Research snapshot: Paid work
Fourteen National Seniors research reports published between 2008 and 2014 focused on older people and work.
The Let Pensioners Work campaign is a recent National Seniors initiative, but paid work has been in our organisation’s sights for some time.
National Seniors published 54 research reports between 2008 and 2014, and 14 of them (26%) focused on older people and paid work.
Two of our 2009 reports estimated the Australian economy experienced an annual economic loss of $10.8 billion for not employing older people who want to work.
They also calculated that the contribution of older people still in full-time work amounted to $56 billion per year.
A 2014 report recommended governments and industry encourage mature age workforce participation to alleviate declining growth in labour supply.
Most of the others explored barriers to work in one way or another.
For example, a 2013 report on age discrimination found that 16% of people in the labour market had been directly told they are too old for a job.
A 2010 report compared older and younger workers’ views on workplace initiatives to retain older workers, finding some stark differences.
And a report published in 2011 examined the impact of age-related stereotyping – or ‘stereotype threat’ – on work attitudes.
It reported that older people who had experienced high levels of age-related stereotype threat had poorer mental health, lower job satisfaction, and a greater desire to quit.
To find out more, browse and download any of our reports for free at nationalseniors.com.au/research/reports.
