Motivating Retired Workers Returning to Work - Term Paper Example

?Running head: MOTIVATING RETIRED WORKERS Motivating Retired Workers Returning to work Outline I. Introduction A. advantage of hiring retired workers B. shortage in workforce-need for elderly people II. Motivations for the Retired Person A. Average age of people in US B. work pattern after retirement III. Kind of Work that Motivates Retired People A. Nature of jobs suitable for retired people B. What attracts them to work III. Conclusion Introduction Many of the enterprises, especially the small firms who cannot afford talented brains from the top notch universities prefer hiring retired people for performing the jobs. These companies benefit from the experience that the retired people bring to the table. According to Salatzar (1993), the retired workers have less ambition than the young workers and therefore are comfortable in the position they work for. Therefore these workers prove to be an asset for the company. Pearsall, a retired worker who rejoined the workforce have mentioned that experience in diverse subjects have assisted him to return to the workforce easily. However Cassidy, vice president for Concurrent Computers have mentioned that the biggest advantage of recruiting retired workers is that they have prior knowledge of the situation. Therefore if the situation happens to be something out of the usual the retired worker will have a higher chance of having prior experience about such situations and will be more at ease to handle the problem. There are several companies like Concurrent Computers that have preferred retired workers in their labor force. It is also necessary for many of the countries like United States to retain the aged people to their workforce because of their demographic nature. In 2002 the number of old people working or seeking work in United States was 62.9%. This is a result of the average age of the country which is very high. Apart from the need that arises due to the shortage in the workforce there is also a need of the retired people due to their expertise and skills in their profession. Moreover the average life span of the population in the developed countries has increased substantially and many people in the retiring age are perfectly healthy to work. Under such circumstances many of the companies and policy makers are looking for ideas to attract the retired workers back to the workforce. Motivations for the Retired Person Estimation by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics show that more than one fourth of the country’s labor force would reach their age of retirement in 2010. This would lead to a huge shortfall in the labor force. Another estimate by the United States Census Bureau suggests that 73% of the people in the population will have the age 55 or higher in 2020. It also suggests that the increase in the number of young workers in the labor force will be only 5% during the same time. Alan Price (2007, p 429) gives an estimate of 25% of the people in the workforce having an age of 50 or more in 2020. According to another statistic in 2030, 20% of the people in the country will have an age of 65 or higher. Under these circumstances it becomes imperative for the country to motivate the retired people back to their profession in order keep the economy going and sustain the targeted growth (Lockwood, 2003, p.3). Entrepreneurial efforts by the older people have doubles chances of success than the young people (Price, 2007, p.429). A survey was conducted by Metlife to comprehend the work pattern of the people after retirement. A number of people explained their motivation to return to the workforce. The survey showed that the motivation for returning to work varied according to age group. According to the people in their late sixties economic reasons were the main motivating factor for joining the workforce. It has often been seen after retirement the investments and the pensions are insufficient for the retired people to sustain their previous standard of living. Along with that perfect working capabilities moves these people to find another job after retirement. Almost 72% of the people cited such reasons along with 60% of the people in their early seventies. A major proportion also mentioned that they were looking for new jobs in order to stay active and have some engagement. Many people after retirement gets bored of their new found leisure and wants to keep involved in some activity. According to Beth Kowitt (2010) after retirement the person gets approximately 25 years of free time which can turn out to be very boring for the person. Getting a job helps these people to get rid of their boredom and make an income at the same time. A big motivating factor for these people trying to get rid of boredom is to find a job that seems meaningful to them. People in their late seventies have also looked for employment in order to keep involved and give a meaning to their life. The incentive to interact and socialize with other people has also attracted a large number of people in the age group 65-70 (Price, 2007, p.429). Kind of Work that Motivates Retired People Alan Price (2007, p.430) gives a summary of the different work profiles that have interested the retired people. After retirement a large number of people try to experiment with the work they have cherished or dreamt they would do. Without any financial constraint and with the physical ability to experiment a large number of people in their early seventies have responded that they will like to try a job that is new and different from the rest. These people will like to explore the freedom they got after retirement. Some of the people also said that they will like to like to have some entrepreneurial startups of their own. It was also seen that as the age group increased more and more people were interested in entrepreneurial activities. This showed that these people will like to work on their own and would less prefer working for someone else. The trend reflects the retired people’ longing for experimentation and to work out of their usual domain they have worked their entire life. It also shows the flexibility in their desire to try out of their zone of expertise and comfort. This inclination of the people towards experimentation and initiative projects can benefit a company with plans for exploring new dimensions. The study also reflects the necessary changes the recruiters must adopt in order to employ and retain the aged people in their company. Many of the respondents also mentioned that financial reasons have