final - mental health and aging

Work and Retirement “Take your job seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.”

Alex Trebek 1940-2020

OLDER WORKERS: 1. take more sick days than younger workers 2. try hard to get a task done right the first time. 3. are less flexible than younger ones. 4. can be easily replaced by younger ones 5. learn new skills to stay competitive in the workplace. 6. are not as productive as younger ones because they’re just waiting to retire 7. are a good fit to startup companies. 8. aren’t worth hiring because they’ll just retire soon after starting. 9. are team players. 10. are more expensive than younger ones.

AGEFEED What are older workers really like? See whether these statements are fact or myth!

AGEFEED …the facts

1. take more sick days than younger workers Myth! Older workers tend to have better regular job attendance than younger ones.

2. try hard to get a task done right the first time. Fact! While older workers may not work as quickly, they strive to get the tasks done right the first time without any mistakes. Speed does not always produce the best results!

3. are less flexible than younger ones. Myth! Older workers may be more likely to question changes, but they are just as likely as younger workers to adapt if the changes are well reasoned.

4. can be easily replaced by younger ones Myth! The workplace knowledge and expertise gained by older workers is often very difficult to replace and can take years to develop.

5. learn new skills to stay competitive in the workplace. Fact! Many take courses to enhance their skills helping to keep up with changing technologies or practices.

6. are not as productive as younger ones because they’re just waiting to retire Myth! Evidence suggests that older workers are just as productive as younger ones.

7. are a good fit to startup companies. Fact! The experience older workers bring to new companies can be valuable, particularly in times of uncertainty.

8. aren’t worth hiring because they’ll just retire soon after starting. Myth! Older workers stay at a job longer than younger ones, who may view jobs as stepping stones. 9. are team players Fact! With experience comes a better understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses, which can be invaluable in a team setting

10. are more expensive than younger ones. Myth! With older workers, costs are lower for hiring, retention, training, and on the job accidents.

about older workers

MENTAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF WORK AND RETIREMENT Work cupies large proportion of an individual’s time

Allows for expression of identity in the form of feelings of competence and social status

Involves generativity or desire to leave behind a legacy

Satisfaction at work is basic to feelings of productivity which translates into economic security

Labor force inequities translate into physical and mental health disadvantages

Strains at work affect family and other sources of satisfaction

WORK PATTERNS IN ADULTHOOD

Current U.S. data on jobs and employment: Check these out for some helpful facts!

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks occupational trends including labor force participation and unemployment

• O*NET online provides descriptions of U.S. occupations along with trends and predictions

• Social Security (SSA.gov) provides information to help in retirement planning

Highlights of U.S. labor force data By 2030, all baby boomers will be at least 65 years old, and 9.5 percent of the civilian labor force is projected to be older than 65. Not only is the share of older people in the labor force growing, but their labor force participation rates are rising.

Note the large increase for older workers!

It’s worth staying im school!!workers!

The next two slides illustrate the gender gap in salaries along with possible explanations

Female median earnings

Male median earnings

WOMEN’S EARNINGS BY OCCUPATION Median Earnings of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers in the Past 12 Months by Sex and Occupation

$25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 ALL OCCUPATIONS

Selected Occupations with 80% or More Female Workers

Registered nurses Payroll and timekeeping clerks

Secretaries and administrative assistants Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

Medical assistants Hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists

Teacher assistants Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides

Childcare workers Maids and housekeeping cleaners

Selected Occupations with 80% or More Male Workers Software developers, applications and systems software

Civil engineers Construction managers

Police and sheriff patrol officers First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

Welding, soldering, and brazing workers Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

Miscellaneous agricultural workers

“Women seem to be a little bit less willing, less able, in a game of chicken, if the guy is driving towards the cliff of not feeding the children, and the woman is driving towards the cliff of not feeding the children, she pulls off first and she feeds the children,” Stevenson said. “And the problem is that if he knows that she’s going to pull off first, then he wins the game of chicken.” – Boston Globe,

1/24/22

‘Greedy jobs’ have led to a shocking pay disparity for well-educated women

VOCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

THEORIES OF VOCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Provide explanations for career choices and pathways, based on assumption that optimal development involves expression of interests and identity.

Relate to mental health given the importance of work in both daily life and access to opportunities, including ability to afford basic necessities.

Are less about abilities than interests.

SUMMARY OF VOCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THEORIES Holland’s RIASEC theory: 6 factors make up people and work environments  Optimal development occurs when there is a match between person’s interests and

environmental characteristics  Related to Five Factor Model (although there are 6 types)  Proposes that career paths represent attempts by the worker to maximize

congruence

Super’s self-concept theory: Vocational development occurs within the “life-space” – “life stages” framework  Emphasizes expression of self-concept through work  Puts vocational development in context of other major life roles.

Here’s an illustration of Holland’s RIASEC Codes. Next, you can decide where you might fit in.

THE RIASEC “Party Game”: Imagine walking into a room in which the six groups of people below are already interacting. Read the descriptions of each group and list the group you would be drawn to first, then your second choice, and finally your third choice. These represent your 3 letter Holland Code.

https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip

I took this O^NET Interest test– you can see my results in the next 5 slides

•A.S.E.: Someone with the three-letter code A.S.E. is artistic, social and enterprising. This person is very creative and emotional. They have a deep level of concern for the well-being of others and are passionate about solving social issues. They value their personal reputation and seek power in their career. A person with these traits might look for a high-level position in a business focusing on social change.

Imagine walki

These are the jobs that fit my profile. Interesting, isn’t it?

