Stuck for Choice? The Work Life Experiences of Mature-Aged Workers in a New Zealand Call Centre

Abstract

Although there has been a great deal written globally about the ageing population, and the potential socio-economic implications of aged workers on developed economies, only recently has attention been paid to how aged workers experience work in the new economy. Increasingly, there is evidence to suggest mature-aged workers experience considerable difficulties in finding work, with age discrimination becoming increasingly prevalent. This paper examines the work life experiences of 10 mature-aged workers in a New Zealand call center: Tadco where 31 per cent of the workforce comprises those in the 50 years plus age groups. Reporting on the individual accounts of aged workers in Tadco, this paper raises some contentious issues relation to the employment of aged workers, including whether mature-aged workers are filtered into precarious working conditions because of the lack of opportunities elsewhere, whether there is a deliberated strategy to hire mature-aged workers into low quality jobs, and what the motivations are behind this.