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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Older Adults in the Workforce



Age discrimination in the workforce has been a common occurrence towards both the old and the young. The former, is considered hard to teach and difficult to stay up-to-date with the latest technology. The latter, are considered to have a lack of loyalty to their place of work and respect for the more mature worker. Of the least acknowledged and most persistent prejudices in Canadian society, ageism is one of the most prevailing.

Our economy has fluctuated so significantly over the past few years, that our aging demographic is taking the blow. Most Canadians 55-64 years old are at the age when one customarily exits work life. More and more they are finding that they can’t.  According to Leader-Post, economists say that if the country is to thrive, it must keep older workers on the job past traditional retirement. 

And this "need" is not limited to Canada; 14 other countries - including Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany and Ireland - are planning to increase their retirement ages to between 67 and 69 by 2050, according to The Washington Post.

The irony is that this experienced individual is often removed, or segregated, from the workforce because of the occurring prejudices against their age. An article about a recent Ipsos Reid survey, conducted exclusively for Postmedia News, said that, “51 per cent of those asked said they thought older workers were more difficult to train on new processes and technology than younger ones.”         

Doreen Copeland, 54, who was recently let go from her job after “serving” 30 years of dedicated work in radio, told Leader-Post that she believed her seniority was her undoing.

"With longevity comes a higher salary. And there was always a source of young, eager people who were willing to work for next to nothing," says Copeland. "They were breaking down the doors."

So what does this mean? According to The Vancouver Sun, the dilemma is that what looks like prejudice may just be practical judgement about the ability of a worker to do a job, or adapt to change.  And it’s true, we can’t prove when a company has implied an age bias, as other factors may very well be involved when hiring or firing.

What’s important is to stay up to date with every day news and changes in the workforce – be it technology or your new supervisor.  Steve Shifman, President and CEO of Michelman writes that, “you need to recognize the harsh reality that about one-fifth of what you know, what you do, and how you do it will become useless next year and that you must replace that obsolete knowledge with new and relevant skills, knowledge and experience.”

And how do we do this Steve? 

Check out Shifman’s article, 4 Ways to Make Your Careers Last Longer, provided by nextavenue, and find out!

In your mind, at what age do you see yourself retiring?

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Stay Cool During the Summer Heat



Summer; it’s the time of year when we hit the beach, take off to the cottage, and barbecue on a regular basis.  But I can’t say that I’m a lover of the extreme heat we’ve been having these days. If I were forced to choose between freezing in the Arctic poles or melting in the Sahara sands, I would choose the former over the latter; over and over again.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the beautiful, mild-tempered days where you can comfortably sit outside and bask in the warm rays of the sun, but there is a limit for everyone, and I think I’ve reached mine this week.

Cottage country is a great, mini-getaway from the realities (and intense heat) of the city.  But a week spent here has given me quite an appreciation for air conditioning and how important it is for keeping our seniors cool.  It has been HOT! The long nights of tossing and turning in the thick, humid air has resulted in little-to-no sleep, attempts at curling up on the sun porch where a slight breeze may travel through (if you’re lucky) and zombie-like appearances in the morning as everyone sits sipping their coffee in a silent, somewhat somber, state. 

Needless to say, if we aren’t careful, heat can get the better of us, and it’s important to do all we can to stay cool.  Taking minor precautions before spending time outdoors on blistering days can help prevent heat-related illnesses, says The Care Guide Source for Seniors, and staying hydrated is the key. 

Dehydration is common among the elderly.  As the body ages, sweat glands don’t work as well and blood vessels carry less blood to the skin, so the body becomes less tolerant to heat.  The Canadian Food Guide suggests that you drink water every day, especially in extreme heat.  The average person needs eight to 12 glasses of water daily to maintain body temperatures and transport wastes and nutrients.  The Care Guide suggests that if outdoor activity is necessary on a hot day, be sure to take frequent breaks in the shade and always have water with or near you.  

If it is unbearably hot, jump in and go for a swim in the closest body of water – be it pool, lake or ocean.  It’s also a great way to stay active and exercise. Or try to pick an indoor activity to do.  Go shopping, visit museums, go bowling or indoor mini-putting, anywhere that you can have fun, enjoy your outing, and stay cool while doing it.

What do you do during the summer months to stay cool? All this typing has caused me to break a sweat - I’m off to do 1-10 below!

10 Tips: How you can beat the Heat (provided by The Care Guide)
  1. Relax and put off chores and any strenuous activity.
  2. Stay indoors during the hottest times of the day.
  3. Close your shades to keep out the sunshine.
  4. If you do not have air conditioning, stay on the lower level in your home—heat rises.
  5. Check with your local agency for cool places you can go such as libraries and public buildings, or a mall with air conditioning.
  6. Wear lightweight, loose fitting clothing and protect yourself from the sun by wearing a hat, sunglasses or use an umbrella.
  7. Drink plenty of water even if you are not thirsty. This helps keep your body cool.
  8. Avoid alcohol or caffeinated beverages.
  9. If you have a chronic medical condition, talk with your doctor about additional precautions you should take to prevent heat related illness. Some conditions and medications may place you at higher risk.
  10. Neighbors, friends or family should check in on older people in their homes to make sure they are not suffering from the heat.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Thinking Bee


Barry B. Benson, from Dreamworks Bee Movie.

