

The dream of retiring and spending the remaining days of one’s life near a beach will become just that for many workers.  In the real sense, most workers will not be able to afford till they are eligible for the age of pension. The latter comes with the likelihood that they will be delayed over the coming years and hence there is a need to face the reality that the working life for most of us will be far much longer than what we actually expected (Australia. Department of the Treasury, 2013, p. 125).

As a result of change caused by the automation and new technology, there has been an alteration in the way we work and also the places we work. There is also a need to reframe the way we think about our careers and the positions we take in our organizations. We may at times need to combine both study and work or move in a sideways manner in our work (Healy, 2014, p. 145). The latter comes along with a potential of a more variation in career but this requires adaptation to a new vision of success.

There is another consideration that is in most cases overlooked and this is the fact that early retirement is in most cases not a scenario for most people. There exist significant health benefits that come about as a result of staying involved in the workforce so we need to enable those who are able and want to continue working to do so. Research shows that Australians are not only living a longer life but are also staying healthier for longer (Scales, 2014, p. 142). However, the majority of these people have minimal chances of working at the ages of between 60 and 74. The effects of aging have been noted to be differing from an individual to another. There is no room for making assumptions concerning the physical capability that is based on age. 

Given that a worker can meet the requirements of a job, the responsibility should be tailored to make sure that the knowledge and skills of the older expatriates are retained. There is a need for organizations to evolve if they need to retain the old workers in the productive employment and they should also consider not demanding too much from those who are not capable of working in their later years or those who are trained to perform roles that involve tasks that are compromising their well-being and or in a way may put other people at danger. Poor health in some cases will make a person retire (Scales, 2014, p. 158). There is need to be prepared financially through the management of savings right from a younger age. There is a need for the policy makers to consider the variable age pension alternatives.

System thinking approach shows that, with an aim of managing the inevitable changes in the demographics in Australia, there is a need for the employers to learn the need to prepare for an aging workforce and also develop strategies with an aim of managing and retaining the older workers. Many strategies can be employed which will enable employers to address these issues.

There is need to undertake an age audit and also a succession in planning. The latter is done through monitoring variables such as the age of the staff in given areas and also the age of people that are leaving. The employers will have an opportunity to plan best for the future resourcing needs and the transfer of skills and knowledge (Zakharov, 2013, p. 132).

I fully support the idea that training for managers and recruitment panels on the unconscious age should be done at all levels. There is also the need to train the managers on the stereotypes of the older workers with an aim of tackling the unlawful discriminatory practices and the unconscious bias that is directed to the older people in the organization. Managers who use the system thinking approach in the development of monitoring programs to promote the transfer of skills from the aged workers and the younger workers quite recommendable (Glover & Prideaux, 2015, p. 158). Employers should also strife to train their workers on managing and working together with intergenerational teams in order to address the issues that concern doing activities in multigenerational teams. The integration of all these strategies will only be reasonable if the managers will use the system thinking approach as a tool for management. 

There should also be the development of opportunities that are flexible enough an also conditions for the older workers in order for their needs to be accommodated. This may mean that the jobs should be redesigned so that there is accommodation of the physical restraints, offering the arrangements of the job share and also the implementation of phased options as far as retirement is concerned. The transition of workers to retirement should also be performed by coming up with a session of awareness or even numerous awareness’s. There should also be awareness’s done to educate the workers on how to manage their finances so that they will live a good life at the beaches upon retirement (Australia and Swan, 2016, p. 28). The older workers should also be reskilled and the managers should also take the initiative to invest in education programs that will be aimed at helping the older workers to improve on their efficiency and accuracy and therefore harness new ways of doing their jobs. If this is done to the maximum, then the organizations should be ready to get the maximum benefits out of it.

Conclusion

There exists a social implication that comes up when older people remain in the workforce for a longer duration but families will be required to adapt to this. Research shows that most families in Australia are depended on grandparents as careers. There exist significant policy considerations. However, there is a need for the organizations together with the employees to take it as a responsibility and play their role in the shift to a workforce that is intergenerational. Managers need to learn how to accommodate the aging population and also come up with ways of training them on how to catch up with the new technology. The workers should also be taught on how to manage their finances so that they can spend their lives later in comfort after they retire. 

References

Australia and Swan. (2016). Australia to 2050: future challenges. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 1, 77-84.

Australia. Department of the Treasury. (2013). Intergenerational report 2013. Melbourne: Canberra.

Gill , D., Hensen , M., & Wilson, P. (2016). Retirement income policies in Australia and New Zealand: Facing the fiscal challenge from an ageing population. Kolkata.

Glover , P., & Prideaux, B. (2015). mplications of population ageing for the development of tourism products and destinations. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 5, 20-40.

Healy, J. (2014). The benefits of an ageing population. Canberra: Australia Institute of publishers.

Hugo, G., & Morriss, M. (2014). Investigating the ageing academic workforce: Stocktake. Canberra: Universities Australia.

Scales, B. (2014). Australia: a nation in transition. Sydney Papers, 3, 79-89.

Schoo , A. M., Stagnitti , K., & Mercer-Grant, C. (2015). A conceptual model for recruitment and retention: allied health workforce enhancement in Western Victoria. Melbourne.

Voyer , M., Gladstone , W., & Goodall, H. (2015). Obtaining a social licence for MPAs–influences on social acceptability. Job policy, 5, 234-254.

Zakharov, J. (2013). owards inclusive growth in Australia: report arising from Inclusive Growth in Australia roundtable. Brisbane