In praise of older women

Writing in today’s Daily Mail, Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman argues that mothers’ rights are making younger women unemployable.  She maintains that maternity leave (often multiple times) followed by requests for flexible working are creating huge problems amongst her workforce which she summarises as 90% female – of which 98% are women of childbearing age.

I will ignore the question of why 98% of her female workforce is under what must be around 50 or so (I don’t think I would want to hear whatever justification she chose to come up with). But therein lies the source of her problem – and the solution.  Not just replacing younger women with older women who no longer have childcare responsibilities, but ensuring there is a balance of ages.

Employers – Alexandra included – and society as a whole need to understand that today careers are made up of many different stages throughout which employees have different wants and needs and different levels to which they are able to commit to the organisation. Employers ignoring this do so at their peril and, yes, they will suffer the consequences.  Short-sightedness will lead to the demonisation of young women as it has already of older workers. All that will be left will be younger working men.  Back full circle to where we were a very long time ago.

All this on the same day as the Mail publishes another piece by Linda Kelsey on how being over 50 today is no longer old… Is it me or do we need some joined up thinking?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1226157/Vogue-editor-Alexandra-Shulman-asks-boss-hire-woman.html

Fatally flawed proposal

We’ve been hearing for a while about the terrible and unprecedented number of suicides occurring at France Telecom (25 since 2008 apparently). According to a recent story in the Times, the organisation is now to make part-time jobs available on a voluntary basis to employees aged over 57 who feel that full time work is endangering their health. My money’s on the fact that those making this decision are nowhere near 57 themselves. The (potentially fatal) flaw in the argument is that these poor beleaguered older workers who are already feeling highly stressed and threatened would be doing the equivalent of throwing themselves to the wolves, the very act of admitting that they could no longer take the pace being tantamount to lying on their backs with their legs in the air waiting to be ripped asunder. As anyone who’s spoken to older workers knows, a common driver of those who still want to see themselves as contributing value in a competitive situation is not wanting to admit they’re ‘not up to it’ or ‘not as good’ as younger competitors. BT proved this when they found that few of their older workers actually wanted to take advantage of reduced hours working for just this reason.

 Okay, some older workers do want to wind down and reduce their hours, but those at France Telecom are unlikely to fit the bill as they’re not being offered the choice to do it for positive reasons (either their own or their employer’s) in a supportive environment. As a comment on the Times site said, they should at least offer the option to all workers, to single out older workers in this instance is both inappropriate and insulting – and unfortunately not likely to solve the problem. Let’s hope they call in the occupational psychologists without delay.

Read the Times story at http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article6895790.ece

Retirement Reform?

It was interesting to attend the Institute of Directors’ Roadmap for Retirement Reform presentation last Monday (October 19th) which they used to announce the launch of their new Centre for Retirement Reform.  On the face of it the presentation looked as if it would be largely about pensions but fortunately – and refreshingly – all the speakers seemed to recognise that pensions reform per se is not going to be enough.  Of course it was useful to be reminded yet again that our current pensions system was introduced when the average male life expectancy was 63 – what clearer evidence is needed of why it is no longer fit for purpose? But beyond this, the clear message from all seemed to be that meaningful impact in terms of reforming “retirement” will only come when employers create the culture, opportunities and support to help those people who want to, or need to, stay in work for longer. 

We look forward to finding out more about the work of the Centre as it develops. At this stage, perhaps we have two caveats.  Apparently one of the Centre’s first areas of interest is to be what are commonly labelled “olderpreneurs” – older individuals who start their own businesses. In respect of this we take the view that the focus needs to shift from helping older people to start a business (generally comparatively easy) to helping them build and sustain their business (difficult). Otherwise all that is happening is encouraging a new generation of business lemmings, racing towards a cliff-edge of failure and disappointment.  Additionally, and on a different note, we yet again call for the development of a new terminology. “Retirement” will only truly be reformed when we have an adequate vocabulary to describe all the various states (non-working, part-time working, portfolio working, self-employment, volunteering, etc) that are currently covered by this outmoded term.

 

 

“Building a society for all ages”

The deadline has now passed, at least for the moment, to make your voice heard to the government over their proposals outlined in “Building a society for all ages” a document which focuses predominantly on the issues surrounding our ageing population. The issues are very wide-ranging and extremely important.

We here, at in my prime, made our own representations in the fields in which we operate and if you are interested in seeing what we had to say please click here 

To read the original government document click here

The fun has just begun

This week has already seen two very major announcements relating to the older end of the age spectrum and it’s only Wednesday. Firstly, there has been the news that the government is bringing forward its review of the national default retirement age, currently 65, which heralds either its demise or a significant shift upwards. Secondly, there has been the publication of a Green Paper on the subject of care costs which is likely to impact on the whole population and probably require significant financial input from us all.

We are now, quite definitely, going to see a significant shift in the need for everyone – employers, employees and society at large – to think through the implications of these issues and to plan individually and collectively for all of our futures. We will now, each of us, have to make decisions about our attitude to retirement versus continued employment which will include our finances, our motivation and commitment, and our physical and mental ability to continue on.

