May Employment Poll

Posted on by Nadia Pestrak

3479 Respondents weighed in on questions about realities related to employment, retirement and ageism in the workplace.

Over 72% of respondents are fully retired.

10% are semi-retired (e.g., working part-time or occasionally)

14% are employed or self-employed.

2% are looking for work.

Here’s what respondents had to say.

Older workers have much to offer

  • Age should not be considered when hiring. Seniors have much to offer with experience, knowledge and wisdom.
  • Older Canadians have a wealth of skill, knowledge and life experiences. We know what’s important in life. We need to be purposeful and needed. Society needs all ages to interact with one another to thrive. I tutor children in literacy. I know I am teaching them more than how to form sentences. They see past the grey hair and realize they can count on me.

Ageism in the Workplace impacts many.

  • Ageism is a huge issue in the last 10 years before retirement. It’s the last “ism ” that seems to be acceptable. It’s a barrier to the projects one gets, the ability to change positions… a senior leader I once worked with actually said at a meeting that they needed to find ways to encourage older employees to leave to free up places for young workers. Imagine replacing “older” with gay, Black, Asian …! There was little value placed on experience, corporate memory, relationships with clients.
  • Barriers to employment are recruiters who may not know how to assess older workers as most interviews focus on long term fit vs contribution; the managers may be reluctant because they are not confident in their skills with a worker who may be far more experienced than them
  • More needs to be done to combat covert ageism. I have been told over 100 different ways that I am too old. HR gets excited during phone interview because I have experience and “tick all boxes”, AND my wage ask is “market value”, so very reasonable. But, as soon as meeting the hiring manager I can clearly see on their face that interview is total waste of time. I am now to the point that if approached on LinkedIn I IMMEDIATELY disclose my age. NEVER had follow up contact thus far.
  • Ageism is a serious barrier to having access to higher level contracts or projects. Assumptions that your thinking and perspective is “dated” – as if you don’t work toward remaining current in your field, just as you did over the course of your career. Young people are presumed to be “current” in subject matter – even when they are not. Often the opposite for older professionals.
  • It is hard to prove ageism. But I knew that I was the best qualified but overlooked.
  • I’m tired of people asking me when I’m going to retire just because of my over 30 years in the workplace. I’m only in my late 50’s and feel I still have a lot to offer. 
  • Ageism especially for women is very difficult to navigate. Fewer employment opportunities given to older woman. Especially in areas traditionally held by men.
  • I am an active, capable person with more than 40 years experience ina professional office environment and could not even get a part time minimum wage job.

Many are not convinced they can afford to retire even if they wished to.

  • It is a conundrum, to work and lose the benefits of living below the poverty line, including subsidized housing or; to retire and live unable to afford the little things like buying healthy groceries and being able to take the grandkids to the movies or Heritage Park.
  • Being retired today is a hardship for lots of canadians because of all the tax increases, cost of living and poor healthcare.
  • I doubt that I’ll be able to retire due to lack of RRSPs, low CPP payments and inflation
  • I felt I had enough money when I retired but now it’s very tight. I would like some part time work I could do from home to feel more financially secure. Retirement is not as expected.
  • Love retirement and the freedom it allows me. Am concerned about inflation though, as my small pension is not indexed and its purchasing power has shrunk in the past ten years.

Work provides social and intellectual engagement

  • My work keeps my brain active; that impacts everything else in my life. As long as I can contribute to my profession, I shall attempt to do so.
  • Staying active and working gives me a reason to get up in the morning. It keeps me socially connected and I’m always learning something new.
  • You need to really think about and plan ahead as to how you are going to fill in your time when retired with something that is engaging and fulfilling. Wondering aimlessly is not healthy
  • It is in the interest of all governments to enable older adults to be active members of their communities as all research shows significant cognitive decline when adults feel isolated; not part of a community or feeling they are valued for their contributions.

There are a variety of barriers for those who would like to work.

  • I’d like to be working part-time but some health issues are preventing it.
  • Due to family caregiving commitments, flexibility is key

Many are enjoying retirement

  • I love being retired!
  • I thoroughly enjoy retirement, doing the things I want to do at the pace I want to. I only work part-time for personal reasons, not for the money.
  • I’ve never been busier.