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Article Excerpt
The purpose of the present study was to increase understanding about the human impact of mature-aged unemployment and under-employment, a pressing social problem of immediate as well as future concern to the individuals concerned and society at large.
In Australia, the life expectancy is about 76 years for men and 81 years for women and is expected to rise to about 81 and 86 years, respectively, by around 2050 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2002). Because of such rising life expectancy, a dramatic increase is expected in the so-called 'dependency ratio' (the number of dependent children and older adults relative to the number of people of working age) in the near future in all developed countries, including Australia (Holtz-Eakin, Lovely, & Tosun, 2004; Spiezia, 2002). This prediction has led to an increasing emphasis in Australian Commonwealth government policy (Costello, 2002), and that of other OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries (Spiezia, 2002), on encouraging older workers to remain in the workforce for as long as possible. Apart from the economic imperative, it is also government policy to promote autonomy in older people in all areas of their lives, including the choice to remain in the paid workforce or re-enter the workforce (Costello, 2002).
While people are living longer, they are also healthier for longer. Australia has the second highest 'healthy life expectancy' (that is, years before significant functional impairment commences) in the world--75 years--second only to Japan (Mathers, Sadana, Salomon, Murray, & Lopez, 2001). In spite of this, mature-aged workforce participation in Australia is among the lowest of all OECD countries. In July 2002, the labour force participation rate for Australians aged between 55 and 64 years was 48.6%, whereas the OECD average was 50.8% (Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, 2003). In 2001/02, 61.5% of males aged 55 to 64 and 9.2% of those aged 65 and over were doing any paid work at all, and many of these were working part-time. The corresponding figures for females were 38.4 and 3.4% (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002).
The median age of retirement in Australia is currently around 55 years, with many 'retiring' or being forced to exit the workforce well before that. In most OECD countries, the retirement age has been declining steadily over the past three decades (Ranzijn & Hall, 1999; Spiezia, 2002). Many older people may live for another 30 or more years post-retirement. If people's working lives span only 30 years, it is difficult to see how they can save enough money or accumulate enough superannuation to support themselves financially for the rest of their lives. This would be even more difficult for people forced out of the workforce in their middle years before they are financially or psychologically ready to retire.
Official retirement statistics can be misleading since, for many people, their so-called 'retirement' is involuntary. Older adults contribute disproportionately to the ranks of the long-term unemployed and have much greater difficulty than younger people in obtaining re-employment. Thirty-nine per cent of job-seekers aged 45 to 54 years and 56% of those aged 55 or more are unsuccessful in obtaining work (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999a). After trying to find work for some years, many discouraged job-seekers give up and exit the official job-search market (Australian Council of Social Services, 1999; Taylor, Steinberg, & Walley, 2000) to enter 'premature retirement', leaving the workforce before they are ready to go (Carson & Kerr, 1999; Ranzijn & Hall, 1999).
The empirical literature indicates that the psychological as well as financial impacts of unemployment can be severe. Unemployment is correlated with reduced self-esteem and morale, increased depression and risk of suicide, social exclusion and social withdrawal, isolation and severe anxiety about the future (Winefield, 2002). Involuntary unemployment in middle age is also linked to marital and other relationship problems, alcoholism and other self-destructive behaviours (Gallo, Bradley, Siegel, & Kasl, 2001; Winefield, 2002). While there is a large empirical literature on unemployment, most of it has been quantitative and most of it concerns younger people. While there is a considerable body of research into mature-aged employment policy (e.g. Encel, 1997; Sheen, 1999; Taylor, 2001), there has been very little research into the relationship between mature-aged unemployment and psychological and financial outcomes for the individuals. Two exceptions are the work of McDaniel (2003) and a theoretical article by Warr (1997). McDaniel (2003) undertook a qualitative study of unemployed, white-collar, Canadian, middle-aged men and found that unemployment was a shock to their identity, resulting in them retreating from the world and 'hiding' at home. Warr (1997) generalizes that being employed at older ages is not necessarily essential for mental health but that it is important for individual needs to be fulfilled.
While there is very little theoretical or empirical literature, some tentative speculations were made at the outset. In recent decades there have been huge demographic shifts in Australia and most other developed countries that impact on middle-aged people, including an increase in divorce and separation, people having children at later ages (often as a result of remarriage), children staying at home later and increasing pressures to care for parents who are living longer. Most people in middle age towards the end of the twentieth century would have grown up with the expectation of having a job for life until they were in a financial situation to retire. For men especially, sell-esteem is largely linked with being employed (Ranzijn, 2004). Becoming unemployed, commonly as a result of major workforce restructuring in the 1990s, would therefore be expected to have severe financial, as well as psychological, consequences.
The present study aimed to develop understanding in this area by investigating, using a qualitative methodology, mature-aged job-seekers' quality of life, expectations for the future and short-term and long-term financial situations.
Method
Participants
There are various possible definitions of 'mature-aged' but it was defined as 45 years of age or more for this study. Qualitative data were obtained by means of five group interviews and one individual interview, conducted in Adelaide, South Australia. The groups had the following number of participants: 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7. We had hoped to have 6 to 8 in each group but, due to circumstances beyond our control, fewer people turned up for some of the groups than were expected. Altogether there were 27 participants...
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