Extending working life and the management of change. Is the workplace ready for the ageing worker?

David Wainwright,Sarah Vickerstaff,Mark Robinson,Wendy Loretto,Andrew Weyman,Christopher Phillipson,Joanne Crawford,Sue Shepherd

doi:10.1017/s0144686x18000569

Abstract

AbstractIncreasing longevity and the strain on state and occupational pensions have brought into question long-held assumptions about the age of retirement, and raised the prospect of a workplace populated by ageing workers. In the United Kingdom the default retirement age has gone, incremental increases in state pension age are being implemented and ageism has been added to workplace anti-discrimination laws. These changes are yet to bring about the anticipated transformation in workplace demographics, but it is coming, making it timely to ask if the workplace is ready for the ageing worker and how the extension of working life will be managed. We report findings from qualitative case studies of five large organisations located in the United Kingdom. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with employees, line managers, occupational health staff and human resources managers. Our findings reveal a high degree of uncertainty and ambivalence among workers and managers regarding the desirability and feasibility of extending working life; wide variations in how older workers are managed within workplaces; a gap between policies and practices; and evidence that while casualisation might be experienced negatively by younger workers, it may be viewed positively by financially secure older workers seeking flexibility. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges facing employers and policy makers in making the modern workplace fit for the ageing worker.

Highlights

The extending working lives (EWL) agenda has been around for over 15 years in the United Kingdom (UK)
This article assesses the extent to which the changing policy landscape is feeding through into different employment practices for older workers. It begins with a review of national policy changes and the extent to which they have led to an extension of working life; we consider the changing role of employers in managing older workers and determining the transition to retirement; third, we introduce the case studies which provide the empirical basis for the article; fourth, we look at organisational practice through the lens of the key policy changes; and we conclude with a discussion of the challenges facing employers and policy makers in managing the transition to EWL
While we found examples of employees who expected to work beyond the old retirement age, we were surprised by how deeply entrenched the traditional retirement age was, with notions of ‘going early’ or ‘staying on’ calibrated around the traditional age of retirement, as if the ages of 65 for men and 60 for women were a naturally determined point at which to withdraw from paid employment

Summary

Introduction

The extending working lives (EWL) agenda has been around for over 15 years in the United Kingdom (UK). It begins with a review of national policy changes and the extent to which they have led to an extension of working life; we consider the changing role of employers in managing older workers and determining the transition to retirement; third, we introduce the case studies which provide the empirical basis for the article; fourth, we look at organisational practice through the lens of the key policy changes; and we conclude with a discussion of the challenges facing employers and policy makers in managing the transition to EWL

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion