Clinical I DB (1). Week 7

Do you agree or not? Justify your answer.

Student 1. R. Ventrone

In the article “Baby boomers upend the workforce one last time” by Andrew Van Dam demonstrates, through survey, three broad concerns in the business world about dealing with an aging workforce.  The first disrupter has great impact on the rising workforce as baby boomers are working well past the typical retirement age of 65.  This puts a block on upward business mobility for middle age workers.  Additionally, working well past the age of 65 could have great health impacts.  Depending on the type of physical labor and mental health strain, this could weigh heavy on an aging adult heading into their golden years. The second “disrupter” Van Dam explores companies offering older workers part-time employment in hopes to keep older workers around with reduced responsibilities, even volunteer opportunities and shorter hours is expected to rise sharply. About 2 in 5 companies surveyed are considering offering part-time work or flexible hours by 2020, nearly double the current rate.  This reason’s impact could be very positive.  Giving retirees the opportunity to stay busy without the high demands of a full work load.  Also, the cost of living and additional health expenses are costly and this could provide seniors the income needed to survive.  The final “disrupter” emphasizes that it is hard to generalize across industries.  The expertise, experience and talent of a trade is a value for many businesses and losing such workers would be a great loss.  On the other hand, businesses are relying more and more on tech savvy workers and may need baby boomers to retire in order to fill those positions with individuals that support the vision of the business.  

Student 2. Atasha Greene

Our seniors are living longer and a lot of them simply are not ready for retirement. They are so many 65 year olds that are finding jobs after that retirement age, going back to school, switching careers and making the possibilities of what it is to be a senior; endless. With that said they are not a lot of resources for our seniors after retirement that enables them to live a life without needing additional monetary funds. In the article they stated that many companies are willing to give retirees part time jobs and reduce their responsibilities; which I absolutely applaud.

However, I work for the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services and there is blatant ageism that has affected middle and older adults that have decided to not retire. There isn’t enough resources to accommodate seniors wanting to find appropriate employment. There are studies that support intergenerational spaces build societal identity and keeps the brain of seniors active. It’s not always about the age of the senior, it’s the function, and society can make it a better, empowering and supportive place for aging seniors that need or want to work.