Career aspirations of older workers: An Australian study

Abstract

Global challenges associated with the ageing workforce include lower levels of education and negative attitudes of older workers towards learning and covert age discrimination in the workplace. This report discusses initial findings from a survey of older workers employed in regional areas in Australia. The older workers surveyed were predominantly blue collar with low levels of formal education. Contrary to the stereotypical views, there were few attitude differences between older ( > 40 years) and younger workers ( £ 40 years). However, gender, education level and job type had a greater impact on attitudes in the older workers when compared to their younger colleagues.

The moderating effect of individual differences on the relationship between the framing of training and interest in training

“…Given that many countries in the world are struggling to find ways to keep an aging workforce engaged in continuing development (Pillay et al, 2006;Van Veldhoven & Dorenbosch, 2008), our finding that goal orientation is positively associated with interest in computer training framed as 'basic' for older individuals may have particular significance. Although goal orientation is often thought of as a stable individual difference (Deshon & Gillespie, 2005), there is research to suggest that goal orientation may be manipulated through framing.…”

“…Given that many countries in the world are struggling to find ways to keep an aging workforce engaged in continuing development (Pillay et al. , 2006; Van Veldhoven & Dorenbosch, 2008), our finding that goal orientation is positively associated with interest in computer training framed as ‘basic’ for older individuals may have particular significance.…”

Age and generational diversity in careers

“…In addition, women at age 50 have been suggested to have higher commitment to their work compared to men, who are often still motivated by financial reasons (Patrickson and Hartmann, 1996). However, it should be noted that other studies have failed to find any age differences in perceptions of career success in different age groups, concluding that education, gender and job type are stronger predictors of attitudes than age (Pillay et al, 2006).…”

Aging Workers and the Employee-Employer Relationship

“…Moreover, the demand for labor and skills is exceeding supply across diverse economic sectors (Armstrong-Stassen & Schlosser, 2008). Employers need to realize that the recruitment pool of the future will be disproportionately composed of aging workers, who are confronted with changing job requirements (Pillay, Kelly, & Tones, 2006). Therefore, it is important to facilitate the learning and development of aging workers.…”

“…For example, it is important that organizations provide enough resources such as internet, books or financial aids because these means support employees in their daily work and learning efforts (Ellinger, 2005). However, most employers do not invest in older workers and older employees rarely receive on-the-job training (Pillay et al, 2006;. In contrast, employers prefer to invest in young potentials as they are perceived as being more productive, adaptable and open to change (Maurer, Barbeite, Weiss & Lippstreu, 2008).…”