Aging Workers and the Experience of Job Displacement

• In Event: 397 - Section on Labor and Labor Movements Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Labor and Labor Movements Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Shifting Labor Conditions in the Wake of the Great Recession

Abstract

Older workers experience the longest unemployment spells of any segment of the labor force and are much more likely than their younger counterparts to drop out of employment entirely. These longstanding patterns have been exacerbated by the Great Recession and its aftermath. In the face of such patterns, it is striking how little we know about older workers’ perceptions and experiences of these processes. Do they see themselves as structurally disadvantaged? If so, in what ways? And, what are the consequences for self-perceptions, notions of fairness and even mental health? Our analyses fill this gap by drawing on 55 semi-structured qualitative interviews with workers aged 40 to 65 who were displaced during the Great Recession. Notable is respondents’ keen awareness of age-specific labor market disadvantages. Indeed, as findings show, they articulate sophisticated analyses of ways that employer biases, credentialism, the job search process, and changes in the economy present very real barriers to their reemployment. No less important, these experiences have far-reaching social-psychological consequences, including loss of belief in meritocracy within major institutions, questioning of self-worth, and feelings of loss, isolation, hopelessness and depression. Such experiences and perceptions are especially informative relative to the fact that many older workers ultimately become discouraged and drop out of the labor force.

Authors

• Lora A. Phillips Lassus, The Ohio State University

• Steven H. Lopez, The Ohio State University

• Vincent J. Roscigno, The Ohio State University