From The Day I Left Work

From The Day When I Left Work

At work I gained many social relationships

And strove to do the best job I could,

Asking myself  important questions

That would help me teach others.

I asked myself, what goals would I like to achieve?

 I would help widen the space of the world they see.

And they could  learn more about themselves

And they would set goals to help each other.

I’m proud of one of my students from long ago

Yongjie is about to finish  his PhD.

I have also been able to create my blogs.

That help me send information around the world.

Most important is my wonderful wife

Once a student, who’s now my teacher.

And though I’m retired from a teaching

I still have a great deal to learn.

In Canada, Do We LIve in An Ageist Society

Controversy: Do we live in an Ageist Society[1]

         “. David Sheffield says that introductory gerontology  texts often give ‘ …the impression that a negative attitude toward elderly people is rampant in the United States and presumably in other western countries. (1982, 267).  He goes on to say that these texts exaggerate the amount of prejudice against older people in North America.  Review articles and studies by well-known gerontologists  find little evidence for this supposed prejudice.  Studies show that older people maintain good relations with their families, receive many services from the government, and get preferred treatment from restaurants, banks and airlines”.

         “Schonfield’s own research shows that people have both positive and negative attitudes toward old age and ageing.  He found that between 20 and 77 percent of his sample agreed with stereotypes about older people, but many of these same people said that the statement applied to only a portion of the older population.

He says that ‘ at most one in five participants could be convicted [ of stereotyping.]  

        

         Schonfield’s research shows the danger of generalizing about attitudes toward older people.  Still, his research shows that some portion ( as many as one in five) do stereotype older people.  More education and information about aging might improve attitudes toward older people.

         Can you find examples of ageist attitudes or behaviours  toward older people? Can you find examples of positive attitudes and behaviours  toward older people?  Do you agree with Schonfield’s conclusion that gerontologists sometimes exaggerate the extent of ageism in Canadian Society?

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[1]  Novak, M. & Campell, L. (2001).  Aging and Society a Canadian Perspective, (2001)  Controversy: Do we live in an Ageist Society?

Exhibit 1.4 Page 11/

The End of Mandatory Retirement in British Columbia

Intergenerational Equity Politics:[1]

A presentation by me.

  Keep in mind that Mandatory Retirement was abolished from Canada some years ago.

      According to Michael Ignatieff,  “ Rights represent our attempt to give meaning to values we most care about---dignity, equality, and respect.[2]   While Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedom originally focused on the importance of group equality, in respect to limited resources, current political climate favors protection of personal choices and “… the personal is rapidly becoming political as a major shift in the workforce looms.”[3]

         The conflict over the control of limited resources has a long history.  In the distant past, it appears that the elderly were particularly vulnerable in cultures that placed high values on youth and strength.  In a modern example of a similar relationship, the Supreme Court of Canada once supported the argument that mandatory retirement was essential in Universities so that they could have access to new thinking generated by a younger generation faculty. Another example is that individuals over the age of 65, in British Columbia at least, had little or no protection under the civil rights legislation.

         The tension between generations is framed as a “generational equity debate.” This debate was focused on questions about whether or not seniors were consuming valuable government resources at the expense of future generations.  Ellen Gee referred this as “Apocalyptic Demography “[4] In the context of work this could describe seniors as holding on to valuable positions at the expense of their juniors.

      Tension between generations is a natural process. The young are more often ready to change, and encourage older workers to rethink their positions, while seniors raise important questions using the wisdom of their experience.  If there is a healthy tension and open discussion both can be changed by the process.

         Intergenerational relations became increasingly tense as the younger looked into the future of their earning capacity and the use of society’s resources.  They wanted to get as far as they could and have security for themselves in old age.  Many of them believed that they would not reach their parents standard of living.  At the same time it could not be automatically assumed that older workers had adequate cushions, if and when the retired and people over 65 had few rights.  Both “sides” were fuelled by the fear that they would be short charged.

         The value involved in this debate expressed as. “What does one generation owe the next?” It is one of intergeneration reciprocity. At its core, the generational equity debate appears to be about winners and losers.  It assumes the relationships can never be balanced; that the debate is really battle.

         Women have a special interest in this debate.  In 1950 women constituted only 20% of the workforce in Canada.  By 2005 they reached 46%  (I couldn’t find any 2014 data).  They also have less traditional career paths than men.  On the average, they start later, drop out for family care reasons most frequently and, because they live longer, over the length of their retirement they get smaller pension benefits.

