I am enjoying my ninth decade on the planet totally convinced that the enhanced prosperity of Australia depends on people of my age continuing in either full or part time employment.
I also firmly believe that early retirement leads to premature death or a fast track to a nursing home.
However, I am very aware that the increasingly rapid advance in technology is replacing the need for human beings to be the dominant element in the workplace. This means that the chances of anyone at any age gaining employment diminish daily unless our profession happens to be technology.
So, when ageing reaches its peak worldwide in 2050, the world will be a very different place to what it is now. So, we must commence planning immediately to meet this incredible change and ensure that we have a quality society of creative productivity in which all ages have a role.
The achievement of this goal is highly possible if we tackle it positively and urgently as the world faced a similar crisis when the Industrial Revolution occurred a couple of centuries ago. Unskilled people gradually adapted to it despite its many inhuman elements.
One instance of the many possibilities that will arise is that, as technology advances, a myriad of obsolete equipment will become available at a very cheap cost and it can be adapted by people of initiative to fill niche gaps in the marketplace for both goods and services.
In 2050 it may be that technology will create a world in which most people will choose to work part time in order to add quality to their family and social life while happily existing on a lower income. This will be a very good thing so long as leisure time is used creatively, not lazily.
So, let us all work and plan now to set Australia on a course that will take full advantage of a totally different high tech world while making sure that older people can join with all others in making a positive contribution.
To have a role in this, all old guys like me must enhance and expand our participation in life long learning that equips us to be of good value to ourselves and the nation.
Yours at Large
Everald Compton
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Once again enjoyed your article Everald. As one who has become extremely busy “in retirement” in a second related career, I concur that being engaged in the community and busy provides great motivation to get up in the morning and work past the otherwise disabling physical impairments of age.
The one area that really does concern me about the future though is how little ‘value’ [monetary in particular] is placed by our society on teaching & mentoring. Not only is this role taken for granted by most when it is provided, but as a result, those more experienced members of our age cohort lose interest in teaching & mentoring with the consequent great loss of human capital to the greater good. It is disturbing that even the ‘honorary’ acknowledgement of this teaching & mentoring role is now dismissed as archaic & of no value.
Great article Everald.
For me, one of the keys when getting older is to keep as many “balls in the air” as long as you can, and keep looking for new opportunities.
Will definitely depend on your occupation as to how long you can work. Employer attitudes must also meet the demand for older Aussies to keep working.
I was listening to radio last night and some expert says all cars will be driverless within 10 yrs. Lets hope people maintain them so they don’t go haywire ! Take away the enjoyment of driving.
Robots – already high tech – doing operations on humans coming soon.