Experts figuring out what later-in-life careers look like

Right now, we're seeing more and more people working longer because they choose to. What we find is that somewhere around age 50 or 55, there's this big cognitive shift that happens with people. They become aware of their own mortality, and they're making a really conscious choice about how they're going to live out those extra healthy years. And what kind of occupations are people doing this with? Because obviously if it's pretty intensive labour work, you can't necessarily continue doing that. I think you're making a really good point. We know that even healthy aging means some physiological changes. You might not be able to stand as long, you might not be able to see as clearly. And so some of those physical labour jobs are the hardest to get flexibility into. Yeah. And so do you, do you think this is a good thing? Oh, I think it's really important that we keep people working as long as they can. We know that work is good for people, or I should say, good work is good for people. Work gives U.S. financial stability. It gives us social relationships. It keeps us cognitively active in general. It's a really good thing and it's a really good thing for employers too because workers who are over 55, they make up 20% of the Australian workforce. We can't afford to lose them. There are some of them taking jobs that younger people could be getting. Unlikely. Younger people, we find tend to have a lot more mobility across jobs, so they tend to go into jobs, learn the skills and move on. What we find is that older people are more likely to get into a job and stay in it for a long time. And they really contribute a lot of value in the workplace because then they're training the next generation. And a company is becoming more aware of the value of having people working longer in their organizations. Oh, I wish they would. Then I wouldn't have to be doing this research. Then I wouldn't have to be. But you, you love the workout. I do. I do. It's true. It's very, it's very rewarding. But I'm often really disappointed that older workers tell us in interviews that they've gone to their employers and asked for what seems to us very small modifications, very small amounts of flexibility, and their managers aren't very responsive. And what would your advice to those companies be? I would say pay most attention to your healthiest older workers, because in our research, we find that those are the ones whose retirement intention increases the fastest. And of course, the healthiest older workers are your most productive ones, and they're the ones you want to keep. And what about governments facilitating this? I think that governments need to kind of take the lead in this. We do know that the public sector is a bit better in terms of their workforce profile at retaining older workers. And of course, a lot of public sector jobs have some flexibility in them. And how long do you intend to be working for? As long as my job continues to be very supportive and rewarding. Good stuff. OK Carol Kulick, thanks so much for being TET to us from Adelaide. Thanks so much.