They zoom around our backyards, flower to flower, in a zigzag formation that appears to have a dizzying effect if you try to follow their flight pattern.  Their distinguished colours of black and yellow are easily recognizable.  They bumble, they buzz; it’s the honeybee. 

Known as the leading producer of honey, these little guys have made it into the news, and are the hot topic of the past week.  Why, might you ask?  Because, they’ve found a way to reverse the affects of brain aging.  Now, we can’t give honeybees all the credit, they didn’t just pick up one day and decide to try this theory out. 

Scientists have found that aging of older honeybees' brains reverses when they take on the task usually done by youngers, a discovery which suggests social intervention should also be considered along with drugs as a way to treat age-related dementia in humans, the Business Standard reports.

Gro Amdam and a team of colleagues at Arizona State University wanted to find out what would happen if they “asked” foraging bees to take care of larval babies again, reports LiveScience. "We knew from previous research that when bees stay in the nest and take care of larvae — the bee babies — they remain mentally competent for as long as we observe them," Amdam explained, “However, after a period of nursing, bees fly out gathering food and begin aging very quickly."

The aging honeybee appears to resemble that in humans.  Amdam said that after just a few weeks of no longer caring for “newborns”, foraging bees developed worn wings, hairless bodies, and lost brain function.  Amdam and the team of researchers decided to remove younger nurse bees from a nest, leaving older bees with a choice: continue foraging or care for the larvae.  Although some did continue to search for food, the remainder returned to look after the young, once again. 

After 10 days of observation, the team found that about 50 per cent of the older bees that chose to return to nursing, had “significantly improved their ability to learn new things,” the researchers said in a statement. 

So how does this relate to humans?  After all, honeybees are insects.  Well according to this discovery, the researchers found that one of the proteins (that changed) in the brains of bees is also found in humans.   The protein, Prx6, is the same one that is known to help protect against dementia, including Alzheimer’s.       

"Maybe social interventions — changing how you deal with your surroundings — is something we can do today to help our brains stay younger," Amdam speculates. "Since the proteins being researched in people are the same proteins bees have, these proteins may be able to spontaneously respond to specific social experiences."

Change is a hard reality for some individuals.  But doing it a little bit at a time, switching up a daily routine, can help to motivate your mind and stimulate your body into adjusting quickly to unforeseen circumstances that may occur in the future.  We can’t control everything, and being active and staying connected appears to be a key concept in every day life. 

What is something you did when you were younger that you may want to start up again? I might just turn on the sprinkler in the backyard and have a jump around. Just have to watch out for those honeybees…

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Seniors & Social Networking



Technology surrounds us. A lot of it has to do with keeping up-to-date with the rest of the world.  Instant messaging, email, video chat… they are all quick tools that have enabled many individuals to connect with the next person instantly.  As a result, there has been a paradigm shift in the networking realm – socializing.  Technology may read as “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, esp. in industry” on Google definitions – but in simple terms, it’s all about how we stay connected.

Social networking is more popular, and probably more common than socializing face to face.  Don’t get me wrong, this still happens, and quite frequently, but, how did you find out about Dave and Sally’s barbecue? When were you invited?  And what method was used to bring you to this event?  A majority of the time these questions are answered with one word: Facebook. 

According to the article, Facebook 101: Seniors Learn To Use the Social Network by Jessica Tully, spurred by a desire to stay connected to their children and grandchildren, more seniors are diving into Facebook, and as a result, social-networking instructions are popping up in libraries and even community centers.

A recent Pew Internet study found that 53 per cent of American age 65 and older use the Internet or email; of which, 34 per cent use social networking sites such as Facebook, and from that, 18 per cent use it daily.  In a study by Statistics Canada, it was found that of a possible total of 26 online activities, seniors aged 65 and older averaged 7.6 of activities used.  One-half of online senior home users qualified as “intensive users,” at 47 per cent.

“Retirees who use the Internet regularly are 20 to 28 per cent less likely to be classified as depressed, according to a study published in March in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, by Shelia Cotten, a sociology professor at the University of Alabama-Birmingham,” Tully writes.  Cotten explains that this is because of the connection and sense of community that the Internet provides.

Social networking is a large portion of how society operates today and has quickly become an integral part of how we communicate, whether it’s good news, or bad.  SERC’s Business of Aging: Information Exchange Network (BA:IEN) feels it is an important asset to keep seniors integrated within their community, and is reaching out to invite you to an exciting event on Wednesday, July 25, 2012.

To learn more, click on the image below: