by Marian Baird AO, CEPAR Chief Investigator and Professor of Gender and Employment Relations, The University of Sydney
This time last year the Australian economy was feeling the full impact of COVID-19 in terms of businesses closing and in relation to changed working and caring arrangements. Both younger workers in their twenties and older workers over 60 were hit the hardest, with workers over the age of 70 being most severely affected.[1] Female-dominated industries such as hospitality, education and retail were disproportionately affected by COVID shut downs and women took on a greater share of caring, while still working from home.
A year later, in April 2021, we see mature workers are struggling to gain re-employment as the economy rebounds.[2] Mature workers also include those in the ‘younger’ age group of 45-60, a group that has significant mortgage and other expenses but who according to the Brotherhood of St Laurence are “too old to work and too young to retire”.[3]
The stress of dual caring and working roles, particularly for women, the need for upskilling for mature workers, and for employer policies to positively engage with older workers is essential as the economy comes out of the COVID enforced recession. The OECD predicts that unless there are more incentives to keep older people in the paid workforce ‘the number of inactive people who will need to be supported by each worker could rise by about 40% between 2018 and 2050 on average’ in OECD nations.[4] Furthermore, as issues of ageing and care become more pronounced in Australia, how to balance the provision of informal care and working is of paramount concern.
These are some of the challenges and issues to be explored in the upcoming Policy Dialogue – ‘Mature Workers in Organisations: Emerging Policy Issues for a Productive Future’ to be held in Canberra on 10 June 2021, jointly hosted with the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA) in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University.
The dialogue brings together researchers from CEPAR, leading international experts, policymakers, industry representatives, and researchers to consider current and future challenges of the ageing workforce. Some of the topics for discussion include:
- Workforce demographics: Shifts in mature workforce participation and employment
- Policy contexts for a changing world: Regulatory context in Australia and innovations at the workplace level
- International lessons and experiences
- A healthy and high performing mature workforce: Inclusion, individualisation and integration strategies in Australian workplaces
- COVID-19 and mature workers
- Australian workplace examples
We welcome all our CEPAR colleagues and their invitees to join the Policy Dialogue on Mature Workers in Organisations: Emerging Policy Issues for a Productive Future on 10 June.
[1] https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2021/COVID-19-Stat_Snapshot
[2] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-06/older-middle-aged-workers-struggle-with-career-change-covid/13017622