personal finance

Why flexible working beats retirement


With people living longer  –  in the UK the average is 82.9 years for women and 79.2 years for men – it’s clear that a new approach to working in later life is needed.

So it should come as no surprise that the over 50s want the option of flexible hours for older workers, and more options for training and retraining on offer.

• Saga respondents across all ages resoundingly felt that employers need to do more to be an age-friendly employer with four in five over-50s (78%) saying that more flexible working hours should be introduced to accommodate older workers.

• When asked what measures employers should implement to make workplaces more welcoming, respondents most commonly agreed offering part-time roles (73%), and more than three in five (63%) suggesting that employers need to get better at offering training and retraining schemes to help older workers with new skills and technology.

• More than three fifths (65%) felt that an ageing and diverse society is a positive thing that should be celebrated, however they were naturally mindful of some of the challenges to society this also presents.

The benefits of older employees

Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said: “More employers than ever are recognising the benefits of hiring older job applicants for the wealth of experience and knowledge they have to offer. Through our modern Industrial Strategy and our Ageing Society Grand Challenge we want to champion the role of older workers in the economy and ensure they have equal opportunities to both remain in and to find employment, so anyone who wants to can work for longer.”

We want to champion the role of older workers in the economy.

“Employers have an invaluable role to play in meeting the needs of older workers and we want to encourage employers, where possible, to adopt flexible working practices, which is why we have established a new Flexible Working Taskforce.”

Flexible working

The Flexible Working Taskforce has been established with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. It’s developing action plans and recommendations to increase flexible working opportunities for all employees. The Government will consider creating a duty for employers to consider whether a job can be done flexibly, and make that clear when advertising vacancies.

Businesses need to adapt to a changing and ageing workforce.

A vibrant and inclusive market for products and jobs is an important part of the government’s Ageing Society Grand Challenge, which aims to harness the power of innovation to help meet the needs of an ageing society and realise the business opportunity for the UK. This mission will also support the economy, by preventing people from leaving the workforce prematurely, it will boost the UK’s productivity. Demographic change means that businesses will need to adapt to a changing and ageing workforce.

• The Government wants to help businesses across the UK to consider how they can support people of all ages to make the most of these extra years at work and will continue to work with employers to promote the benefits of older workers to employers across England.

• Workers will have more flexibility to help balance their work with caring responsibilities, and younger generations will be able to plan for their longer careers with confidence.

• Through the ambitious Industrial Strategy, the Government is investing over £300 million from its Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). This brings together the UK’s world-class research expertise with business investment to develop technologies and industries that can help the UK prepare for the challenge of an ageing society.

Valuing a diverse workforce

Karen Caddick, Group HR Director, Saga commented: “Many of the best teams, and in fact companies, harness and share the intergenerational skills they have available to create a truly valuable age-diverse workforce. The benefits of this to both individuals and employers should not be underplayed.

“For many older workers staying in work has profound physical and mental benefits, with many reporting that working longer helps improve their overall wellbeing. It’s therefore great that through the Ageing Society Grand Challenge, employers will have the support they need to help them become age-friendly employers in action, rather than just in words”

Karen Caddick, Group HR Director, Saga

With more people over 65 in employment, there’s a need to look at how to remove barriers to people working for as long as they want to. While finances will often play a part, more often than not it’s driven by a fundamental need to stay socially connected and enjoy the wellbeing benefits that working can bring. Work that suits the individual can keep people physically and mentally active and give a sense of purpose in this new stage of life.

Case study: Alan Rae

Alan Rae part time employee Thales Glasgow

Alan is an External Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Thales Glasgow.

How long have you been employed at Thales Glasgow?

I first started with the Company on 1st November 1981, left in 2000 before returning in 2006. So, on and off, over 30 years. I “retired” in Sept 2017 – that lasted 11 weeks before the Company asked me to come back on a part-time basis. I think they suspected that deep down I wasn’t entirely ready to put on my slippers or focus on which herbaceous borders I should plant in the garden…

What exactly do you do?

My role mainly involves coordinating and managing engagement with our Scottish political stakeholders (i.e MSPs and MPs), organising visits to the site by VIPs (customer, political and royal) and the positive promotion of Thales Glasgow within the wider Scottish community.

What do you find exciting about it, what do you get out of it, why do you enjoy it?

I find the opportunity to meet with an incredibly diverse range of people from across the UK and around the world to be both an educational experience and a privilege. For many of our visitors I take the lead in showcasing the business here in Glasgow, explaining about our capabilities, the skills and dedication of the workforce and the contribution we’ve made both to the defence of the UK and Scotland’s unparalleled heritage in engineering. It does put you under quite a lot of pressure to deliver and do a professional job, not just for the sake of your own pride and reputation, but more for the reputation and image of all my friends and colleagues, indeed the entire workforce, here at Thales in Glasgow. I owe it to them to do the best job I can.

“Part-time working has enabled me to do things I enjoy outside of the business but still affords me the chance to give back to the company.”

 

What training skills have you acquired to enable you to stay in work longer?

I started in the Company as a manufacturing technician, then became an engineer running a test department whilst simultaneously doing some design/development work. Then I moved in to Sales, then Business Development before becoming Communications Manager. It’s fair to say my career progression has taken a few twists and turns, which have all contributed to the broad range of skills needed for my current role.

The ability (and need) to get on with people and to see things from their perspective are key skills. I didn’t just wake up one morning with the ability to do that. A lot of people over a lot of years took the time to guide me. I appreciate that as without their help I would have had half of the unique opportunities afforded to me over the years. Consequently, I feel it’s only right that I should do the same for those who might follow in my footsteps.

What would you say is the biggest/greatest satisfaction from working flexible hours?

I think it’s the ability to strike a better balance between my life outside Thales and the job I do here in the company. Working 3 days a week means each day consists more on the real priorities, which ups the satisfaction level when you complete them, whilst giving you more free time during the rest of the week.

When did you reduce your hours?

Over the last 2 months of my full-time job I reduced my number of days to 4 days a week. That’s part of a Thales policy for people moving towards retirement to ease the “bump” when they actually retire. It makes the transition easier and helps you acclimatise to the change. When I came back on a part-time basis in December 2017, it was on a 3 days a week basis. Those days were pre-determined (usually a Tues/Wed/Thu) as it was only fair to the company, mainly for planning/business purposes, to know which days I’d be in.

Why did you reduce your hours?

It was a combination of adopting an option offered Thales along with wanting to have more free time which collectively enabled me to strike a better life balance.


Since changing your working pattern do you think your wellbeing has improved?

Absolutely. Not having to get up at 4:30am in the middle of a Scottish winter to get a flight to Heathrow or Gatwick is a great way to start the day! My role as “the man from Thales” and the responsibility that carries 5 days a week is much easier to carry if you’re only doing it 3 days a week.

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