       On the other side, ending the obligation to retire at 65 was thought to lead to stronger valuation and forced departure at an earlier age.  This could be unsettling to younger workers.

          Recent Immigrants may face similar problems.  Many arrive in Canada as middle aged or older adults. The time it would take to reach Mandatory Retirement might not allow to time to build a pension fund, especially since many of them faced lower wages than their Canadian counterparts.

         Betty Freman has reported that mandatory retirement was initiated in the U.S. during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, because the elimination of older workers created positions for younger employees, this suggests that from the beginning mandatory retirement was about corporate succession planning.

         Retirement in Canada emerged gradually as an effect of industrialization.  According to Snell[5], retirement increased greatly with the introduction with the Old Age Security Act of 1951 and as firms became bigger and less able to meet the needs of older workers.  Also, senior workers had moved to the top of the ladder and management required a cut of point to expenses.  The arbitrary point of 65 was determined to be that point.

         As mandatory retirement slipped in Northcot reported it and Millken indicated that “…many British Columbia employers have a policy of mandatory retirement linked to their pension plans.  In addition, Section 13 of British Columbia’s Human Rights Code states that age is a characteristic that cannot be used to refuse the continuation of employment.   In Section 3 of the code however, this age discrimination stipulations referred to pension or employee insurance plans.  Further, the Charter allows “discrimination” under certain circumstances:” While things are not perfect they are better than they were.

         The primary purpose of this essay was to explore the some of the major generalization equity issues involved in post secondary teaching; the problem of an “aging academic work force” 

         When I retired from the Psychology Dept at Kwantlen Polytechnic University I had reached the age of 72; after mandatory retirement had been eliminated.

 

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[1]    This article was never published.  I sent it around but no one was interested.  Or perhaps it just wasn’t good enough. Now that I have my own blog, I have decided to bring it into public.   I will be very interested it some of you have something to say.

[2] Ignatieff, (2000) , The Rights revolution, House of Anasi Press.

[3] For more on historical accounts in generational conflict see “Framing the generational equity debate, Williams J. B., Watts-Roy, D.M. & Kingston Eds Columbia University Press, 1999.

[4] In the “overselling of Population Aging” Ellen Gee. & Gloria Gutman  Eds In Oxford University Press

[5]  Snell, J.C.  The Citizen’s wage: The State and the Elderly in Canada, 1900-1951 Vol. 22 p.286

Ageism and Health Care Providers

About Ageism and Health Care Providers[1]

This article explores research about ageism and “…how ageism is still having a detrimental effect on healthy aging… It is argued that for a long-lasting change to occur, service providers need to directly target, these negative attitudes in themselves, their professional institutions, their clients and their communities.”

As early as 1947 the world health organization defined health as “…a complete state of physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease.”  In 1986 Welfare Canada defined health in terms of “quality of life which included the opportunity to make choices and gain satisfaction from living despite functional limitations, suggesting that health is a domestic process of interation between individuals and their communities. (Which reminds me that this weekend I need to do canvassing in my neighborhood for donations to the Canadian Cancer Society.)

Among the important factors are diet and exercise. It has been reported that  “Diet and exercise have significant effects on carbohydrate metabolism osteoporosis, cholesterol levels, diabetes, blood pressure, respiratory functioning, and hydration.”

There are also emotional factors.  For example a longitudinal study in Sweden “…revealed that death rates increased by 48 percent for men and 26 percent for women within the first three months after losing their spouse.”

There are also some cognitive factors; for example the sense of control. “ A sense of control results from the belief that certain actions will lead to certain results and the conviction that one has the capacity to produce those results. But keep in mind that “ Successful aging cannot be equated with total independence and lack of reliance on others.  (Hummm, here comes my wife whom I am working with to fix the upstairs bathroom floor.)  This leads to a note on self-esteem.

A review of literature by the author found that “…correlates the of self-esteem unique to older adults were health status and attitudes toward aging.”    For more information go to the original article.

