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IELTS Reading Passage-Grey Workers
Grey Workers
Companies recognize shockingly a little of how efficient their employees are, given how quickly workers are ageing. The prevailing belief is that older workers receive more compensation despite, instead of as a result of, their increased output. That may help clarify why firms try to convince 55-year-old workers to retire early when they are under financial hardship. The insurance provider Sun Life of Canada said earlier this year that it will be laying off all of its Staff over the age of 50 to “recruit young energy.”
The majority of corporations in Japan are lowering the pension age from the customary 57 to 50 may be around, and in certain cases, like Nissan, to 45, according to corporate psychologist Mariko Fujiwara, who heads a think-tank for Hakuhodo, the second-largest advertising agency in Japan. Salary in Tokyo is correlated with experience much more than possibly anywhere else. It is not unexpected that membership workers’ wages have evolved into the most difficult component of corporate financial gains statements given the increase in the proportion of employees who’ve already worked for the same company for more than 32 years—from 11% in 1980 to 42% by 1994.
Hoechst’s spokesperson in Germany, Patrick Pohl, articulates a commonly held opinion: “The corporation is attempting to reduce the overall age of the staff. The ease with which the business culture can be “defrosted” is possibly the biggest benefit of removing older employees. Experienced employees are less receptive to experimenting with novel ideas. New workers are much more adaptable and less expensive. Many German businesses find it difficult to let go of ageing employees as soon as they want. The typical age of employees has risen rather than fallen at graphite manufacturer SGL Carbon. Ivo Lingnau, a representative of the corporation, claims that it’s not because SGL valued elderly employees more. The union agreement places stringent restrictions on the number of workers who may retire early because it is the result of the combined negotiations.
Ageing can impact a person’s efficiency when they perform demanding hard manual labour. However, other abilities, like the skills to control people politely, lead a conference, or identify problems until it becomes a major issue, may get better with age. These abilities include those that are essential for product management. Numerous studies indicate that elderly people get paid higher since they are valued more, according to Peter Hicks, who oversees OECD research just on the political ramifications of ageing.
Furthermore, youth may overstate their merits. Mr. Peterson states that the very few organisations who have retained older personnel discover an addition to smart and output of them was good. Additionally, compared to today’s recent high school grads, their education levels are substantially higher. Businesses may claim that elderly persons aren’t worth building since they are towards the latter of their professional careers, but in reality, younger folks have the worst training ROI due to their propensity to change professions so frequently. According to Mr. Hicks, the average age for training that is driven by employers is between the late forties and early fifties. It primarily belongs to executives.
If hierarchy pay rates were eliminated, elderly workers might become a more desirable candidate for hire. Even though employees on remuneration frequently make less money with tenure, most businesses (and many employees) are uneasy with the thought of cutting anyone else’s salary in older age. Consequently, finding new ways to use older personnel to retain their skills.
IBM Belgium came up with one of the innovations mentioned in Mr. Walker’s research on overcoming age barriers. IBM made a unique firm named Skill Team to rehire any small employers who wished to continue to work up to the age of 60 after deciding to focus staff cost reduction efforts on those between the ages of 55 and 60. A 55-year-old worker who signed a five-year contract with SkillTeam would put in 58 percent of his hours and earn 88 percent of his previous IBM income over that time. IBM was given services by the company, preserving a few of the property rights it’d have been lost.
Building on these “bridge” jobs—part-time or contract jobs that facilitate a much slower change from high employment to retirement—might be the greatest approach to persuade the elderly to continue working. In the U.S, over 50% of all men and women who held filled careers in midlife went into such “bridging” occupations just after their working career, according to Mr. Quinn, who has researched the issue. The finest and worst paid are typically the ones who remain employed: “There are 2 distinct categories of bridge employment who keep working because they must as well as those who remain employed because they just want to, despite the fact that they could retire,” he adds.
The elderly may discover more occupations that suit them if the labour market becomes more flexible. They may frequently work for themselves. Occasionally, they also might launch their companies; according to a Warwick University research, 70% of enterprises launched in England by persons over 55 thrived, with around just 19%. Employment would not just need to pay to lure the elderly back into the labour force. It must be more enjoyable than travelling the nation in an Airstream trailer, spending time with the grandkids, or golfing. Then there would be a lot more Joe Clarks.
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Questions 1-4
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet, write
- TRUE if the statement is true
- FALSE if the statement is false
- NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
- In order to recruit new staff, the insurance industry Sun Life of Canada opted to hire more Canadians than Britons.
- In Japan, unlike in some other countries, salaries are based on the number of years of employment.
- Some German businesses that are reinvigorating workplace culture are laying off older personnel.
- In spite of their contributions, Peter Hicks claims that corporations pay older workers more.
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Questions 5-6
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, D, E.
Write your answers in boxes 5-6 on your answer sheet.
Please select TWO from the following benefits of hiring senior citizens, as stated in the passage:
- Compared to young people, they produce more.
- paid much less young employees.
- Whenever there is a conference
- He has a greater connection with others.
- Address issues before they arise.
Questions 7 – 8
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, D, E.
Write your answers in boxes 7-8 on your answer sheet.
Mr. Peterson believes that new graduates have a number of organisational limitations relative to more experienced workers. Please select TWO of the following:
- Training them is not worthwhile. Compared to their competitors, they are less
- productive.
- They switch jobs more frequently
- and their academic standards are behind those of their elders.
- Typically, they have a college education.
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Questions 9-13
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
(Guide: Candidates need to answer questions 9 to 13 by selecting correct answers from the list of A to D)
Question 9: According to paragraph F, the firms and workers still hold the opinion that:
- Senior employees are much more likely to draw other employees.
- If compensation decreases as one approaches retirement, people are not satisfied.
- Compared to younger persons, older folks have higher retention desire.
- For their piece-rate salaries, the junior employees regularly make less money.
Question 10: SkillTeam that has been founded by IBM conducted the following movement:
- Request that all former employees continue to work throughout their previous shifts.
- Continue reducing the elder’s share of the job.
- To earn more money, have staff put in even more work time.
- Reappoint former workers while keeping the pay a little lower.
Question 11: Which of the followings is correct according to the research of Mr. Quinn:
- In America, ‘intermediate’ tasks were taken on by about half of all workers.
- Only those who are paid the least do not work.
- In the area of “bridge” work, there were more men than women.
- Some elderly persons continue to work for reasons other than financial gain.
Question 12: Which of the followings is correct according to David Storey:
- If companies hire more senior citizens, they will increase their success rate by 70%.
- The overall performance of a self-employed company is declining on average.
- Seniors who work for themselves have a higher chance of surviving.
- The employment hours of older folks are more versatile.
Question 13: What is the main purpose of the author in writing this passage?
- An effective retirement system for the elderly is necessary.
- In the workplace, senior citizens should be fairly appreciated.
- Older folks ought to extend themselves more to develop youthful workers.
- There are more positions available worldwide that solely hire seniors.
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Grey Workers IELTS Reading Answers
1. Answer: NOT GIVEN
2. Answer: True
3. Answer: True
4. Answer: False
5. Answer: D. have a better interpersonal relationship
6.Answer: E. identify problems in an advanced time
7.Answer: C. they change work more often
8.Answer: D. their academic criteria is someway behind elders’.
9: Answer: B. people are not happy if pay gets lower in retiring age.
10: Answer: D. Re-hire old employees and kept the salary a bit lower
11: Answer: D. Some old people keep working for their motive rather than an economic incentive.
12:Answer: C. Self-employed elder people are more likely to survive.
13: Answer: B. older people should be correctly valued in employment
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