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Why employers should be hiring over-60s

<p>This age group is loyal, experienced and the fastest growing labour market in Australia, so why aren’t more employers hiring workers in their 50s and 60s? Here’s why they should.</p> <p>There has never been a better time for jobseekers in their 60s to jump back into the workforce, with the government announcing it will chip in $10,000 to business owners who employ workers over the age of 50. The decision to expand the senior employment incentive payment scheme was announced in the 2019 budget.</p> <p>This will see business owners receive $3000 followed by a second $3000 payment if they keep a mature worker in employment for 12 months. A further $2000 will be given to those who keep over-50s employed in the workplace for 18 months until a final payment of $2000 is provided if they employ the person for over two years.</p> <p>Heidi Holmes, managing director of jobs board for jobseekers over-45 <a href="http://adage.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adage.com.au</a>, says mature age workers offer a number of benefits to business owners. “Mature age workers offer a great return on investment for employers as they will reward employers with loyalty, increased productivity and also take less sick days,” she reveals. “Research has shown a mature age worker will stay with an organisation up to 2.5 times longer than a young employee.”</p> <p>Sydney-based retirement coach <a href="http://www.peterblackcoaching.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peter Black</a> agrees, adding that these workers are motivated to work because they’d like to continue learning and engaging with other people, as well as to boost their retirement savings.</p> <p><strong>A growing talent pool</strong> <br />It’s no secret that Australia’s population is ageing, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics predicting that by 2041 one in five people will be over 65 and seven per cent of the population will be over 80.</p> <p>Ms Holmes says employers can no longer afford to neglect this talent pool as the 45-plus market represents the fastest growing labour market segment in Australia. “Often employers haven’t considered the mature age workforce as a separate talent pool they need to target directly,” she explains.</p> <p>“Unconscious bias against mature age workers may also be playing a part in mature applicants being screened out of the application process. Hiring managers and recruiters need to be educated on the benefits mature age workers bring to the table in order to tackle any negative bias that may exist.”</p> <p>While illegal, age discrimination continues in Australia. The Fair Work Ombudsman welcomed a court ruling in April this year when two Thai restaurants on the Gold Coast were fined nearly $30,000 for telling a worker that he would be terminated on his 65th birthday. The worker had a good employment record at the restaurant over a number of years.</p> <p>Mr Black says age discrimination continues, as does misperceptions about the motivation of mature workers. “Younger managers and human resources professionals don’t appear to value experience. However, companies like Bunnings and the banks are recognising the value of older workers in communicating with front-line customers,” he explains.</p> <p>“Also, a declining pool of total workers due to baby boomers retiring over coming years will necessitate employers to relook mature workers to accommodate their growth needs.”</p> <p>Michael O’Neill, chief executive of consumer lobby group <a href="http://nationalseniors.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Seniors Australia</a>, is another industry representative who has been vocal in encouraging the government and the corporate sector to tackle community attitudes towards workers in their 50s and 60s, as well as promoting workplace flexibility.</p> <p>Currently, older job seekers are unemployed for an average of 71 weeks compared to younger workers with an average of 41 weeks. If there was just a five per cent increase in paid employment of Australians over age 55 it would add $48 billion to the economy a year, according to research by the Human Rights Commission.</p> <p><strong>More support is needed</strong><br />Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan says the government needs to do more to ensure older Australians will have the same opportunities as everyone else to access paid work. While the staggered $10,000 incentive for employers to hire a person over 50 is encouraging, it doesn’t shift the entrenched cultural attitudes and structural barriers that exclude older workers from the workforce.</p> <p>Training and development of older workers is important if people in their 50s and 60s are to have a chance of either remaining or returning to the workforce. On top of this, employers need to realise the benefits of maintaining their older workers for more years in the job.</p> <p>“This might require workplace flexibility and some retraining,” Commissioner Ryan explains. “Government has a role in supporting a more positive and productive approach to longer working lives.”</p> <p>It’s a win-win for both businesses and those looking for work. Unlike some workers in the younger generations, people over 50 place a higher value on job security and are motivated to perform to the best of their ability. This offers a great return on investment for employers, especially small businesses, who would not only benefit the most from the cash incentive but also from an employee who research shows stays in a job longer.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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10 ways New Zealand employers can turn the ‘great resignation’ into a ‘great recruitment’

