Elderly workers have so much to offer – employers should take heed
Betty Friedan, the American writer and activist, opined: “Ageing is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.”
Those who are working well into their late 60s – and beyond – would likely agree. Today we report on a new study which suggests working past 65 can offer many benefits – not least keeping your brain sharp.
It comes as an increasing number of people favour staying in employment beyond traditional retirement age.
The trend is likely to continue, not least as the state pension age is projected to rise to 68 by 2035 and 71 in 2050.
Of course, those who favour working later in life should be supported, but it should be a lifestyle choice.
Nobody who has already given so much to society should be forced to work to their grave simply as a result of financial necessity.
Elderly workers already make up a significant proportion of the overall workforce.
As of 2020, there were 9.3 million older workers in the UK, between the ages of 50 and 64.
It should be all about choice
Unsurprisingly, the employment rate for this age group has increased over time, from 55.8% in 1984 to 72% in 2020.
The UK’S ageing population means this figure is likely to increase further in the coming years, giving employers the chance to tap into a larger pool of often under used talent.
However, many employers continue to slavishly focus on recruiting younger job applicants.
So why is it so foolish to overlook the potential of more elderly candidates? Mentoring is one benefit.
More experienced workers can play a key role in helping younger employees, ensuring valuable skills and knowledge are widely shared throughout a business.
Furthermore, a diverse workplace, boasting people of all ages, is likely to encourage better problem-solving and wiser decision-making.
As trends change, the onus must be on employers to ensure they offer appropriate support.
Companies face an increasing need to assess their reward and benefits strategies to attract, retain and engage employees.
Options for part-time or flexible working, phased retirement plans, and personalised benefits packages tailored to individual life stages all have a role to play – to the benefit of both employer and employee.
It should be all about choice.
As people consider their advancing years, staying in employment should be a viable option.
Yet, those who wish to withdraw gracefully from the world of work should also be supported to do so.
Amid an ageing society, getting that work/life balance right is something employers need to consider now more than ever.
could soon be a disease hazard in Scotland. Researchers at Glasgow University have been awarded a £1.25 million grant to investigate how climate change could increase the risk of the mosquito-borne disease in this country.
Their three-year research programme in collaboration with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, will examine the menace of mosquitoborne pathogens emerging in Scotland for the first time, because of changes in our weather patterns. Malaria was endemic in America until the 1950s but was considered eliminated by 1951. Now, the first cases of homegrown malaria in years have been reported in
Texas, Florida and Maryland. Its re-emergence has been blamed on climate change. It is feared the same thing may happen here.
The Westminster gov - ernment’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a £7 million package that will also investigate diseases caused by ticks, fleas and lice, which are thriving in the increasingly warm and wet conditions in Scotland. Following the Covid pandemic that took 10,000 lives in Scotland, the dual challenge posed by climate change and the spread of infectious diseases is of great concern.
Globally, the impact of climate change on the behaviour of animals is evident. As temperatures rise, the thick ice in the Arctic is melting and minke, bottlenose, fin and sperm whales are heading north for the first time, just as grizzly bears, whitetailed deer, coyotes and other animals and birds head south.
This spring, osprey and puffins have arrived in Scotland a week earlier than ever before. New types of beetle have headed northwards in the warmer conditions, causing devastation to Siberian forests, while new ticks have caused problems with Alaskan mammals and new insects are plaguing humans in northern Norway. Diseases are now killing reindeer in Scandinavia and Russia, musk oxen in Arctic Canada, and polar bears and seals off the coast of Alaska, where temperatures have risen by 4C in the past 60 years. Strange new pests have appeared on maize crops in Malawi and a new bacteria has caused the fruit of lemon trees to shrivel in Florida.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change may now become the defining global threat to public health of the 21st Century. Human illnesses caused by parasites, viruses and bacteria that are transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks and other vectors in warmer and wetter environments, spread infections like malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus and Lyme disease beyond their traditional geographic boundaries. At the same time, wildlife hosts, like the species of bat many claim was the origin of Covid-19, are affected by rising temperatures and extreme weather events, displacing them to new areas. Increased rain can cause flooding and this can lead to the overflow of sewage systems, contaminating rivers and freshwater sources with human faeces, spreading water-borne diseases like cholera and cryptosporidiosis, a particularly nasty illness that causes diarrhoea and stomach pains. According to the WHO, Dengue fever will become a major threat in southern Europe, the southern US and new, previously unaffected parts of Africa this decade.
The illness has long been a scourge in much of Asia and Latin America, causing an estimated 20,000 deaths every year. But rates of the disease have already risen eight-fold globally since 2000, driven largely by climate change as well as the increased movement of people and urbanisation. Meanwhile, those families planning hill-walks and spring or summer picnics in Scotland, may be wise to wear clothing that covers their arms and legs, to protect them from tick bites that can cause Lyme disease.
Researchers predict the rise in global temperatures will increase that risk.
The Highlands and Tayside are thought to be particularly impacted, although there are areas of forestry and grassland in many parts of Scotland where infected ticks can be found. Lyme disease can cause joint and muscle pains, abnormal tiredness, persistent headaches and palpitations.
The tick season is starting earlier and, with more active ticks, this means the number of bites is going up and with it, tick-borne diseases. Anyone finding a tick attached to their skin should remove it carefully with tweezers as quickly as possible. Extreme weather events are also a risk to health. The increasing prevalence of wildfires, caused by prolonged droughts and higher temperatures, can release dust particles and toxic pollutants into the air, increasing the risk of respiratory infections. The prolonged warm, dry and windy weather last summer caused a wildfire near Cannich in the Highlands, that burned an area of more than 30 square miles, with plumes of smoke that were detected from space by Nasa satellites. Firefighters said it was the largest wildfire ever recorded in the UK.
Last month was the warmest March on record. António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-general told the Cop27 summit in Egypt: “Our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible. “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”
As we reflect on his words, we may yet come to realise that the Scottish midge is the least of our problems.
Struan Stevenson represented Scotland in the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014. He was President of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee from 2002-2004 and President of the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Intergroup from 20042014. He is a Director of the European Bureau for Conservation & Development (EBCD) in Belgium.