An aging and changing work force may cause us to reexamine and revalue the meaning and necessity of work for older workers. An aging work force might influence workplace cultures and values in ways that change our notions of the meaning and necessity of work. A workplace that blends training opportunities, flexible employment patterns, and policies supportive of the life needs of an aging work force may become a workplace that embraces older workers as capable, productive, and knowledgeable lifelong workers. An investigation of the meaning of work in the lives of older workers is fertile ground for adult educators. Flexible schedules, job sharing, reduced loads, and seasonal employment may be redefined in the context of a changing and aging work force.
Older workers represent a rich source of experience, accumulated knowledge, and wisdom.
The quality and sensitivity of an institution's program for counseling, training, retraining, and preparing older workers for life and career transition might be the means by which organizations recruit and retain valued and productive workers. Little, Brown and Company, 1994. Meeting of the American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, DC, October 27, 1995. Bantam Books, 1990. Extending the Work-Life of Older Americans.