<p>Internationally, and especially within the US, there has been a lot of talk about the so-called “<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/great-resignation-accelerating/620382/" target="_blank">great resignation</a>” – the trend seeing large numbers of workers leaving their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, having reevaluated their priorities or simply because there are more opportunities than ever before.</p> <p>While there isn’t enough firm data to confirm this is happening in New Zealand yet, there is little doubt a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/457103/skills-shortages-top-challenge-facing-company-bosses-survey" target="_blank">chronic skills shortage</a> has given workers more bargaining power. Perhaps not surprisingly, <a rel="noopener" href="https://news.aut.ac.nz/news/the-great-resignation,-nz-style" target="_blank">research</a> shows more and more workers are at least thinking about either changing or quitting their jobs since last year.</p> <p>But this phenomenon – defined as “turnover intentions” – could also fuel what we’re calling the “great recruitment”. After all, as physics teaches us, for every action there is a reaction.</p> <p>Calling it the great recruitment is obviously related to the sheer volume of recruitment activity that logically follows a great resignation. But it is also a reference to the related importance of a positive – great – recruitment experience for potential employees.</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435205/original/file-20211202-25-bujsov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /> <span class="caption"></span> <em><span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></em></p> <p><strong>Not a negative trend</strong></p> <p>Classic supply and demand principles tell us that if more workers are seeking greener employment pastures, there will be more ready-to-hire talent in the marketplace. For that reason alone, we urge organisations not to consider the great resignation a negative trend in the job market.</p> <p>Of course, to be successful the great recruitment must be supported by businesses that prioritise the recruitment process, from candidate care to the vetting and hiring team, to the use of technology and protecting the organisation’s reputation and brand.</p> <p>However, there are many practices that not only undermine but entirely defeat the positive potential of a great recruitment, including:</p> <ul> <li> <p>“<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/02/17/a-new-study-by-indeed-confirms-that-ghosting-during-the-hiring-process-has-hit-crisis-levels/?sh=7bdd556599c4" target="_blank">ghosting</a>”, where candidates apply for a role but get no response or experience a sudden silence part way through the process</p> </li> <li> <p>posting vague or corny job descriptions – “customer services expert” anyone? – that do nothing to excite or provide context for potential applicants</p> </li> <li> <p>relying too heavily on quasi-scientific personality profile tests and asking questions that are at best tokenistic, at worst discriminatory.</p> </li> </ul> <p><strong>Making recruitment great</strong></p> <p>We also see recruitment processes stumble at the last hurdle by engaging in Game of Thrones-style salary negotiations, where candidates feel like they’re challenging a noble family. This is particularly disadvantages <a rel="noopener" href="https://hbr.org/2020/07/stop-asking-job-candidates-for-their-salary-history" target="_blank">women</a> and <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.employeenetworks.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Pou-Matawaka-Final-Report-Ethnic-Pay-Gap-March-2019-for-release-.pdf" target="_blank">ethnic minorities</a>.</p> <p>How then to ensure your organisation is capturing the talent potential released by the great resignation and maximising the employment potential of the great recruitment? Here are our top 10 tips:</p> <ol> <li> <p>Choose your words carefully: write inspiring, authentic job advertisements. If your recruitment team can’t do it, get someone who can.</p> </li> <li> <p>Be realistic: create reasonable candidate specifications – wanting extreme levels of skill, attitude and experience is likely put off good candidates.</p> </li> <li> <p>Canvas others: when designing employee value propositions, get input from recruiters and current employees.</p> </li> <li> <p>Remember glass houses: recognise there is no such thing as perfect behaviour when using behavioural-based interview questions, especially given the organisation itself may be questionable in some of its conduct.</p> </li> <li> <p>Consider the context: give due consideration to reference check results – if a candidate’s last boss says he or she was disconnected in the end, perhaps it’s because they were already in a high state of turnover intention.</p> </li> <li> <p>Go back to the future: be open to hiring past employees. Initiatives such as alumni programmes can be used to connect with and recruit former employees.