The US economy needs seniors to work longer. Here's how to make that happen
美國經濟需要老年人延長工作時間，以下是如何實現這一目標的方法
When she retired from her job as a legal secretary for the federal government at age 62, Linda Spencer thought retirement would be a blast.
當62歲的琳達·斯賓塞從聯邦政府法律秘書的職位上退休時，她認為退休對她來說是一場毀滅。
Then the Great Recession blew a hole in her savings, and free time wasn't much fun without cash to travel and buy the nice clothes she'd gotten a taste for while working at Saks Fifth Avenue decades earlier.
後來，經濟大蕭條讓她的積蓄化為烏有，沒有錢旅行、沒有錢買她幾十年前在薩克斯第五大道工作時喜歡的漂亮衣服，閒暇時光也變得不那麼有趣了。
"I had nothing to do and I got bored and I needed money," says Spencer, 68, who laughs loudly and wears red lipstick.
68歲的斯賓塞塗著紅色的口紅大聲笑著說：“我沒什麼可做的，我感到無聊，我需要錢。”
Jobs were scarce when she went out looking a couple of years ago, and so she found the federally-funded Senior Community Service Employment Program, which helps low-income seniors find employment in Northern Virginia. It pays minimum wage, or $7.25 an hour, for her to do administrative work while she learns computer skills and looks for other jobs — which she now wants for more than just the financial reasons.
幾年前，當她外出尋找工作時，工作機會很少，於是她找到了聯邦資助的高級社區服務就業計劃，該計劃幫助低收入的老年人在弗吉尼亞州北部找到工作。她在學習計算機技能和尋找其他工作的同時，她做著行政工作，她得到的是每小時7.25美元的最低工資。而她現在想要工作也不僅僅是經濟方面的原因。
"It makes you feel that you're viable, that you're important, that you can contribute something to society, that you matter," says Spencer, who lives alone and doesn't have kids.
斯賓塞說：“她一個人住，沒有孩子，工作讓她覺得自己是有活力的，很重要的，也可以為社會做出貢獻的。”
That's an increasingly common sentiment among America's seniors. And it's a good thing, too, because getting more people to work later in life could help blunt the impact of the graying population on the nation's finances, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
這是美國老年人日益普遍的共同情緒。經濟合作與發展組織(Organization for Economic Cooperation And Development)的數據顯示，這也是一件好事，因為讓更多的人在晚年從事工作，可能有助於緩解老齡化人口對國家財政的影響。
Baby boomers are reaching retirement age rapidly, and the generations to follow are thinning as the American birth rate sinks ever lower. In March, the Census Bureau reported that by 2035, there will be more Americans over age 65 than there are children under age 18. Not only that, but fewer people in their prime have been working in recent years — which is in part due to the opioid epidemic, mass incarceration, and unaffordable child care that forces many parents to stay home.
嬰兒潮（出生在第二次大戰後大約二十年期間的人）一代正迅速達到退休年齡，隨著美國出生率的不斷下降，接下來的幾代人也越來越少。今年3月，人口普查局報告說，到2035年，65歲以上的美國人將比18歲以下的兒童多。近幾年來，年富力強的勞動力人口也越來越少——這在一定程度上是由於阿片類流行病、大規模監禁和許多負擔不起的兒童保育費用而被迫呆在家裡的父母。
That means not only will there be fewer working-age people paying into programs like Social Security and Medicare that support retirees, but there will be fewer health care and home care workers to help meet their physical and mental needs.
這不僅意味著支持退休人員的社會保障和聯邦醫療保險等項目的勞動年齡人口將減少，還意味著幫助滿足身心需求的醫療保健和家庭護理人員將減少。
"That's the big challenge going forward," says Keith Hall, director of the Congressional Budget Office, pointing to a chart of projected gross domestic product during a recent presentation in Washington D.C.
“這是未來的一大挑戰，”國會預算辦公室主任基思•霍爾表示。在最近華盛頓特區的一次演講中，他給出一份預計的國內GDP的圖表。
So far, older folks seem to be doing their best to bolster America's flagging workforce. Whether they'll be able to continue, however, depends on whether employers themselves will be able to adjust.
到目前為止，老年人似乎正在盡最大努力來支持美國日漸衰弱的勞動力。然而，他們是否能夠繼續下去，取決於僱主自己是否能夠調整工作人員配置。
Seniors are mostly working longer because they need the money. Hikes in Social Security's retirement age, a sinking savings rate, mounting personal debt and a shift away from employer-provided pensions have made it harder than it was in the 1960s and 70s to retire.
老年人大多工作時間更長，因為他們需要錢。社會保險的退休年齡提高、不斷下降的儲蓄率、不斷增加的個人債務以及僱主提供的遠遠不夠的養老金使得退休比上世紀60年代和70年代更加困難。
As a result of putting in more hours and earning higher wages older people have seen their incomes rise while wages have stagnated for those who are younger — likely because today's over-60 population is much more educated than previous generations. According to an analysis by the Census Bureau, workers over age 65 saw their monthly earnings increase 80% between 1994 and 2015 when adjusted for inflation, compared to 32% for workers between ages 35 and 54.
