Community News

CHALLENGES FACED

BY SENIORS IN THE WORKFORCE

By Shruti Ganapathy

Crossing the magic number 65 in your life used to mean a light at the end of the tunnel. You could now hang up your boots, rest your legs and enjoy the fruits of the hard work you had put in all those years in the form of a pension.

Not anymore, where people over 60 are forced to put in hours, often turning to second careers to help pay bills and make ends meet. Ajay Widge, Senior Project Manager with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), says finding a job after the age of 65 definitely becomes a challenge especially if your boss is younger than you. “Most supervisors are typically in their mid 30s and they are looking for someone closer to their age to fill the role.”

Widge, who has been working on contracts with major institutions for the last six years, says that all the issues pertaining to senior employment become more relevant whilst in your full-time role. “I know of people who have been picked on at workplaces because of their age. Unfortunately, they continue to suffer in silence because they need the job.”

Seniors in Canada make up a sizeable population of the workforce. It was in the year 2006 that mandatory retirement came to an end allowing individuals to choose when they wanted to retire and protecting all persons over the age of 18 against discrimination in employment on the basis of their age. However, despite laws in place, people are asked to bite the bullet for superficially reasons.

“I had a great job and a good salary with a prominent financial firm”, says Madhu Suri, who is currently unemployed. Suri, who found her last role at the age of 58 says the company asked her to quit her role due to her failing health. “I underwent two surgeries and was taking longer to heal than I expected”, she says. “My boss is now trying to make my role redundant and hire someone else in my place – someone much younger who won’t have many health problems and will probably be more up-to-date with technology.”

Suri is part of a growing workforce that is currently facing the challenge of having to compete with people half their age, just entering the workforce. However, once completely recovered, she intends to find another job. “Not working is not an option for me. I have bills to pay. I also know that at this age I’m going to find it much harder to find a job,” quips Suri who is 65-years old. “Age is one of the factors that might sway the decision against me. I will also need to update my skillset before I start looking for full-time employment again”, says Suri who is also mentally prepared to accept a lower salary than what she was drawing at the organization she worked with full-time earlier.

“As immigrants most of us are already working below our normal skill level so it becomes hard to even make a lateral move”, says Widge. “It’s hard on a personal level too. You have to be mentally very flexible. And it’s challenging to build new bridges when your social priorities are not the same as those of your colleagues.”

Neeraj Mehta, Financial Advisor with Sunlife Financial, who switched job profiles at the age of 61 says the right attitude can tilt victory in your favour. “When the management are looking to hire, they look at your experience, your attitude, your enthusiasm and how long you plan to work. If they see that the person has the will and hunger for success, they will hire them, no matter their age.”

Mehta also believes it is important to keep pace with the changing technology. And in order to get along with your colleagues, you have to understand their mindset. “Most of your colleagues are often in their 20s, 30s and 40s. If you have to understand them and interact with them in their way, they accept you and you become part of the group.”

OPINION | EDITORIAL

en-ca

2023-06-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-08T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281586654995282

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