</p> </li> <li> <p>Know your team: be open to conversations about the attributes and attitudes of the person a successful candidate will be reporting to, and the team they will be working with.</p> </li> <li> <p>Be technology wise: use automated recruitment technology (such as SnapHire, JobAdder or QJumpers) to enhance – not replace – an integrated people-oriented recruitment experience.</p> </li> <li> <p>Provide <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/salary-most-important-part-job-ad.aspx" target="_blank">clear pay ranges</a>: if an applicant knows what the pay is from the outset, it saves everyone valuable time and energy.</p> </li> <li> <p>Be gracious: formally thank all candidates for applying – this can help ensure you retain them as future applicants and/or customers.</p> </li> </ol> <p><strong>Great expectations</strong></p> <p>With more talent in the market, those in recruitment will need to sharpen their games. Given much recruitment activity is outsourced and many recruiters will be booming in the current climate, organisational clients should have great expectations of recruitment professionals, too.</p> <p>Employees face enough challenges in their working lives without having to endure a recruitment experience that is anything less than great.</p> <p>Finally, the great recruitment must also account for future talent. Before we know it, the <a href="https://www.webwise.ie/parents/explainers/explained-what-is-roblox/">Roblox</a> generation will be hitting the workforce, already adept at digital creation and collaboration, and expecting similar things from recruiters.</p> <p>If we get it right, the great recruitment is a chance for employers to recast the great resignation as an opportunity for everyone to do better – now and into the future.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172952/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/candice-harris-611631" target="_blank">Candice Harris</a>, Professor of Management, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/auckland-university-of-technology-1137" target="_blank">Auckland University of Technology</a> and <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jarrod-haar-521652" target="_blank">Jarrod Haar</a>, Professor of Human Resource Management, <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/auckland-university-of-technology-1137" target="_blank">Auckland University of Technology</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/10-ways-new-zealand-employers-can-turn-the-great-resignation-into-a-great-recruitment-172952" target="_blank">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Money & Banking

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“I want to serve time in jail”: Accountant confesses to stealing $500k from employer

<p>A former accountant who stole more than half a million dollars from her employer to fund her extravagant lifestyle has been jailed after telling police she wanted to spend time in prison.</p> <p>Donna Zanin, 42, was ordered to serve two years and three months behind bars on Tuesday after she admitted to siphoning $551,451 from the company’s finances.</p> <p>The accountant pleaded guilty last month to six counts of theft, which was carried out in 57 individual transactions ranging from $2,000 to over $20,000 between November 2014 and January 2019.</p> <p>Zanin had been the only financial manager at the Schnitz food chain until she was made redundant in a 2018 company restructure. She was later re-hired on a contract basis.</p> <p>The new financial head Regan Cheriton noticed the suspicious transactions and told Zanin on June 6, 2019 that he was working with ANZ to investigate them.</p> <p>Zanin confessed to the thefts at Richmond police station the day after, showing the 34 international flights bought with the stolen funds on her passport.</p> <p>She also sent an apology text to Schnitz founder Roman Dyduk, saying: “I’ve decided I’m ruining my life and have been enacting a plan to ruin my life for some time.</p> <p>“I sound insane but I will serve time in jail. I want to serve time in jail. I’m at the police station now confessing.”</p> <p>County Court judge David Sexton said while Zanin showed significant remorse, he was “somewhat bewildered” by her explanation.</p> <p>“You told police in that interview that you had been stealing money from your workplace for an extended period of time and you had been waiting to get caught,” he said in the Melbourne County Court on Tuesday, as reported by <em><a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/schnitz-accountant-stole-500k-told-cops-she-wanted-to-go-to-jail-20200630-p557md.html">The Age</a></em>.</p> <p>“You had spent the money mostly on extravagant holidays, expensive restaurants, alcohol.</p> <p>“You also provided a sustained and detailed narrative about wanting to get caught, wanting to self-sabotage, purposefully stealing an extreme amount of money and knowing you would probably go to jail.”</p> <p>Judge Sexton said Zanin’s offending was a significant breach of trust and seriously affected the family business Dyduk built with his sons.</p> <p>Zanin will be eligible for parole after 16 months.</p>

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About that spare room: employers requisitioned our homes and our time

