Apparent advances in medicines and progression in technology have contributed to a massive increase in the life expectancy across the globe. This has led to a substantial increase in the number of the elderly in the society that translates to an increase in their willingness and ability to work beyond the traditional age of working. Consequently, the population of the elderly people in the workforce has risen to notable proportions. The physiological and biological differences between the elderly and the younger workers is elemental towards the establishment of significant different in their level of working in various perspectives (Papalia & Duskin-Feldman, 2011). The engagement of the elderly as workers present them various personal, economic and social effects because of the structural and cultural orientations of the places of work.
Retirements are one of the elemental stages of life especially for the elderly. This is the period in which these individuals are relieved of their activities and active roles in their places of work. Most of the elderly perceive this to be an essential stage in their life, and it is a representation of a continuation of life. Most of the elderly perceive this period as an important period because it presents a climax in life in which an individual is presented with an opportunity concentrate in the spiritual perspectives of their life. Consequently, these individuals are always sufficiently prepared for new and bigger challenges that are exclusive to life after active duty.
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"Impact Of Engaging The Elderly In The Workforce".
There are various personal effects that area associated with subjecting the elderly to work. One of the most common effects is that it gives them the opportunity to exploit their expertise accumulated over the years of working experience. This gives them an opportunity to apply their reliability, stability and maturity in an active capacity that is essential towards increasing their quality of life. This also presents them with a typical opportunity for them to integrate the members of the younger situation into the working environment by giving them the skills and knowledge required which is one of the essential strategies towards achieving personal comfort and satisfaction (Papalia & Duskin-Feldman, 2011). This also assists in increasing their levels of confidence because of the trust they can be given that can be perceived to be a reward for a job well done. On the other hand, this can also be challenging to the elderly on their personal level. This is because these individuals have some limitations in their physical and mental abilities because of their age. The current working environments are very dynamic, and this may subject them to stressing situations. The working conditions in the world today are ever-changing and this may require the workers to embrace continuous educational development after their daily chores, but their condition may not give them the ability to undertake this after their strict working schedules.
On the social perspective, when the elderly work, they are exposed to a working environment that has members of various social groups. This makes the elderly to interact with these individuals in various engagements because of the structural orientation of the organizations that promote teamwork and collaborative activity. This gives them the opportunity to share under various capacities. As a result, the elderly can have positive engagements that make them which is essential towards making them have a critical understanding of each other. These interactions also reduce the moments that elderly are engaged in stress and depression and increases their levels of activity and thus enhancing their health condition. However, the environment may also subject them to discrimination because of their age and abilities. Most of the young people may prefer to work with their age mates and make the elderly feel prejudiced because they may not be involved in other activities. The elderly can also perceived that the younger people in the working environment are given preferential treatments in terms of development opportunities and training. This is likely to increase the level of stress which is detrimental to their health because it can lead to chronic and severe medical conditions.
Economically, the working elderly individuals are likely to have some comfort that is enhanced by the salaries and allowances they earn (Papalia & Duskin-Feldman, 2011). Just like any other workers within the organizations in which they may be attached, the elderly can receive money from their activities, and this can assist them in performing their activities. This can reduce the level of dependency of the elderly on the other family members, and this can increase the general economic position of the family and thus reducing the levels of poverty. This is because these individuals will be able to sustain themselves by acquiring most of their basic needs. Unlike other elderly people, these individuals may not get the opportunity to manage and administer their personal investments and business entities that they may have acquired throughout their working years.
To sum up, the elderly can be a rich resource that can be utilized in the working environments due to their experience and unique abilities. This is one of the reasons that has inspired most of the organizations to engage these individuals in the workforce in various positions and capacities. The nature of the working environments subjects these elderly workers into numerous outlooks that may not be experienced by the other younger workers in the organizations. Consequently, this status subjects them to unavoidable positive and negative effects in the social, personal and economic aspects of their lives.
- Papalia, D., & Duskin-Feldman, R. (2011). Experience Human Development (12th Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