These announcements come at a time when two new surveys suggest all is not as it should be and certainly there is a glaring inconsistency and incompatibility which will have to be addressed. A survey for insurer LV= suggests that the over 50s are struggling to save and that nearly 7 out of 10 are worried about their retirement prospects. In reinforcing this Scottish Widows also tell us that, from their survey, the average age that people wish to retire is 61 and that, on average, they would actually be angry if they had to work past 66. Something does not stack up here – even without thinking about the social benefits of continuing to be part of the employment mainstream.

Employer body reaction to the proposed review of the default retirement age is predictably one of hostility (feigned or real) but the reality of the situation will not change. What is required, sooner rather than later, is the need for all sides to start seriously to manage the implications which, when all is said and done, will be immensely positive for all concerned.

Even King Canute could not stop this one.

Saving for retirement – the biscuit tin approach

Hardly a day goes by now without another piece of depressing information about the state of the nation’s pensions. In the last few days alone we have seen more defined benefit schemes closing, more reports on the lack of savings that individuals are making particularly during the recession, and soaring bankruptcy numbers among pensioners. One report, highlighting the fact that many are now unable to foresee when they might retire or how they might have adequate savings to live on, has  coined the term “baby gloomers”  to describe the plight that people feel they are in.

The advice that comes from the financial industry is plentiful but very self-serving: “save more for a pension”; “release some equity from your home”; “tuck your money away in an ISA”; “invest in buy-to let”; and more. The government believes that the answer lies in personal accounts which everyone will flock to in a few years’ time – we will see.

Many people, knowing their savings are insufficient but not by how much, would like to work longer, certainly past 65. Yet the government is still dragging its heels in a most extraordinary fashion. This is despite the fact that change is inevitable. The state pension age will be increasing to 68 in the coming years but the default retirement age is currently 65. What are people going to do –starve for three years? One glimmer of hope that the recession is providing is that firms are beginning to see the futility of redundancy as an answer to their problems and are looking at more innovative ways of managing the current problems with flexible arrangements, part-time working, sabbaticals etc. all now featuring. These are also ideal tools for dealing with an ageing workforce.

However, the first problem that must be addressed is one of awareness. There is, in the country as a whole, an order of magnitude lack of understanding among people of all ages as to exactly what it takes in financial terms to retire in some form of comfort. A fundamental and far reaching “reality check” is needed to reconcile the aspirational dream of an interesting, financially secure retirement with the ongoing provision that individuals are making through their working lives.

Retirement financial planning involves running up a store of wealth, retiring, and then running it down again over the course of the rest of our life – as simple as that. Building up a retirement pot is very much like tucking money away in a biscuit tin each week to save for Christmas – except Christmas may last twenty years or more.

For more see  Saving for retirement – the biscuit tin approach

Goodbye 9 to 5 – on TV

Following on from my previous blog, this week I tuned into a new TV programme “Goodbye 9 to 5” aimed at those over 55 who have retired or are about to retire.

It can be found on “Information TV” (Sky 166 or Freesat 402) and is put together by Chris Gosling who runs the firm Serious Leisure TV from East Anglia. The programmes are low budget but very interesting and professionally put together, and obviously now need all the visibility they can get as they roll out their schedule.

55 is an interesting age to choose but we can fully understand why. There will be those who have retired and will appreciate the leisure aspects and also the injustices that some in retirement will have to face but there are many for whom retirement is not yet an option and those people will be looking for content of a differing nature. Advance notice of issues to come show that Chris is well aware of this and we look forward to watching the content develop.

Furthermore, there is also a networking site to back it up which is actively seeking feedback and suggestions from people regarding the direction the programmes should take – and even, maybe, the possibility of contributing to the programmes at some future date. Check it out and sign up at http://goodbye925.ning.com/.

We wish this venture every success and look forward to seeing it progress.

One size doesn’t fit all

Yesterday the Employers’ Forum on Age held their 2009 Conference and Awards.  An impressive line up of speakers including Trevor Phillips, Evan Harris and various leading academics addressed issues of age stereotyping and discrimination, flexible working and overall workplace equality.  The general message to be taken away was what we ourselves have long known and believed: legislation can only ever go so far. Now it has had time to bed down, real change must come from overhauling workplace cultures and changing attitudes at an individual level.

The day’s last and most inspiring presenter was Joe Staton from the Future Foundation who provided convincing and highly motivating evidence for the idea that despite the current bleak outlook older people would continue to thrive as a result of our own energy, ingenuity and enthusiasm. As he rightly pointed out, we have reinvented ourselves and society before, and we can do so again – particularly through encore careers and later life entrepreneurship.

Employers including Centrica, McDonalds, British Gas, First ScotRail and lawyers Addleshaw Goddard received awards for their work on age in the workplace. They were eloquently and elegantly presented by Joan Bakewell who, even if she does nothing more, represents a breathtaking and cheering role model for later life working.