<p>Working from home during COVID-19 appeared to cost us little.</p> <p>Yet employers effectively requisitioned part of those homes.</p> <p>While necessary, it was far from costless to us, and our generosity shouldn’t be taken for granted.</p> <p>Bureau of Statistics figures show that during April and May about <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/4940.0Main%20Features229%20Apr%20-%204%20May%202020?opendocument&amp;tabname=Summary&amp;prodno=4940.0&amp;issue=29%20Apr%20-%204%20May%202020&amp;num=&amp;view=">half</a> the workforce worked from home.</p> <p><strong>Working at home has been far from costless</strong></p> <p>Preliminary results from a survey of more than <a href="https://melbourneuni.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8d0AaumfQREdjYp">2,000 households</a> suggest paid workers put in about as many paid hours per day as before (half to one hour less) but that unpaid work skyrocketed, by an extra <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-24/coronavirus-has-set-back-progress-for-women-workplace-equality/12268742">five hours</a> per day for women, and an extra two and a half hours for men.</p> <p>Much of the increase was in childcare. <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4940.0">Three in four</a> Australians who live with children kept them home.</p> <p>Some of it was in extra cleaning and washing, costs that for the moment (along with, for some workplaces, rent) many employers no longer needed to bear.</p> <p>Few of us working from home will bother to bill our employers for the extra heating, office furniture, office consumables, home phone and internet use, toilet paper and coffee we’ve had to fork out for.</p> <p>The Tax Office has indicated it will <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-07/claiming-tax-deductions-for-working-from-home-coronavirus-ato/12128622">disallow</a> deductions for tea, coffee and toilet paper saying, “just because you have to provide those things for yourself doesn’t make them deductible”.</p> <p>Akin to the requisitioning of assets permitted by the state in emergencies, employers have in effect requisitioned parts of our homes – rent free and without paying utility costs.</p> <p>With more people using each home, and more meals cooked and eaten at home, time in the kitchen has soared. As supermarket shopping has become less appealing, <a href="https://www.finder.com.au/best-breadmakers">consumer durables such as bread-makers</a> and freezers have been brought in. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-10/gardening-australia-costa-georgiadis-tips-for-covid-19-isolation/12132902">Backyard vegetable gardens and chicken runs</a> have popped up.</p> <p>Most of the extra work has fallen to women. Surveys often understate it by asking only about the “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/D_Ironmonger/publication/267420848_There_are_only_24_Hours_in_a_Day_Solving_the_problematic_of_simultaneous_time/links/547562780cf2778985aecbd2/There-are-only-24-Hours-in-a-Day-Solving-the-problematic-of-simultaneous-time.pdf">primary</a>” activity in each quarter hour block rather than secondary activities (which often include childcare) undertaken at the same time. Multitasking intensifies work.</p> <p><strong>How do we make it count?</strong></p> <p>In an explosive book released more than 30 years ago entitled <a href="https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/counting-for-nothing">Counting for Nothing</a>, New Zealand politician and economist Marilyn Waring described the dominant method of accounting for work as “<a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2018/may/1525096800/anne-manne/making-women-s-unpaid-work-count#mtr">applied patriarchy</a>”.</p> <p>The tool is gross domestic product (GDP), a measure that mostly only takes account of work that is paid.</p> <p>The point was that unpaid household work and care counted for nothing.</p> <p>Since then, time use surveys have found that non-market household production is very large – in Australia, equivalent to an extra <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/PrimaryMainFeatures/5202.0?OpenDocument">half</a> of GDP.</p> <p>This matters, because its exclusion allows GDP to give us a distorted idea of progress.</p> <p>In each normal year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecasts growth in developed nations of between 2% and 4%.</p> <p>That’s growth in gross domestic product. OECD calculations released in 2018 suggest that as much as a <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/including-unpaid-household-activities_bc9d30dc-en">third</a> of that growth – 0.84 to 1.79 percentage points – is an artefact, created by the shift from what had been <a href="https://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=1457">unpaid household work and childcare</a> into to paid household work and childcare.</p> <p>That is, the official figures have presented a mirage. Parents have replaced unpaid childcare – which is not counted in GDP – with paid childcare, which is counted.</p> <p>The switch has been recorded as “growth”, but it hasn’t been growth in work done or services provided. It is better described as accounting rather than economic growth.</p> <p>If the accounting was done properly – if countries such Australia properly counted the value of unpaid household and services – it would show much lower growth and more frequent recessions.</p> <p>And if our environment and resources (another omission except when they are exploited) had been properly accounted for, GDP growth would be lower again.</p> <p>The household services artefact has been reversed during the COVID-19 lockdown. Many of us have been doing as much or more than we did, but less of it has been counted.