Rehiring at same pay is just the first step

The Public Service Division’s (PSD) recent announcement on rehiring its junior officers when they reach age 62 at their existing pay, and with certain senior officers experiencing only a small pay cut, is welcome news and a move in the right direction.

This development sets an important tone with regard to the rehiring of older workers not only for the public but also the private sector (though four in five unionised companies surveyed by Singapore’s labour movement were ahead of the public sector in re-employing at the same pay). More importantly, this sends a strong counter to the ageist view which associates an employee’s advancing age with an assumed decline in productivity.

The stereotype of the older worker as slow, inefficient, unwilling to change, not well educated, and unable to learn new skills continues to be with us. Such images may have flashed across our sub-conscious when we either experience first-hand poor service provided by an older worker or hear about it from others.

What is the general profile of the older worker in Singapore? According to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) statistical profile released in February 2007, among those aged 50 and older, most received less than secondary education. Many were no slouches and tended to work long hours. A large proportion of those employed were in lower-skilled jobs; a bulk were in the service sector, specifically in “administration and support services” and “hotel and restaurants”.

Since 2007, however, the demographic profile of the older worker in Singapore has undergone quite a transformation. According to the 2011 Report on Labour Force, there has been a significant decrease in the proportion of those with below-secondary education. The proportion of those with a degree, conversely, increased compared to in 2001. The trend of better-educated older workers will continue with the ageing of subsequent cohorts of baby boomers, those born between 1947 and 1964.

Importantly, labour force participation rates rose among those aged 55 and older, both men and women. This is significant as it underlines a willingness to continue to work. The trend continues in the latest edition of the report, which noted that 66 per cent of residents aged 55 to 64 were working or actively seeking employment.

The number of older workers will continue to increase. While the move to not reduce older workers’ pay upon re-employment is a positive step, there are other areas that will need to be addressed with their continued employment.

First, employers need to be mindful that workplaces are multi-generational by nature. With the rehiring of older workers, employers have to be sensitive to the concerns that may arise among their younger employees over, for example, their career advancement in the company.

One way to assure them is to reassign re-employed older workers to positions where they are viewed not only as valuable assets but also as mentors to younger team members. Building a sound in-house reassignment strategy would allow companies to tap not only the experience but also the vigour of its multi-generational teams.

Having in place a clear, transparent work reassignment strategy would help reduce the number of flashpoints, with less potential for disputes or the reinforcement of ageist stereotypes. In short, in order for the rehiring process to continue to be successful, such aspects need to be addressed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr Kang Soon-Hock is Head of Social Science Core at the School of Arts and Social Sciences at SIM University.

KANG SOON-HOCK

* TOMORROW: Kalyani Mehta on: What must Singapore do to be an age-friendly city?