Environmental determinants Labor market Employment practices

Situation determinants Historical Socioeconomic

Personal determinants Psychological Biological

Lifestyle factorsAges

45 Super’s life-space life-stages model of vocational development- This is an additional slide that shows a broader view of Super’s theory. Does it remind you of Bronfenbrenner?

Related concepts in vocational development (check the text for more info on these) Protean career: Workers feel are self-directed by their values

Boundaryless career: Workers seek support from others in their same field

Core self-evaluation: Personality influences vocational development

Occupation as calling: For some individuals, vocational choice reflects a consuming passion

THEORIES OF VOCATIONAL SATISFACTION

Focus on how workers feel about their jobs, based on assumption that satisfied workers are more productive workers.

Relate to mental health based on the assumption that when workers feel positively about their jobs, they will have higher levels of well-being.

Pay less attention to interests or abilities than to motivation, emotions, and values.

SUMMARY OF VOCATIONAL SATISFACTION THEORIES •Self-determination theory: Workers are most satisfied when 3 needs are met: • Competence • Relatedness • Autonomy

•Affect theories: Emphasize influence of mood on satisfaction, including daily variations (e.g. “affect spin”)

•Occupational reinforcement theory: Person-environment “congruence” based on values alignment predicts satisfaction

Sources of workplace stress fall into these 3 categories. Can you relate to any of them?

Burnout Emotional labor Discrimination

Emotional labor

Having to put on an act to cover your real feelings. Can take the form of needing to cover up a stigmatized but concealable identity in the workplace, such as sexual orientation or a non-normative family situation.

The undermining boss and stifling work culture depicted in the film reflected realities found in the actual white- collar workforce (Credit: Alamy Stock Photo) https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190205-office-space-turns-20-how-the-film-changed-work

If you ever saw Office Space, you might be able to understand how much it reflected what is hoped to be less of a toxic work culture (check out the website below)

Age discrimination is reflected in these common myths about older workers. Discrimination

According to the EEOC, unfounded assumptions about age and ability continue to drive age discrimination in the workplace. Research on ageist stereotypes demonstrates that most people have specific negative beliefs about aging and that most of those beliefs are inaccurate. These stereotypes often may be applied to older workers, leading to negative evaluations and/or firing, rather than coaching or retraining.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND STRESS

Conflict/strain vs. enrichment models present alternate approaches to work-life/family balance

Remote working has added complications but also improvements for maintaining work-life balance

The next 2 slides are from the text, so check out the explanation there.

Family Work Development opportunities for

growth

Affect levels of happiness

Capital sense of accomplishment

Efficiency better use of time

Enrichment

WORK-FAMILY ENCRICHMENT

This PEW survey shows the differential effect of COVID on mothers and fathers.

AGE AND VOCATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Job factors that contribute to decline

Worker factors that contribute to improvement

Physical exertion Openness to change

Shift work

Age bias

Lack of collaboration

Cognitive effort

Greater expertise

Fewer absences

Know the ropes

Fewer injuries

Age and Job Performance Scorecard

RETIREMENT

Sources of retirement income These are the sources of retirement income for U.S. retired adults

SOCIAL SECURITY: THE FACTS

Social Security Act passed in 1935

49.7 million 65+ receiving benefits in 2022

Average monthly benefit is $1587

“Pay -as-you-go” system (i.e. not pre-funded)

Trust Fund is meant to be reserve

Rather than rely on Social Security, most workers who can afford to are now investing in 401k’s, or private retirement investment accounts

We recognize same-sex couples’ marriages in all states, and some non-marital legal relationships (such as some civil unions and domestic partnerships), for purposes of determining entitlement to Social Security benefits, Medicare entitlement, and eligibility and payment amount for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). We also recognize same-sex marriages and some non-marital legal relationships established in foreign jurisdictions for purposes of determining entitlement to Social Security benefits, Medicare entitlement, and SSI.

Anticipatory period Changes in work attitudes Financial assessment

Decision to retire Announcement of retirement date Financial preparation

Official retirement Final day of work Recognition by employers and coworkers

Initial adjustment Shifts in use of time Financial adaptation

Stabilization Adaptation to non- working role

Bridge employment Blurred retirement Continued involvement in labor force

Retirement is best thought of as a process over time

Whitehall study on mental health and retirement (Fleischmann et al., 2020)

Retirement was generally related to improvements in mental health.

Individuals retiring from poorer working conditions experienced more pronounced improvements in mental health upon retirement.

However, workers in “good jobs” have better mental health outcomes

Theories of retirement and mental health Role strain: Work role is the most important role in life, and without it people lose their identity

Life course: Age norms create expectation that older adults will retire

Continuity: People maintain their identities from work into retirement

RESOURCE MODEL OF RETIREMENT

Physical Financial Social

Emotional Cognitive Motivational

Fleischmann, M., Xue, B., & Head, J. (2020). Mental health before and after retirement—Assessing the relevance of psychosocial working conditions: The Whitehall II prospective study of British civil servants. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 75(2), 403–413. https://doi- org.silk.library.umass.edu/10.1093/geronb/gbz042

Whitehall II showed that across the retirement transition, workers in lower levels of employment were worse off while working and better off after retirement. The only change that was less beneficial was loss of work social support.

LEISURE AND MENTAL HEALTH IN LATER ADULTHOOD

Benefits of leisure to mental health Cognitive stimulation, especially new activities

Social connections, including re-establishing old friendships

Physical activity, which can help alleviate stress and maintain health

Contribute to sense of identity