</p> <p>As it happens, the value of services provided by the home itself are included in GDP, through rent for renters and “imputed rent” for home owners. Home-grown produce is included as well, but unpaid human-provided services are not.</p> <p><strong>It’s as if it didn’t happen</strong></p> <p>The weak <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-economy-in-7-graphs-how-a-tightening-of-wallets-pushed-australia-into-recession-139960">March quarter GDP result</a> strengthened calls for extra spending on infrastructure – things such as <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/miners-urge-company-tax-cut-to-spark-investment-boom/news-story/15c64624989f6823b2104b23aa0950d0">mines</a>, <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/gas-action-plan-sets-up-clash-over-price-20200528-p54x69">pipelines</a> and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/super-bid-for-melbourne-airport-rail-set-to-fail-despite-treasurer-s-push-20200610-p5516g.html">fast trains to airports</a>.</p> <p>Days later the prime minister announced that childcare would no longer be free and JobKeeper for childcare workers would be replaced by a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-08/free-childcare-coronavirus-support-to-end-july/12332066">less generous subsidy</a>.</p> <p>It’s not what might have been expected after a historic opportunity to rethink productivity and wellbeing. Putting money into the care sector creates <a href="https://wbg.org.uk/analysis/investing-2-of-gdp-in-care-industries-could-create-1-5-million-jobs/">twice as many jobs per dollar</a> as putting it into construction. A higher proportion of investment in the care sector also flows to women, whose paid work has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/which-jobs-are-most-at-risk-from-the-coronavirus-shutdown-134680">disproportionately hit by the shutdown</a>.</p> <p>Things that would help include increased worker protection against <a href="https://www.futurework.org.au/working_from_home_in_a_pandemic_opportunities_and_risks">white collar sweatshops</a>), expanded and reconfigured tax deductions for working from home, a paid allowance for <a href="https://www.genvic.org.au/media-releases/parents-victoria-and-gender-equity-victoria-call-for-home-school-allowance/">home schooling costs</a> during the shutdown and a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/jacinda-ardern-flags-four-day-working-week-as-way-to-rebuild-new-zealand-after-covid-19">shorter working week</a> to rebalance roles at home.</p> <p>Behind everything should lie proper accounting for care work. Without it we are likely to continue to rely on the generosity of unpaid working women, acting as if it is free.</p> <p><em>Written by Julie P. Smith and Fiona Jenkins. Republished with permission <a href="https://theconversation.com/about-that-spare-room-employers-requisitioned-our-homes-and-our-time-139854">of The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

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How to overcome 3 common barriers to mature age employment

<p><span><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/welcome-to-the-minefield-that-is-21st-century-retirement-20190409-p51c98.html">Retirement isn’t for everyone</a>. Growing numbers of Australians have consciously decided to <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/australians-delaying-age-of-retirement-working-longer/news-story/3fa00e382d5dc98a804a99536535505e">continue working</a>, although they are old enough to retire Some realise they are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/too-poor-to-retire-more-australians-than-ever-will-work-past-70-20160408-go1ubf.html">too poor to retire</a>. Some have retired, but have become bored with the retired lifestyle. They’ve decided to come out of retirement and return to work.</span></p> <p><span>Some seniors are facing obstacles to continued employment after retirement age, despite the fact that experts have documented how older workers could significantly <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/retirement-income/older-workforce-could-boost-australia-economy/">boost Australia’s economy</a>. Common <a href="https://nationalseniors.com.au/uploads/201208_PACReport_Research_BarriersMatureAgeEmployment_Full_1.pdf">barriers to mature age employment</a> include the following:</span></p> <ul> <li><span> </span><span>Illness, Injury and Disability</span></li> <li><span> </span><span>Outdated Skills</span></li> <li><span> </span><span>Age Discrimination</span></li> </ul> <p><span>Let’s discuss solutions for these common problems senior Australians face as they seek to remain in the workforce.</span></p> <p><strong><span>How to prevent a disability that could keep you from working</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/body/back-pain-explained/">Lower back pain</a> is one of the most prominent <a href="https://www.woombyechiro.com.au/single-post/2017/05/18/Lower-Back-Pain---top-causes-of-Disability">causes of disability</a> in Australia. According to <a href="https://physioworks.com.au/Injuries-Conditions/Regions/lower_back_pain">J. Miller and Z. Russell at Physioworks</a>, lower back pain is one of the most frequent reasons Australians miss work or seek a doctor’s care.  