由於工作時間的增加和收入的增加，老年人的收入增加了，而年輕人的工資卻停滯不前——這很可能是因為如今的60歲以上人口比前幾代人受教育程度高得多。根據人口普查局(Census Bureau)的分析，經通脹因素調整後，65歲以上的工作的人在1994年至2015年間月收入增加了80%，而35歲至54歲的工作的人月收入則增加了32%。
Meanwhile, expenses for everything from housing to health care are going up — especially for renters like Spencer. Her studio apartment in Alexandria, Virginia, with no dishwasher and a Murphy bed cost $500 a month when she moved in 19 years ago. Today, it's $1,300 per month, not including utilities.
與此同時，從住房到醫療的一切費用都在上漲——尤其是像斯賓塞這樣的租房者。她住在弗吉尼亞州亞歷山大市的單間公寓裡，沒有洗碗機和一張活動摺疊床，19年前她搬進來的時候，月租500美元。現在，每月1300美元，不包括水電費。
Luckily, workers are staying healthier and no longer feel that the traditional retirement age is an expiration date. With manufacturing jobs giving way to less physical service and desk jobs, age is less of a barrier to continued employment.
幸運的是，工作的人一直保持著健康，不再認為傳統的退休年齡是他們的截止日期。隨著製造業的工作讓位給更少的體力勞動和辦公桌作業，年齡對繼續就業的障礙也越來越小。
"I think it's hard to walk away from using your mind and being engaged every day, and problem solving, looking for new ways of doing things," says Nancy Peterson, who runs a job website that caters to older workers called Workforce50. "When work dwindles to nothing, it's noticeable."
南希·彼得森說：“我認為不用自己的思維，每天投入工作，解決問題，尋找新的做事方式是非常難的。” 她經營著一家名為 “WorkForce 50”的招聘網站，專門為年長的員工提供服務。“當工作種類減少到一無所有時，它是顯而易見的。”
That doesn't mean older folks want to keep on working the same way they have their whole lives.
這並不意味著老年人想要以一種一層不變的方式工作一輩子。
Most prefer part-time jobs, Peterson says, to leave room for activities like volunteering or spending time with grandchildren. Those opportunities abound in low-wage jobs, some of which employers cut down to less than 32 hours a week in order to avoid having to provide health care under the Affordable Care Act.
皮特森說，大多數人更喜歡兼職工作，為志願活動或留出空間與孫輩們共度時光。這些兼職工作機會在低工資的工作中比比皆是，其中一些僱主將每週工作時間減少到不足32個小時，以避免支付《合理醫療費用法案》而必須提供的醫療保健費用。
Kristi Sargent, who manages the employment program that Spencer works with, says she has no trouble finding seniors part-time positions as security guards, pharmacy technicians and low-tech database managers.
斯賓塞與之合作的就業項目負責人克里斯蒂•薩金特說，她毫不費力就找到了保安、藥房技術員和低技術數據庫經理等老年人兼職工作。
"I'm printing out job orders left and right, all day long, sending them to my participants," Sargent says. "If you want a job, you're going to find a job right now."
薩金特說:“我一整天都在打印招聘啟事，把它們發給我的應聘者。”“如果你想找工作，你現在就可以找得到工作。”
Older workers are in particularly high demand for positions serving a fast-growing consumer category: People just a few years older than they are in need of health care services.
服務於快速增長的消費類別的職位對年齡較大的員工的需求特別大:僅比他們需要醫療服務職位的年齡大幾歲。
Elizabeth Chavez, who runs a home care service with North Shore Community Action Programs in Peabody, Massachusetts, has been hiring as many retirement age workers as she can find, since senior clients often relate better to companions who also have gray hair.
伊麗莎白•查韋斯與在馬薩諸塞州皮博迪市北岸社區行動計劃中經營著一家家庭護理服務機構，她一直在儘可能多地僱傭退休年齡的員工，因為資深客戶往往更容易與同樣白髮蒼蒼的同伴相處。
And plus, Chavez has found that older people don't hop from agency to agency as much as Millennials, which reduces costs associated with turnover.
此外，查韋斯還發現，年齡較大的人不會像千禧一代那樣不停地在中介機構跳來跳去，這樣的話降低了相關營業額的成本。
"It's a more stable workforce," she says. "It really is a forgotten market that we need to tap into if we want to be successful."
“這是一個更加穩定的勞動力隊伍，”她說。“這真的是一個被遺忘的市場，如果我們想要成功，我們需要進入這個市場。”
Changing mindsets
不斷改變的心態
The workplace can be a little less friendly for older people in higher-powered professions who just want to cut back their hours.