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[1]  Grant, Linda (1996)  Health and Social Work, Vol. 21 Issue 1

How to Retire: Happy, Wild, and Free

The following material was gathered from the book How to Retire, Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement wisdom that you won't get from your financial advisor  by Ernie J. Zelinski
             
       Strong Signs That you are not ready for retirement

•  You have been unhappy all your working life and have been waiting for retirement to make you happy.
• You have no nest egg because you have been expecting a big lottery win to fund your retirement dreams.
• Planning a vacation is more fun than taking it.
• Vacations have always taken a back seat to work commitments.
• You have not hobbies or other outside interests outside of work.
• Your best friends are people you work with and that you don't like all that much
• All the social functions are work related.
• The thought of spending a lot more time at home with your spouse makes you extremely  anxious and dejected.
• Your spouse has always wanted you to get a life outside of work, but you haven't gotten around to it.
• You don't know the meaning of  sabbatical, let alone having ever acually ever taken one.
• On weekends your spouse constantly complains about you getting into his or her hair
• You persistently look at work, even when you are not on the job.
• You are proud to be a workaholic even though you know that workaholics  aren't that productive.

        Exploring these ideas can be quite helpful

Early Stages of Ageism

About The Early Stages of Ageism[i]

         The information presented in this post was gathered from the research article listed below.  Those of you who have previously looked at posts on this blog will know I am very interested in the study of Ageism.  The article is good in it’s description of the ways ageism may begin.  First there are characteristics, both positive and negative, displayed in research article. The respondents, all college students, were asked to check the terms they think describe the elderly. They were asked if an elder lived with them or had ever lived with them. If they said yes they were asked to describe how the elder related to them using the postive and negative items listed below, They were also asked how they think they will feel when they reach 75 years old and if it worried them.  Since I will be 75 in Oct I can tell you that the world is still a wonderful place. Now here are the characteristics.

Positive: 1.  Knowledgeable 2. Enjoy Company

3. Sociable 4.Pleasant 5.Sharing 6. Important 7. Helpful

8.Educable 9.Independent 10.Healthy 11.Open to Ideas.

12.clean.  

Negative: 1.Hard of hearing 2.Poor Vision 3. Dependent 4.Grouchy 5. Narrow Minded 6. Sickly 7.Withdrawn 8.Noneducable 9. Self-Centered10.Ignorant 11. Avoid Compan12. Get in the way 13.Unimportant 14. Dirty.

.

(These below are now listed in order of the percentages of being, starting with the most mentioned in descriptions.)

1.  Poor Vision.  2. Hard of hearing 3. Dependent 4. Sickly 

5. Grouchy 6. Self-Centered 7. Narrow Minded 8. Gets in the Way

9. Unimportant 10.Noneducable 11. Withdrawn

I suggest that you explore this is your own family

.

(Next week I intend to report another study entitled “Looking into the Future:  How possible aged selves influence prejudice toward older adults.

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. Mosher-Ashley. (1999.) Attitudes of college’s students Toward Elderly Persons and their perception of themselves at age 75. Educational Gerontology, 25, pp.89-102.

Retire Successfully in the Personal Domain

How Accomplished People Retire Successfully In the Personal Domain[1]

The book concentrates on those persons in the United States between 1946 and 1964. So this is making comment about people between the age ages of 49 and 67.

First:   “What I can say is the idea of who you are, what it means to be you, and how happy and satisfied you are, are the most personal truths you hold.  I will not, and cannot, try to change your ideas of who you are.  I will attempt to share with you the benefits of knowing, questioning, and improving yourself.”

Next:  “Your self is much like a cake, made up of many parts, including (in the case of a cake), flour, suger, milk, eggs, flavorings, and other ingredients.  The ingredients may be constant, but it is the baker who makes the cake.  To understand your self you need to know about the many “ingredients” from which you are made.  Once you know yourself, you can blend your personal, social, physical, and financial dimands into an integrated whole that is greater than the sum of it’s parts.”

“So: How would you describe yourself?

·   Spiritual, caring, energetic, curious, fun

·   Ugly, unfriendly, miserable, loud, smart

·   Caring, introverted, creative, polite, analytic

·   Solid, creative, thoughtful, curious and bold

·   Happy, compassionate, friendly, spiritual

·   Wife, grandma, organized, smart, friendly

·   Independent, strong, adventurous, young, powerful

·   Six feet three inches tall

·   Handsome, tall, dark successful, liar

·   Happy, funny, reliable, creative, sensual

·   Honest, irritating, annoying, faithful. Overweight

·   Stormy, mighty, scholar, disturbed, contained

·  Taller than most my age

   Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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[1]  This information was gathered from BEYOND WORK. It was written by  Bill Roiter.  It was published by John Wiley & Sons CANADA . The book has 8 chapters.   ISBN  978-0-470-84094-8.  Material of this post is from Chapter Seven, entitled The Personal Domain