So educating yourself about how to prevent lower back injuries is one step you can take to empower yourself to remain in the workforce longer. </span></p> <p><span>We’ve posted a helpful list of things you can do to <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/body/beat-lower-back-pain/">prevent lower back pain</a>. Familiarizing yourself with the items on this list, and implementing these suggestions, could help you to prevent serious lower back injury.</span></p> <p><span>Researchers have determined that people who stick to a regular exercise programme endure less back pain. In general, regular exercise is an important key to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12424867">preventing and treating</a> a broad variety of injuries and disabilities. If your goal is to continue working past retirement age, it is essential for you to implement and adhere to an <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/retirement-life/the-exercises-you-need-to-do-to-stay-fit-over-60">exercise programme</a> that includes aerobic activity, strength training, and balance building exercises. </span></p> <p><span>If you’ve previously been sedentary, it’s wise to speak with your GP about this. Your GP is well equipped to advise you on how to incorporate a selection of proper exercises into your daily routine.</span></p> <p><strong><span>How to overcome outdated skills</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/the-secret-to-lifelong-success-is-lifelong-learning">“Lifelong learning”</a> has become one of the most vital buzzword phrases of the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/continuous-learning-changing-world-work/">fourth industrial revolution</a>. </span></p> <p><span>In the past, it was standard for people to gain education in childhood and young adulthood. Then, later in adulthood, people applied what they’d studied as they pursued careers where that education could be put to good use.</span></p> <p><span>Experts at the World Economic Forum are warning us that this clear-cut transition from academic life to work life is fading. This is because shifting technologies are now creating constant demand for workers to acquire new skills. This, in turn, is making old skills obsolete at a rapid pace.</span></p> <p><span>Nowadays, what you know is becoming less relevant to remaining employable than ever before – because in the current technologically driven environment, much of what you know will inevitably become outdated soon. Today, your capacity to learn new skills is a critical key to remaining employable.</span></p> <p><span>Formal training is the most straightforward way to acquire the skills you may need for continuing to be employable. <a href="https://www.training.com.au/">College and university courses</a> are available for every type of instruction you could possibly desire. This could be an especially beneficial option for you if you never earned a university degree in the first place.</span></p> <p><span>Some other possible ideas for <a href="https://www.hays.com.au/blog/jane-mcneill/HAYS_1380884">upskilling</a> include participating in webinars, listening to podcasts, attending live events, starting a blog, reading and participating in social media.</span></p> <p><strong><span>How to combat age discrimination</span></strong></p> <p><span><a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/age-discrimination-in-the-workplace-and-how-it-affects-you">Age discrimination</a> is a <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/people-human-resources/recruitment-hiring/ageism-employers-illegally-specify-age-limit-job-applications/">sad reality</a> that some older Australians are dealing with – despite the fact that ageism is illegal in Australia. The relevant law is the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00341">Age Discrimination Act 2004</a>. According to this legislation, it is unlawful to discriminate against individuals on the basis of their age.</span></p> <p><span><a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/age-discrimination/publications/know-your-rights-age-discrimination-2012">Knowing your rights</a> is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself from age discrimination. Australian law specifies that employers must give fair consideration to all applicants for all jobs, apprenticeships and traineeships, regardless of age. Employers may not refuse to hire you or consider you for a job on the basis of your age.</span></p> <p><span>Additionally, you can <a href="https://www.cio.com.au/article/576064/7-ways-mitigate-age-discrimination-your-job-search/">mitigate age discrimination</a> by choosing stylish, up-to-date clothing to wear to work; emphasizing all your relevant work experience; leveraging your professional network; and looking for a senior-friendly company that would be an excellent cultural fit for your skills and expertise.</span></p> <p><span>Of course, these are not the only barriers you may face as you seek to remain employed past retirement age – but these are 3 of the most common obstacles senior citizens must typically overcome as they pursue ongoing employment. If you can successfully overcome these hurdles, there are many <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/partner-content/articles/how-hiring-older-workers-is-good-for-business/">benefits</a> to your continued employment – both for you, and for your employer, who will benefit from your lifetime’s worth of accumulated expertise.</span></p>

Retirement Life

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Why employers should be hiring over-60s

