The Voice of Much Older People

I’ve just caught up with reading Dame Joan Bakewell’s first Annual Report as the Voice of Older People. I like Joan and from what I read in the report it’s clear she’s putting a lot of effort into doing the best she can on a range of issues flagged up to her by, and relating to, “older people”.

However, as I initially suspected, these involve in the main, the concerns of the elderly – caring provision, health standards, sheltered housing, public loos. There is little in there representing the concerns of today’s average 50 to 70 year olds (apart from a section on retirement age). Yes, younger “older” people may have raised some of these issues but in relation to their parents or other “old” people, not themselves.

Dame Joan herself is aware of this anomaly and deals with it in the introduction to her report by stating “The term ‘older people’ is self defining. I believe that if you consider yourself to be ‘older’ then you are. It might be in your early fifties, it certainly applies to the over eighties.”  That’s a bit of an unhelpful explanation really. Of course if you’re in your early fifties you will see yourself as “older” than someone in their thirties or forties even though you may have similar interests and attitudes and not really look that much different. But do you consider yourself “older” in the same way as an eighty plus year old? I doubt it.

I have no issue with the good work that Joan is doing. I just wish she would adopt a more accurate title.

http://www.equalities.gov.uk/news/voice_of_older_people-_annual.aspx

I am not a number

A major piece of news in Scotland, published yesterday (see The Herald Scotland ), is that Glasgow City Council, for financial reasons, is looking to reduce its workforce by 4000 workers and will be seeking  to achieve much of this, initially at least, by a voluntary redundancy scheme aimed at the 3500 employees aged 50 plus.  

As a result of this, I was asked to appear on this morning’s edition of BBC Radio Scotland’s “Good Morning Scotland” to discuss some of the implications of this plan and the situation regarding older workers in general. Although the appearance was brief, any opportunity to re-iterate our concerns over such “initiatives” we see as very worthwhile.

It appears that the Council is concerned over whether this move is legal in age discrimination terms, and it is happy that it is, at least in its current form. While this may be so, it is certainly ageist, that is it reflects prejudicial attitudes towards older workers, stereotyping and the making of unwarranted age-based assumptions. It also emphasises employers’ pre-occupation, not with doing the best for their older employees but with not falling foul of the legislation.

As a response to its operational problems, in today’s environment the Council’s actions are crude, socially irresponsible and extremely unimaginative. It sees itself as able, with a little bit of sweetening, to wash its hands of the future well-being of large numbers of individuals and their families without considering the long term implications for these individuals in terms of future employment, financial well-being, health and feelings of self-worth, over a period which could easily stretch to 30 years, as living into one’s late eighties or nineties becomes a reasonable aspiration for the majority.

Some employees who “have their ducks in a row” will jump at the chance of pursuing other avenues, things they’ve planned for and saved for over many years. But many will be cast adrift without a paddle or a compass or an understanding of what they might be letting themselves in for. They don’t deserve this.

As today’s programme coincided with news of increased unemployment amongst the young the question was put that shouldn’t older workers give way to help younger ones? Firstly, those in their 50s, with all kinds of financial and family responsibilities, need employment as much as anyone else. Secondly, solving one injustice by creating another injustice does not seem a particularly intelligent way of moving things forward. Thirdly, research presented by the Equality and Human Rights Commission suggests that this is not a question of “young versus old” but of “skilled versus unskilled” and the removal of skilled and experienced older workers from the scene will not provide opportunities for the unskilled who form the main thrust of the problem at the younger end.

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

“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

What’s so special about 50+?

Oscar, the concessions site for the over 50s has launched a new award to coincide with UK Older Person’s Day and Grandparents’ Day which both take place this month. They’ve called them the Golden Owls and their purpose is to “find the cream of the over-50s”.  All well and good -  we strongly support the idea of promoting the position of older people and would always encourage the recognition of much needed role models for what being “over 50” is like these days.

