Abstract
Despite active aging discourses and labor force integration goals, unemployment and dependency on welfare institutions among older workers still prevails, especially among vulnerable groups like immigrants or women. However, little is known about how older immigrants understand or cope with unemployment. The present study investigates the interplay between age, gender and immigrant status in making sense of unemployment and reemployment barriers. Episodic interviews were conducted with 12 Russian-speaking and 12 Turkish unemployed immigrants living in Germany. Older unemployed immigrants perceived age as an important barrier for reemployment and used old age to make sense of their unemployment, setting the stage for the internalization of negative age stereotypes. Gender norms may be less important than age perceptions in the context of unemployment. Different intervention alternatives are discussed in relation to the immigrant unemployed aging groups studied.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
For each quote, a code composed of a letter and number was used to identify the participant. “T” stands for participants of Turkish Origin and “R” for participants who are of Russian-speaking origin.
In this case, the participants’ husband took part in the interview with the wife’s consent. Since he was an unemployed immigrant of Turkish origin and in the 40–65 age group, his answers are considered as findings and appear in the results section.
References
Akhavan, S., Bildt, C. O., Franzén, E. C., & Wamala, S. (2004). Health in relation to unemployment and sick leave among immigrants in Sweden from a gender perspective. Journal of Immigrant Health, 6(3), 103–118. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:joih.0000030226.59785.38.
Barrett, A., Riphahn, R. T., Sander, M., & Wunder, C. (2013). The welfare use of immigrants and natives in Germany: The case of Turkish immigrants. International Journal of Manpower, 34(1), 70–82.
Berger, E. D. (2009). Managing age discrimination: An examination of the techniques used when seeking employment. The Gerontologist, 49(3), 317–332. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnp031.
Burkert, C., Hochfellner, D., Wurdack, A.(2012), Ältere Migrantinnen Und Migranten Am Arbeitsmarkt [Old Migrants on the Job Market]. In Viele Welten Des Alterns [Many Aging Worlds], pp 77–100. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-19011-2_3.
Butterwegge, C. (2015). Hartz IV und die Folgen. Auf dem Weg in eine andere Republik? [Hartz IV and its Consequences. On the way to another Republic?] Weinheim/Basel: Beltz Juventa.
Cahill, K. E, Giandrea, M. D., & Quinn, J. F. (2013). Retirement patterns and the macroeconomy, 1992–2010: The prevalence and determinants of bridge jobs, phased retirement, and reentry among three recent cohorts of older Americans. The Gerontologist Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnt156
Carney, G. M., & Gray, M. (2015). Unmasking the “elderly mystique”: Why it is time to make the personal political in ageing research. Journal of Aging Studies, 35, 123–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2015.08.007
Calasanti, T. (2015). Combating Ageism: How Successful Is Successful Aging? The Gerontologist, 56(6), 1093–1101. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnv076
Coudin, G., & Alexopoulos, T. (2010). “Help me! I”m old!’ How negative aging stereotypes create dependency among older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 14(5), 516–523. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607861003713182.
Craciun, C., & Flick, U. (2014). “I will never be the granny with rosy cheeks”: Perceptions of aging in precarious and financially secure middle-aged Germans. Journal of Aging Studies, 29, 78–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2014.01.003.
Craciun, C., & Flick, U. (2016). Aging in precarious times: Exploring the role of gender in shaping views on aging. Journal of Women & Aging, 28(6), 530–539. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952841.2016.1223896.
Craciun, C., Gellert, P., & Flick, U. (2015a). Aging in precarious times: Positive views on aging in middle-aged Germans with secure and insecure pension plans. Ageing International, 40(3), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-015-9223-5.
Craciun, C., Gellert, P., & Flick, U. (2015b). Aging in precarious circumstances: Do positive views on aging make a difference? The Gerontologist, gnv135. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnv135.
Dean, J. A., & Wilson, K. (2010). “My health has improved because I always have everything I need here…”: A qualitative exploration of health improvement and decline among immigrants. Social Science & Medicine, 70(8), 1219–1228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.01.009.
Dingemans, E., Henkens, K., & Solinge, H. v. (2015). Access to bridge employment: Who finds and who does not find work after retirement? The Gerontologist, 56(4), 630–640. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnu182.
Flick, U. (2014). An introduction to qualitative research (5th ed.). London: SAGE.
Flick, U., Hans, B., Hirseland, A., Rasche, S., & Röhnsch, G. (2016). Migration, unemployment, and lifeworld. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(1), 77–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800416655828.
Fohrbeck, A., Hirseland, A., & Lobato, P. R. (2014). How benefits recipients perceive themselves through the Lens of the mass media–some observations form Germany. Sociological Research Online, 19(4), 9.
