System Approach in Managing the Aging Population

SYSTEM APPROACH IN MANAGING THE AGING POPULATION 1
MANAGING THE AGING WORKFORCE
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SYSTEM APPROACH IN MANAGING THE AGING POPULATION 2
There is a great change in the traditional view of retirement. The mature workers are
realizing that they cannot afford to retire and are not ready to make this move and hence many
are working even past the working requirement age. For most organizations, this is both a
challenge and also a blessing.
The estimates given by the United Nations show that by the year 2050, one out of three
people living in the developed countries will be 60 years. Reports in Australia show that one out
four people is older than 55 years and this is expected to increase in the next ten years to one
person in every three (Gill , Hensen , & Wilson, 2016, p. 67). With the prolonged shift in
demography, the imperative will be to extend the participation of the paid workforce and also
reduce the dependence on the non-working lot on the working lot to a level that can be easily
managed. The wicked problem in my discussion will be the management of aging population in
Australia. The rhetoric of aging workforce has policy implications that are widely discussed
including the increased cost of health care, the implications on the social welfare system, and the
savings on the welfare system generally the broader economy (Voyer , Gladstone , & Goodall,
2015, p. 236).
System thinking refers to the way of seeing things as a whole. Here, there is the study of
the interrelationships rather than seeing things. The sustainability of the ageing population in our
case is the wicked challenge. The aging population is the increase in the median age in a given
population caused by a decline in fertility rate or an increase in the life expectancy. This means
that there are fewer people working in the economy and hence there is a shortage in the supply of
the qualified workers making it almost impossible for businesses to fill in the demand roles
(Zakharov, 2013, p. 56). The purpose of this essay is then to look for solutions that will enable
the Australian government in managing retirement so as to increase the workforce.

SYSTEM APPROACH IN MANAGING THE AGING POPULATION 3
As the people who are under the working class bracket get older an older, there is some
pressure that is in most cases felt by the governments, families and also industries. There is a
promising pay off that is big if at all the government can manage to constructively deal with this
issue (Scales, 2014, p. 86). The latter will be achieved if there is a reduction in the obligation in
the social welfare, increased productivity in the organizations which will be done through
retaining the skilled workers and the increase in the personal fulfillment for the workers who are
already aged. The obligation is therefore left to the organizations, the leaders in the particular
businesses, colleagues and the older people who are facing a prolonged stint in the labor market
(Australia and Swan, 2016, p. 77).
The responsibilities and functions of humans are changing following the advancement in
the new technological know-how and hence the workers who are experienced and are of any age
are nowadays required to either opt for a reskill or up skill (Australia. Department of the
Treasury, 2013, p. 58). The employees who are relatively older are faced with the added
disadvantage of social bias and the stereotyping thing and this is accompanied by the
deteriorating expectations of health and families.
Increase in the interpersonal conflicts at work is brought about by the differences in the
experience and outlook among the workers .The problem then lies there on how to manage the
differences. The first step in dealing with this is the comprehension of the attitudes towards the
older workers and then doing investigations on how we shape these attitudes. Research shows
that attitudes are based on stereotypes (Healy, 2014, p. 165). The older workers get less
motivation, they are not easy to train and they are also very adamant to change. There is a great
inaccuracy in these and many other stereotypes. This is evident even in the definition of what
makes up the older worker since the definition is definitely not clear. The definitions for an older