This 5-year, KONE foundation –funded research project, focuses on the day-to-day life and agency of the elderly unemployed. Ageing and demographic change are global megatrends that challenge the labour market in many ways. Prolonging work careers and treating the elderly worker as a resource are ideals often voiced in political rhetoric. Paradoxically, however, age-based inequality, and ageism in the workplace means that elderly workers are, simultaneously, moved into early retirement or made redundant as part of cooperation negotiations.
One of the central questions tackled in this project concerns the diversity and inequality of the ageing population and well as the relationship between social class and ageing. Are we facing the risk that a new class of poor pensioners, partly irrespective of their educational background, is forming in Finland? The term Two-speed refers to this process of growing differentiation and inequality among ageing workers as well as to the difference in the length of working lives of white and blue-collar workers.
Project background
Fast demographic change together with growing life expectancy form one of the key global megatrends of today (Suomen eläkejärjestelmän… 2013, FuturAge 2011). Population aging increasingly forces developed countries to come up with new solutions in order to encourage people to prolong their careers and to find means to manage the growing rate of retirement. In Finland the discussion about the sustainability gap and work careers has two focal points: first, there is a pronounced aim to shorten study times and encourage early recruitment to the labour market, while the second aim concerns prolonging work careers and pushing up the average age of retirement.
Our research project focuses on the question of extending careers from the viewpoint of an ever more heterogeneous group of aged workers. Centre-stage is given to elderly workers and their decisions and possibilities concerning postponed retirement. While the political debate, media coverage and the ongoing pension reform are largely based on demographic statistics and the idea of an “average worker”, our research focuses on the day-to-day life of people who are made redundant or pushed to early retirement as a result of corporate lay-offs. Means of analyses include longitudinal qualitative research methods and media analysis. In addition, survey data have been collected. The project challenges the “one size fits all” view on work life and retirement transitions that are simply based on chronological age. Instead, we emphasize the heterogeneity within the near retirement population, their agency and their ability to deliberate and make decisions.
The project starts from the paradoxical situation where there is a simultaneous need to extend careers as the average, statistical life expectancy of the population rises, while the current economic climate produces more and more unemployment, recurring rounds of lay-offs and large-scale, often forced exit of middle-aged as well as elderly workers. Moreover, work seldom allows for flexibility that takes into account the changing work abilities. This leads into age based discrimination and increasing institutional ageism in the labour market.
Key questions asked:
How does current media coverage depict the reality of retirement, and how do aged workers themselves account for their work careers and their abilities?
What processes of age based inclusion and exclusion are relevant to aged workers, and is there explicit signs of age discrimination? How do near retirement workers themselves account for their retirement, the timing of it, as well as their own well-being?
What are the pathways and possibilities of re-entry into the work force after a period of unemployment for older workers?
Who, in the end, has possibilities to extend their work careers? What is the impact unemployment on daily coping, well-being, as well as the notion of future pensioners?
The definition of retirement age is the umbrella concept that encompasses all the topics of interest in this project. It enables us to examine various constructions of retirement in the media, in the day-to-day life, and to map the reasons why and where the Finnish welfare state has succeeded and failed.
The concept of a two-speed Finland refers to an emerging, class-based definition concerning the possibilities to time one’s retirement and one’s pensioner status. We claim that increasing differences in terms of work exit timing exist between the schooled who consequently end up in more in academic or white collar professions, and those who are in blue collar positions. Interestingly, however, the Two speededness also points to the fact that increasing differences and inequalities exist also within these groups themselves. Two speededness, then, does not simply follow one’s socio-economic positions, education background or the blue and white collar divide. Instead, people are pushed out of the labour market in a multiplicity of ways, often through disjointed and patchy career paths.
The project produces new knowledge about the possibilities of the aged workers’ chances of keeping up with the labour markets as well as their coping strategies and adaptation in relation to retirement. Our focus is on the dynamics between individual and institutional logics. The project also takes part in the sociological debate on transitions in age studies, retirement and the conceptual and methodological discussion concerning working life. Moreover, in addition to empirical results the project participates in the public discussion and debate as our results are published by our partner, Finland’s national public service broadcasting company (YLE). The media data gathered in the project as well as the unique, longitudinal qualitative data sets both facilitate the production of scientific analyses, articles and theses. YLE will produce media contents such as documentaries based on the research and journalistic interviews of the same target group. Active communication and dissemination of results is a core part of the research project.
References:
FuturAge. A roadmap for European ageing research. October 2011. www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk
Suomen eläkejärjestelmän sopeutuminen eliniän pitenemiseen. [Adapting the Finnish pension structure to the growing lifetime expectancy]. Eläkekysymysten asiantuntijatyöryhmän raportti. Eläketurvakeskus, Tampere 2013.