The Effects of the Work Constraints on the Young-Old on Their Confidence in Job Seeking: The Comparison between Males and Females

Background/Purpose

Currently, the elders are considered as the active and healthy persons; the old age has begun to be regarded as the beginning of the second stage of life. However, the prolonged old age has made the old-age income security an serious issue. It encourages that healthy older persons can work and should work to relieve their own problem of income security. The issue of working in old age becomes more and more important.

Work constraints and confidence in job seeking are important concepts for working of elderly. Work constraints of older persons who are healthy but cannot obtain the opportunity to work has been the new stressor. Meanwhile, confidence in job seeking enables older persons to successfully get a job and to work longer. This study attempted to identify the effects of work constraints on the confidence in job seeking. Moreover, it compares the types of constraints and confidence on males and female.

Methods:

For this study, the data of older persons who are 75-years-old or under and unemployed from the 5th Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(2014) were utilized(N = 1,701). The variable of work constraints was divided into four sub-variables: 1) the internal constraints, e.g. their thoughts they are too old or they are not equipped with skills or ability, 2) the constraints by the family, e.g. the cases that they have to do houseworks, 3) social constraints, e.g. the insufficient proper jobs for older persons and 4) free will that they just do not want to work. The chi-square, t-test, correlation analysis and regression analysis were conducted through STATA 13.

Results:

First, there were significant differences of the types of the work constraints by gender. For male, the internal constraints was the largest, followed free will, social constraints and constraints by family. For female, the internal constraints was most common, followed by constraints by family, free will and social constraints. Second, Males’ confidence level in job seeking was significantly higher than females’. Lastly, work constraint had effect on confidence in job seeking. While males significantly increased in confidence by social constraints and free will, female were affected on confidence by family and social constraints than the internal constraints. Both males and females showed that the effect on confidence in job seeking was strongest, when both genders experienced social constraints than others.

Conclusions and Implication:

It was proved that work constraints affected on confidence in job seeking and significantly different between male and female. It showed that work constraints on older persons need to be intervened to improve the confidence of older persons in job seeking. The interventions needs to be different by gender. The implications were derived from this study that various types of interventions measures need to be provided such as the supports and services to mitigate the constraints and increase employment of older persons in the future. Gender difference, also, should be considered to provide services.