Weekend professional: Mature workers find niche online

Older workers can break the age barrier and find gainful employment.

We are facing intergenerational challenges that cannot be ignored, says Kyri Theos, regional director, Asia-Pacific, at Freelancer.com

Australia has enjoyed 25 years of unbroken economic growth. The budget predicts another four, breaking international records for advanced economies.

Despite government optimism we are facing intergenerational challenges that cannot be ignored. We have an ageing population, declining work participation rates and slower productivity growth. The quality of life we’ve traditionally enjoyed is at risk.

The percentage of people in the labour force will not be sufficient to sustain our welfare costs across the longer term. The present welfare bill takes up a third of government spending and is set to be the largest growth area for expenditure during the next four years.

To address this, the government is encouraging businesses to hire older workers.

Deloitte research shows that if we increase the number of over-55s in the workforce by 5 per cent, we can achieve a $48 billion boost to gross domestic product. This would reduce our welfare bill significantly and help maintain our standard of living.

The Royal Australian College of Physicians says a working older person is healthier and happier than those not working, with an improved sense of self-worth and confidence.

Entrenched structural and social barriers often prevent Australians from finding and keeping a job in their later years.

One-fifth of jobseekers over 45 say being considered too old is their main obstacle to work. And one in 10 businesses have an age above which they will not recruit — the average is 50 years. These hiring attitudes reflect a stigma about mature workers that is detrimental to our economy and society. Decades of experience are going to waste.

Many mature workers also find traditional nine-to-five jobs don’t fit their needs. They want to work from home, spend more time with grandchildren and pursue new areas of interest.

Brisbane-based engineer John Hanna, 68, saw the mining industry slow down and eliminate jobs. Rather than await the inevitable, Hanna turned to online freelancing to supplement his income.

He found freelancing provided opportunities he hadn’t encountered in his corporate career, including selecting his own schedule and work on projects of his choice.

Hanna’s income is now completely freelance-driven. He plans to continue freelancing so he and his wife can live comfortably in their senior years.

Sara Horowitz, director of the Freelancers Union in the US, says “freelancing and retirement just go together”. She says a career’s worth of experience and insight is a highly sought-after commodity in the freelance marketplace.

Being older and more experienced can reduce employment prospects in the traditional job market, but it is an advantage in the online freelance economy. As a freelancer, you’re ranked on skills, experience and feedback on past jobs, not age or appearance.

Baby boomers are leading the freelancing trend in Australia. Of the 3.7 million Australians who freelanced last year, 35 per cent were over 55.

Freelancers are not only supplementing their wages, in many cases they are sourcing their income entirely from freelance work. Last year, Australian freelancers earned an estimated $51bn from freelancing, and a third expect their income to rise this year.

Freelancing gives mature workers job opportunities. Baby boomers can have a higher standard of living in their later years and secure Australia’s prosperity.

Kyri Theos is regional director, Asia-Pacific, at Freelancer.com