Older Workers in an Ageing Society
Critical Topics in Research and Policy
Edited by Philip Taylor
Prolonging working lives is high on the agenda of policy makers in most of the world’s major industrialized nations. This book explains how they are keen to tackle issues associated with the ageing of populations, namely the funding of pension systems and predictions concerning a dwindling labour supply. Yet the recent history of older workers has primarily been one of premature exit from the labour force in the form of redundancy or early retirement. Add to this a previously plentiful supply of younger labour and it is clear that much of industry will be unprepared for the challenges of ageing workforces.
Ageing Labour Forces
Promises and Prospects
Edited by Philip Taylor
This provocative book considers the changing status of older workers, the evolution of public policy on age and work and the behaviour of employers. It attempts to answer the critical question: in an ageing society, can older workers look forward to the prospect of longer working lives with choice and security and make successful transitions to retirement?
Philip Taylor and Christopher McLoughlin
Philip Taylor, Catherine Earl, Elizabeth Brooke and Christopher McLoughlin
Chapter 3 outlines the three themes that framed the research: the meaning, centrality and role of paid work; career management and development; and barriers to remaining in or entering the labour market. It describes the methodological approach taken in a large mixed methods project: a quantitative survey of older women, follow-up qualitative interviews with a subset of these women, and qualitative interviews with human resource managers and stakeholders. This chapter also describes the characteristics of the women who participated in the survey and introduces the women by means of a small number of vignettes.