<p>This age group is loyal, experienced and the fastest growing labour market in Australia, so why aren’t more employers hiring workers in their 50s and 60s? Here’s why they should.</p><p>There has never been a better time for jobseekers in their 60s to jump back into the workforce, with the government announcing it will chip in $10,000 to business owners who employ workers over the age of 50. The decision to expand the senior employment incentive payment scheme was announced in the May budget.</p><p>This will see business owners receive $3000 followed by a second $3000 payment if they keep a mature worker in employment for 12 months. A further $2000 will be given to those who keep over-50s employed in the workplace for 18 months until a final payment of $2000 is provided if they employ the person for over two years.</p><p>Heidi Holmes, managing director of jobs board for jobseekers over-45 <a href="http://adage.com.au/" target="_blank">Adage.com.au</a>, says mature age workers offer a number of benefits to business owners. “Mature age workers offer a great return on investment for employers as they will reward employers with loyalty, increased productivity and also take less sick days,” she reveals. “Research has shown a mature age worker will stay with an organisation up to 2.5 times longer than a young employee.”</p><p>Sydney-based retirement coach <a href="http://www.peterblackcoaching.com/" target="_blank">Peter Black</a> agrees, adding that these workers are motivated to work because they’d like to continue learning and engaging with other people, as well as to boost their retirement savings.</p><p><strong>A growing talent pool</strong> <br>It’s no secret that Australia’s population is ageing, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics predicting that by 2041 one in five people will be over 65 and seven per cent of the population will be over 80.</p><p>Ms Holmes says employers can no longer afford to neglect this talent pool as the 45-plus market represents the fastest growing labour market segment in Australia. “Often employers haven’t considered the mature age workforce as a separate talent pool they need to target directly,” she explains.</p><p>“Unconscious bias against mature age workers may also be playing a part in mature applicants being screened out of the application process. Hiring managers and recruiters need to be educated on the benefits mature age workers bring to the table in order to tackle any negative bias that may exist.”</p><p>While illegal, age discrimination continues in Australia. The Fair Work Ombudsman welcomed a court ruling in April this year when two Thai restaurants on the Gold Coast were fined nearly $30,000 for telling a worker that he would be terminated on his 65th birthday. The worker had a good employment record at the restaurant over a number of years.</p><p>Mr Black says age discrimination continues, as does misperceptions about the motivation of mature workers. “Younger managers and human resources professionals don’t appear to value experience. However, companies like Bunnings and the banks are recognising the value of older workers in communicating with front-line customers,” he explains.</p><p>“Also, a declining pool of total workers due to baby boomers retiring over coming years will necessitate employers to relook mature workers to accommodate their growth needs.”</p><p>Michael O’Neill, chief executive of consumer lobby group <a href="http://nationalseniors.com.au/" target="_blank">National Seniors Australia</a>, is another industry representative who has been vocal in encouraging the government and the corporate sector to tackle community attitudes towards workers in their 50s and 60s, as well as promoting workplace flexibility.</p><p>Currently, older job seekers are unemployed for an average of 71 weeks compared to younger workers with an average of 41 weeks. If there was just a five per cent increase in paid employment of Australians over age 55 it would add $48 billion to the economy a year, according to research by the Human Rights Commission.</p><p><strong>More support is needed</strong><br>Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan says the government needs to do more to ensure older Australians will have the same opportunities as everyone else to access paid work. While the staggered $10,000 incentive for employers to hire a person over 50 is encouraging, it doesn’t shift the entrenched cultural attitudes and structural barriers that exclude older workers from the workforce.</p><p>Training and development of older workers is important if people in their 50s and 60s are to have a chance of either remaining or returning to the workforce. On top of this, employers need to realise the benefits of maintaining their older workers for more years in the job.</p><p>“This might require workplace flexibility and some retraining,” Commissioner Ryan explains. “Government has a role in supporting a more positive and productive approach to longer working lives.”</p><p>It’s a win-win for both businesses and those looking for work. Unlike some workers in the younger generations, people over 50 place a higher value on job security and are motivated to perform to the best of their ability. This offers a great return on investment for employers, especially small businesses, who would not only benefit the most from the cash incentive but also from an employee who research shows stays in a job longer.</p>

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