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CHAPTER 8
Policy, research and practice: supporting longer careers for baby-boomers 159

8.8. Policy considerations

The baby-boomer post-World War Two generation is creating challenges at
individual, national and international levels with responses aimed at increasing
workforce participation of older workers. The European Commission has set
quite demanding targets for the increase in economic activity (Flynn, 2010)
and for employment of older workers (Simonazzi, 2009) with at least 50% of
the 55-64 years of age population in employment. The Barcelona European
Council in 2002 also determined that the age to stop working be raised by five
years. These ambitious targets are however impacted upon by the overall
economic and labour-market situation. Locally then, older workers tend to be
less active (Gielen, 2009, p. 256).
Policies undertaken tend to follow a pattern of establishing a set age for
retirement, decreasing access for older people to unemployment benefits,
imposing penalties to retire early, focus on individual employers and their
human resources policies and practices to be inclusive of older workers, and
exhort the individual older worker to continue working irrespective of access
to stimulating work, adequate training and career opportunities and
reasonable working conditions. In some cases generous pension schemes
especially for public servants are described as too generous and the State
explores ways to reduce these. Employment equality laws, aiming to counter
age discrimination laws have been introduced, for example in 2006 in the UK,
but do not necessarily help; employers can decide not to employ older workers
at all, and there is confusion over interpretation of the recommended age of
departure (Heywood and Siebert, 2008). The example provided by Denmark
with flexicurity meeting employer needs and supportive of a mobile workforce
still does not cater completely to the needs of older workers. Such policies
are not necessarily a blueprint for success.
As Gielen notes, ʻthe worker will choose the exit that yields the highest
lifetime utilityʼ (2009, p. 255). The individual worker makes decisions on
whether to stay on in the workforce based on personal circumstances, enticed
by generous pension schemes to leave early, influenced by opportunities to
make a positive contribution to work and society. Negatives such as forced
retirement, redundancy, ill health, carer responsibilities, and negative work
experiences can lead to an earlier exit. Workers with higher levels of education
and training tend to stay longer in the workforce, as do workers with greater
autonomy. People with financial imperatives stay on working, despite negative
experiences in their work. Older workers who leave work tend not to return
(Flynn, 2010, Gielen, 2009).