Much economic research stresses the role of pensions and Social Security in inducing retirement-altering the labor supply of older workers. Yet there are also demand-side effects that make firms unwilling to allow most workers to ease out.
A recent paper by David Blau and Tetyana Shvydko demonstrates this very neatly. At firms with large shares of young women (which Blau and Shvydko hypothesize are also firms with flexible work policies), older workers are less likely to leave for full retirement. The chance for a flexible work schedule alters older workers’ behavior,?driving them to stay in the workforce for longer. Given the long-term problems of Social Security and other pension schemes, this research shows there are alternatives to fiddling with pension programs and Social Security benefits that could go some way toward getting older people to stay at work. People may argue that this is bad in a recession; but eventually we will have skill shortages, and keeping older people at work is a good way to minimize them.
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I’m curious about other characteristics of companies with flexible work schedules. Are flexible work schedules also related to income, education, or occupation types?
Or maybe old guys just like to be around a bunch of young women.
I retired quite young (before the economic meltdown). I enjoyed my work and my coworkers, but was burned out by management in-fighting, and resentful of being laid-off from my job only to be rehired as a contractor (which was a way to deny me retirement benefits). Other companies looked just as dysfunctional as my own. Too much pain, not enough fun, no reason to stay once I had enough savings.
One of the interns at our ad agency did an unofficial survey regarding flex schedules (you can read her blog here: http://www.gcgideas.com/2009/09/28/nine-to-five-its-not-so-bad-after-all/).
Turns out that flex schedules in a fast-paced, client-driven world just don’t fly. And yet, because we’re all here from 8:30-5, our agency leaders do provide more leniency with regard to personal appointments, school plays, sick days (infecting everyone would reduce productivity anyway), and the like.
I’d be interested to know how flex schedules work in an environment like ours, but I’m also more willing to work regular hours if I know there’s flexibility built in when I need it.
Maybe the places with flexible work schedules are also the places that don’t have traditional pension plans, thus forcing older workers to stay in a job that they’d rather retire from, because they haven’t saved enough.
I’d have to think health care costs figure prominently in this calculation. What’s the definition of “older” workers? Depending upon the actual age ranges used, older employees are either likely to cost more in health care, or significantly less (once Medicare kicks in.)
If one needs the monetary compensation, the answer is easy.
If not…
If you are fulfilled in your work: keep on keeping on.
If you receive little or no satisfaction from your work and have other compelling interests to fill your time — don’t work.
I was going to make the very same point “Sal” made! Why wouldn’t older workers want to come to the office every day where they can be around real, live, young women versus retiring and staying home with your spouse and your tv, which you can still do while you have your job. You just also get the young lasses at the same time.