Garcy, A. M., & Vågerö, D. (2012). The length of unemployment predicts mortality, differently in men and women, and by cause of death: A six-year mortality follow-up of the Swedish 1992–1996 recession. Social Science & Medicine, 74(12), 1911–1920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.01.034.
Hamilton, T. G., & Kawachi, I. (2013). Changes in income inequality and the health of immigrants. Social Science & Medicine, 80, 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.10.002.
Jolanki, O. (2009). Talk about old age, health and morality. In Valuing older people, journal of aging studies (pp. 261–274). https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781847422927.003.0016.
Kojola, E., & Moen, P. (2016). No more lock-step retirement: Boomers' shifting meanings of work and retirement. Journal of Aging Studies, 36, 59–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2015.12.003.
Lassen, A. J., & Moreira, T. (2014). Unmaking old age: Political and cognitive formats of active ageing. Journal of Aging Studies, 30, 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2014.03.004.
Loretto, W., & Vickerstaff, S. (2015). Gender, age and flexible working in later life. Work, Employment & Society, 29(2), 233–249.
McVittie, C., McKinlay, A., & Widdicombe, S. (2008). Passive and active non-employment: Age, employment and the identities of older non-working people. Journal of Aging Studies, 22(3), 248–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2007.04.003.
Moen, P., Kojola, E., & Schaefers, K. (2016). Organizational change around an older workforce. The Gerontologist, gnw048. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw048.
Oude Mulders, J., Henkens, K., & Schippers, J. (2016). European top managers’ age-related workplace norms and their organizations’ recruitment and retention practices regarding older workers. The Gerontologist, gnw076. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw076.
Reine, I., Novo, M., & Hammarström, A. (2013). Unemployment and ill health – A gender analysis: Results from a 14-year follow-up of the northern Swedish cohort. Public Health, 127(3), 214–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2012.12.005.
Rhee, M.-K., Chi, I., & Yi, J. (2015). Understanding employment barriers among older Korean immigrants. The Gerontologist, 55(3), 472–482. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnt113.
Silver, C. B. (2003). Gendered identities in old age: Toward (de)gendering? Journal of Aging Studies, 17(4), 379–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0890-4065(03)00059-8.
Slevin, K. F. (2010). If I had lots of money…I’d have a body makeover: Managing the ageing body. Social Forces, 88, 1003–1020. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0302.
Solms-Laubach, F. (2009). Warum Türken bei der Integration nicht mitspielen. Die Welt. Retrieved from http://www.welt.de
Szinovacz, M. E., Martin, L., & Davey, A. (2013). Recession and expected retirement age: Another look at the evidence. The Gerontologist, 54(2), 245–257. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnt010.
Torres, S. (2001). Understandings of successful ageing in the context of migration: the case of Iranian immigrants in Sweden. Ageing and Society, 21(03), 333–355. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x01008261.
Uhlendorff, A., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2014). Unemployment dynamics among migrants and natives. Economica, 81(322), 348–367.
Urban, D. (2015). Alcohol use, smoking and gambling in relation to immigrants of Ukrainian nationality in the Czech Republic. Kontakt, 17(4), e223–e227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kontakt.2015.09.001.
Van Dalen, H. P., Henkens, K., & Wang, M. (2014). Recharging or retiring older workers? Uncovering the age-based strategies of European employers. The Gerontologist, 55(5), 814–824. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnu048.
Van Hees, S., Horstman, K., Jansen, M., & Ruwaard, D. (2015). Conflicting notions of citizenship in old age: An analysis of an activation practice. Journal of Aging Studies, 35, 178–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2015.09.001.
Wacquandt, L. (2009). Punishing the Poor. The neoliberal government of social insecurity. Durham: Duke University Press.
Wanberg, C. R., Kanfer, R., Hamann, D. J., & Zhang, Z. (2015). Age and reemployment success after job loss: An integrative model and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 4, 400–426. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000019.
Willott, S., & Griffin, C. (2004). Redundant men: Constraints on identity change. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 14(2), 53–69. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.762.
Funding
The first author did not receive any funding for the current study. The second and third authors received financial support for the research reported in this article from the Institute for Employment Research (the Research Institute of the Federal Employment Agency in Germany) in a collaborative project of the institute and the Freie Universität Berlin. The fourth author contributed as member of this institute to the article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Ethical Treatment of Experimental Subjects (Animal and Human)
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Crăciun, I.C., Rasche, S., Flick, U. et al. Too Old to Work: Views on Reemployment in Older Unemployed Immigrants in Germany. Ageing Int 44, 234–249 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-018-9328-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-018-9328-8