Tag: retirement

Transferring the Knowledge

On By Dr Peter McIlveenIn BlogsLeave a comment

Do you know of anyone at 65 years of age or over, who is either retired,  performing (or interested in) volunteer work or paid work, or any of these combined?

ACCELL doctoral candidate Jennifer Luke is currently investigating the career support needs of those in retirement who re-engage in work (paid or volunteer) as well as those who never stopped working. What are the adaptabilities, generativity, and level of interest in mentoring of this cohort?

With a recent successful survey of post-retirement age participants within the UK, Jennifer is now seeking Australian and New Zealand survey participants who are 65 years of age or over.

The aim of this current research survey is to learn about participants’ beliefs regarding work, being recognised in society, and sharing their knowledge with others.

The survey takes, on average, approximately 10 minutes. If you are willing to contribute or know of someone who would be, here is the link:

https://surveys.usq.edu.au/index.php/828454?lang=en

Ageing is not about decline; it is about growth. Ageing creates opportunities and mature workers are not burdens. They are valuable contributors with experience and knowledge to give.

With the focus on mentorship by older workers as a solution for retaining skills within the workforce, the proposed outcome of this research project is to provide valuable information for future career interventions and guidance for this age cohort.

This research project has ethical approval from the University of Southern Queensland (Human Research Ethics Approval Number – H17REA101) and all survey responses are anonymous. For more information contact Jennifer.Luke@usq.edu.au

A Career Check Up for Mature Workers

On By Dr Peter McIlveenIn BlogsLeave a comment
Mature workers are remaining in the workforce or deciding to return to work after retirement. ACCELL’s doctoral researcher Jennifer Luke is investigating the post-retirement work of members of the community.  This PhD research project is an exploration of individuals’ motivations and career adaptability. How do these valuable members of society regenerate their experience and skills for a multi-generational workforce?

Mature Workers Discover More Options

Recently, Jennifer presented a workshop at the “Career Check Up Expo for Mature Workers” in Ballina, NSW.  The Expo is an initiative of the IRT Foundation in partnership with the NSW Government, and endorsed by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Continue reading “A Career Check Up for Mature Workers” →

Career Adaptability in Retirees

On By Dr Peter McIlveenIn BlogsLeave a comment

Retirees returning to the workplace is not so unusual and there doing so is not always about meeting financial needs. Our research using in-depth interviews with 22 retirees of different working backgrounds, ranging from corporate professionals through to semi-skilled labourers, revealed consistent patterns and themes in the results. We found the qualities of “career adaptability” in these retirees who had returned to work. What is interesting about this finding is that career adaptability is not often thought of as a psychological strength within older folk; more often, it is associated with younger people entering into the world of work and adults surviving or, hopefully, thriving in their daily grind.

Dimensions of Career Adaptability

Measures of career adaptability tap four psychological dimensions: a future orientation to working (concern), a sense of feeling autonomy over work tasks (control), interest in learning and developing new skills and knowledge (curiosity), and feeling positive about one’s ability to contribute to a workplace (confidence).

The figure below depicts the links among the themes revealed in the interviews and it shows that career adaptability is connected up to all major themes.

Consider the example of two retired sheep shearers who returned to work as roustabouts in shearing sheds. Fit as fiddles, these two decided to job-share, splitting the tasks of this demanding labouring job between themselves, depending on their physical capacities (e.g., one’s arthritic knee and the other’s arthritic back). Why? Because working hard gives them a sense of satisfaction and meaning more than any other activity.

Implications for Workplaces and Policy

Policy makers and employers should note that older workers’ interests, needs, and reasons for working may be very different to those of younger workers. Indeed, a proven approach to attracting and retaining younger employees may not be as effective for older workers. Instead, harnessing older workers’ career adaptability and how they wish to express it may be just the thing to refresh motivation and restore dignity in the workplace.

This blog article is an extract from:

Luke, J., McIlveen, P., & Perera, H. N. (2016). A thematic analysis of career adaptability in retirees who return to work. Frontiers in Psychology. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00193