compelled them to look for a job after retirement. Some of the people have also mentioned that after retirement they had very little resources except for the social security provided by the government to fall back on. Apart from that the recession has led to the depletion of the investment portfolios of many of the retired people. This has forced these retired people to contemplate a return from their retirement. Therefore companies can also consider necessary compensation as motivation to retain the aged people in their workforce. Needleman (2008) has given some of the kinds of works that may motivate the old people to consider a return from their retirement. According to her, the chance to apply their experience and skill in the job may motivate a person to come back after retirement. Moreover a job in which the person has an expertise will likely to generate a high income for the person. Therefore the compensation will also attract the person to abandon his retirement. According to Price (2007, p.430) the generation of baby boom had reached the age of retirement in the recent years. These people had low savings and are dependent on the government schemes for their living. An attractive financial package holds huge motivation for these people especially for the ones in their early sixties. These people have the ability to earn their income but they lack the employment to earn one. However she mentions that all the people may not be eager to pursue the same profession they have been for their entire life. Many of the people get tired of their jobs and seldom want to return to these jobs unless compelled by the situation. For these kinds of people she recommends a job in which they have an interest in. Price (2007, 431) have shown that many of the people will like to return for their retirement but not as a full time employee. These people would like to have more leisure and are willing to work only part time. For the rest of the time they will like to pursue their interests and hobbies. Needleman (2008) prescribes a job for these people who are attached with their field of interest. She gives the example of a book lover who might like to work in a bookstore and have a higher chance of returning from retirement if given the opportunity. If the person is not motivated by financial gains then he may also like to work for nonprofit organizations or teach children. This kind of work gives a satisfaction to the person and at the same time adds a value to the society. People with a technical expertise can also share their knowledge and experience to educate the students at technical schools. All these will give the person a chance to stay active. Salatzar (1993) has given the example of Jenkins who does short term assignments at various places as counselor and educator. She thoroughly enjoys the job and the low level of responsibility that she has with the short term contracts. It has also been seen through research that idea of work after retirement and perception of work has influenced the retired person to come back from retirement (Madvig, 2010). Dorfman (2009) shows that retired professors who have given up their regular job either willingly or by rule, were still active in their respect professional activities. A survey at a university revealed that professor’s chose to continue work even after the mandatory age of retirement because they actually gained satisfaction from the work and hence enjoyed their professional involvement. Often the firms allow a phased out retirement provision for the workers who can slowly reduce their working hours. Sometimes apart form getting the few extra bucks after old age, a kind of psychological incentive also works behind their motivation. Conclusion There are various advantages of employing an aged worker. Apart from their experience and expertise the older workers are also better resources for the company for several other reasons. According to many research the old workers are more reliable and have better loyalty and commitment towards the company. Therefore it is easier to retain an aged worker. They are also hard workers and research has shown that the productivity of the old workers is no less than the young stuff (Price, 2007, 431). Many organizations therefore prefer to bring the retired workers back to their workforce. However there needs to be sufficient motivation for the workers. The most important motivation to work in this case is economic. However there must also be other factors that motivate him like freedom to explore and sufficient autonomy in their operation. Other factors of motivation are chances to socialize and an association with their field of interest. However it has been seen that the aged workers prefer jobs that are part time and gives them more leisure to pursue their other interests. In some cases the aged workers are also attracted by the short term contracts where they do not have any long term commitments towards the job. References Dorfman, L.T. (2009), Ten Years Later: A Follow-up study of professors still working after age 70, Educational Gerontology, 35 (11), 1032-1045. Kowitt, B. (2010), I Retired. Now How Do I Unretire, Fortune, 161(8), p.50-50, Retrieved on: July 1, 2011, from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=ebd9fd2e-24a6-418d-b104-95e800733e1f%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d Lockwood, N.R. (2003), The Aging Workforce The Reality of the Impact of Older Workers and Eldercare in the Workplace, Society for Human Resource Management Research Quarterly, Retrieved on July 1, 2011, from: http://www.ispi.org/pdf/suggestedReading/1LockwoodAging.pdf Madvig, T. (2008), Modeling Individuals Post-Retirement Behaviors towards Their Former Organization, Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 23(1/2), pp.17-49, Retrieved on July 1, 2011, from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=2c07d09b-1c94-4d58-81d8-02e0285387d0%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d Needleman, S. E. (2008), Easing Back to Work After You.ve Retired, The Wall Street Journal, Retrieved on July 1, 2011, from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122514911709574109.html Price, A. (2007), Human Resource Management in a Business Context, Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Saltzman, A. (1993), An Easy Return to the Work Force, U.S. News and World Report, 114(23), 97-100, Retrieved on July 1, 2011, from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=fddf9b2d-c7da-41f9-bd1c-7869ca490c3d%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d Read More