對於那些想要減少工作時間的高層人士來說，工作場所可能不那麼友好。
Business careers usually end with a retirement party, leaving workers wondering what to do next. It can be difficult to find another job, since many employers are still focused on cultivating younger workers who they think might work harder or stick around longer (neither of which is necessarily true).
商業生涯通常以退休派對結束，讓退休員工不知道下一步該做什麼。對他們來說很難找到另一份工作，因為許多僱主仍然專注於培養年輕的員工，他們認為這些年輕員工可能會更努力工作，或者會在公司裡呆得更久(這兩種觀點都不一定正確)。
Linda Spencer is making minimum wage doing administrative work while she learns computer skills and looks for other jobs.
圖文：琳達·斯賓塞(Linda Spencer)在學習計算機技能和尋找其他工作的同時，兼顧行政工作。
"I've applied online, and people have called me up, and they say 'when did you graduate from high school?'" says Spencer. "And then they hear that, they go 'click,'" she says, as if hanging up a phone.
斯賓塞說：“我在網上申請工作，然後他們給我打電話，問我‘你什麼時候高中畢業的?’”她說:“然後他們聽到這些，就‘咔嚓’一聲，就好像掛了電話一樣。”
She's not imagining things. Research from economists at the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that people over age 60 get fewer callbacks than people in their 30s and 40s.
她不是在想象什麼。美國國家經濟研究局的經濟學家研究發現，60歲以上的人比三四十歲的人得到的回訪電話要少。
"I think it's still kind of a Catch-22, where if there's an older person in a really key position, employers are more interested in 'How do I convince that person to stay longer?,'" says Cheryl Paullin, vice president for research at the Human Resources Research Organization. "But once a worker does leave, employers still aren't making a lot of progress in actually recruiting older workers."
人力資源研究組織(Human Resources research Organization)負責研究的副總裁謝麗爾•鮑林說：“我認為這仍然是一種進退兩難的局面，如果有一位年長的人擔任真正重要的職位，僱主們會更感興趣的是‘我如何才能說服那個人呆得久些?’” “但一旦員工離職，僱主在實際招聘年長員工方面仍不能取得多大進展。”
There are a few efforts aimed at filling that gap. A group called Encore.org works to connect professionals with non-profits and local governments who need people with experience to take on short-term projects or fill less demanding roles, for example.
還有一些努力正在填補這一空白。一個名為Encore.org的組織致力於將專業人士與非營利組織和地方政府聯繫起來，這些機構需要有經驗的人來承擔短期項目，或者填補要求較低的職位。
Some employers, including the federal government, have implemented phased retirement programs that allow employees to work part-time at the end of their careers. Older workers with enough financial wherewithal will often try starting their own businesses as a bridge to full retirement, research has shown.
包括聯邦政府在內的一些僱主已經實施了階段性退休計劃，允許員工在職業生涯結束時兼職。研究顯示，擁有足夠財力年長員工會嘗試創業，以此實現完全退休。
Advocacy groups are working to convince employers that older workers are worth keeping around, countering perceptions that they can't keep up with new technology or work with younger colleagues.
支持年老工作者的團體正在努力讓僱主相信年長的員工是值得留下來的，以反駁他們認為年長員工無法跟上新技術或與年輕同事共事的看法。
"We will be starting to educate publicly about the need to appreciate everybody's skill set," says Anna Maria Chavez, chief strategy officer of the National Council on Aging. "Experience and tenure is a great thing, and you don't want to destabilize your workforce."
我們將開始公開教育大家要重視每個人的技能，”全國老齡問題委員會(National Council on Aging)首席戰略官安娜•瑪麗亞•查韋斯表示。“經驗和任期是一件好事，你不想讓你的員工不穩定。”
Another thing that can help: Some training and a little bit of confidence. That's what Karon Malingo, another participant in the Senior Community Service Employment Program, learned upon being thrown into a job as an intake specialist at the program's office after seven unsatisfying years working in retail.
另一件可以幫助你的事情：訓練和一點自信。這就是卡隆·馬林戈——另一位參加高級社區服務就業計劃的參與者——在經歷了7年不滿意的零售業工作後，他在該項目辦公室擔任招聘專員一職，此間學到的就是這一點。
She calls herself a Luddite, but took quickly to managing spreadsheets and answering email, and now feels that she would have plenty of options.
她自稱是勒德分子(Luddite：強烈反對機械化或自動化的人)，但很快就開始處理電子表格和回覆電子郵件，現在她覺得自己有很多選擇。
"I feel so modern now. I have skills up the wazoo!" trills Malingo, 67, a slight woman with a gray pixie haircut. "They dropped me in the pool and I had to swim."
“我現在感覺很時髦。我現在技能滿分！”67歲的馬林戈顫抖著音說，她個子不高，留著一頭灰色的精靈髮型。“他們把我扔進了游泳池，我不得不去游泳。”
中英雙語呈現，還可以加強英語學習哦！
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