But sadly, a closer look at the categories reveals that this is hardly likely to be the outcome. If you want to vote you can choose from:
•  THE EUREKA – most inspirational person of our time
•  THE ENDURANCE – longest-lasting celebrity
•  THE GIVER – Most worthy charity
•  THE INNOVATOR – Most recognised achievement in industry
•  THE OLYMPIAN – Outstanding contribution to sport
•  THE OWL – Lifetime Achievement Award

All of these are likely to produce the same old names representing the same old activities. What’s happened to the really meaningful stuff like:

The Feminist – the woman who has overcome ageist stereotypes

The Supporter – the individual from whatever sphere who has most helped the cause of older people

The Communicator – the writer, artist or commentator who has most clearly contributed to greater understanding about ageing in the twenty-first century

The Worker – the employee who sets the best example of what later life working can be

We’re sure there are plenty more categories that would be really worthwhile including those in areas such as caring, wisdom, and original thought. Why not let us know what you’d like to see?

In the meantime, as nominations close on October 15^th, you ‘ll have to be quick with the Golden Owls if you want to cast your vote.

Click here  to see more

A ton of things to sort out.

Research published in The Lancet and reported widely in the press this week (for more see www.inmyprime.info) predicts that about half of the children now being born in wealthier countries can expect to live to be 100 or more. Furthermore, with better and earlier medical intervention many of these later years can be free of serious disability. This Danish/German research adds more weight to the ever-growing need to address the issues surrounding population ageing and to acknowledge that the concept and definition of old age needs to be re-examined, mindsets changed and prejudices challenged.

The researchers have even suggested that the lifespans of people should now be considered in four stages: child, adult, young old age and old old age. This is something which those of us who specialise in the field have been banging on about for some time – it is just not possible to lump people who have reached a certain age all together and assume that they are elderly and that their active and useful lives have come to an end, along with their judgement, taste, ability to think for themselves and so on. We are talking about a 50-year time interval here – potentially half of one’s life. And if in “old old age” we can be independent and moderately healthy then what does it say for “young old age” or in my prime as we might describe it?

But living this long is not a “given”. It is dependent on many things – financial security, physical and mental well-being, a good reason to want to live that long, and adequate safety nets for when we might become old or infirm.

The serious debate is only just beginning.

 

 

National Olderpreneur Roadshow kicks off next week

It is now well-documented that people over 50 setting up their own businesses have a greater chance of success than any other age group. But, if you are contemplating doing this, where do you start?

Well, here is one answer. Over 50s with this idea in mind can come along to PRIME’s Olderpreneur Roadshow which kicks off in Bristol on 23 September. PRIME (The Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise) is the only national organisation that offers practical support to Over 50s considering setting up their own business or becoming self-employed and their Olderpreneur Roadshow is part of a practical package of support the charity offers Over 50s including a Business Club, Olderpreneur Loans Scheme and  Mentoring.

At the FREE roadshow anyone over 50 who wants to find out whether self-employment or setting up their own business might be for them, can come along. They will hear from local ‘olderpreneurs’ about their experiences, and from inspirational business speaker Tom Edge, author of “Age Is No Barrier”. They will also be able to quiz local business support organisations and network with other Over 50s wanting to start up on their own.

The Roadshow will run from now until early 2010 and after Bristol, it will move to Leeds on 14 October, Birmingham on 4 November, London on 10 November and Manchester on 9 December.

“The potential for economic growth partly driven by the Over 50s could be a big factor in the success of the UK’s businesses and in our future.  However, they need better targeted support and guidance. Many have care responsibilities.  A significant number have a health condition or a disability. Nevertheless, flexible working and a good work-life balance can be key to the Over 50s remaining in work, which is why self-employment or setting up their own business is such a good option”, says Laurie South, Chief Executive of PRIME.

For more information and /or to register for a free place visit; http://www.primebusinessclub.co.uk/events/