Easing back in your career
Easing back in your career is something most people will experience at least once
in their working lives, whether it be to 'slow down and smell the roses' or take
on a different set of priorities.
What is 'easing back'?
While phasing into retirement is the most obvious example of easing back in your career, it doesn’t only
happen at the end of your career. A change in circumstances such as new parental or family responsibilities, health issues or the pursuit of further education may also require you to ease back at varying times
throughout your career.
Regardless of your motivations, a move to ease back will be well served with appropriate thought and planning.
A number of motivations and considerations include:
Retirement
Arguably one of the most important considerations for retirement is the impact it will have on your short- and
long-term financial position. As we can now expect to live longer, pressures on income and savings will continue to grow into the future. The current economic downturn has compounded this situation – especially for aspiring retirees with high risk investment portfolios. The majority of people moving into retirement would have already sought advice from their financial planner, taking into consideration how much money they need to comfortably pursue their new objectives, and how much super or pension they can expect to draw in the future.
Many eligible aspiring retirees are also taking advantage of legislation offering attractive financial enticements to continue working for longer. The Australian Government’s Better Super strategy now allows individuals in Australia who have reached their preservation age (the age they can access their superannuation) but are still working to access their accumulated superannuation while maintaining employment. This means they can draw from their preserved benefits and salary sacrifice back into their superannuation.
People who are easing back for other reasons should also carefully consider their short- and long-term financial situation, including seeking advice from their financial planner.
Family or childcare
Parental responsibilities are another common motivator for people to ease back in their career. For those considering this option, make sure you investigate any entitlements offered by your and your partner’s employer. For example, while the legislated minimum parental leave requirement in Australia is 12 months' unpaid leave, a number of organisations are now providing a period of paid parental leave. Similarly, in New Zealand, depending on how long you have worked for an employer, there are now two payment options a person on maternity leave may apply for. One is in the
form of a tax credit and the other is a type of paid (but taxable) parental leave. Refer to additional resources for more information.
Financial institutions have also taken an interest in the growing number of grandparents looking to reduce their working hours to provide informal childcare. Statistics indicate that in Australia 60 per cent of informal child care is now provided by grandparents. With this in mind, organisations such as St George Bank have introduced 12 months leave to care for grandchildren as an employee benefit. See our Comparison of working
conditions of major financial institutions in Australia (PDF 40KB) document for more information.
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Career profile on easing back for family or childcare:
Kerry Basman, Business Analyst, RAMS Financial Group
Education and training
As many people are now more likely to have a number of careers throughout their working life, easing back to pursue new education and training interests is an increasingly common practice. The financial services industry has been at the forefront of incredible change in the past 20 years, with older or established roles being regularly replaced with new sets of skills that require additional competencies and attitudes. Lifelong learning is now an imperative to ongoing career success, and institutions and employers are providing a growing range of flexible training and education options to
help support these changing needs.
Health or carers’ leave
Some people will be forced to ease back in their career due to health or illness – either their own, or someone they are caring for. As with family or childcare leave, it is worth investigating your employer’s policies and entitlements. You may find you can negotiate an additional period of leave without pay on top of paid leave, offering the security of a role for you to return to.
The size of an organisation and the type of role you have within it will influence your easing back options and the resources your employer can draw on. All employers must meet minimum state, territory and federal employment conditions. For more information or people to contact regarding concerns about your entitlements, there are a number of government agencies and other bodies, such as unions, to speak to. Please refer to the additional resources for more information.
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Career profile on easing back for health or carers leave:
Robert Holmkvist, Senior Account Executive – Property Finance CBD, St George Bank Limited
Understand your motivations and plan for time to adjust
The first step to easing back is to reflect on your motivations. Leaving a job is not just walking away from a salary – a job also provides lifestyle, self-image, purpose and friendships. For some, it can also offer personal fulfilment and creative expression. Therefore, where possible, it is important to review your motivations and needs to ensure you are making the right move at the right time and for the right reasons.
With your motivations clear, start to think about how you can plan for your transition. A carefully planned and executed move will ensure you have a positive experience. Unfortunately not everyone has this luxury, such as people forced into early retirement due to redundancy or illness, and therefore may find it harder to cope with the transition.
Taking advantage of flexible workplace arrangements is a great way to help you adjust. Flexible work arrangements, such as the ones listed below, make good business sense for financial services organisations, who are keen to hold onto all skilled employees – including those in the older demographic. It not only ensures valuable company knowledge is retained and passed on, but also buys additional time to recruit and train graduates and new entrants to the industry.
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Flexible working arrangements: Financial institutions have become increasingly accommodating towards flexible workplace practices, such as varied start and finish times, a compressed working week, job sharing or working from home.
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Refocusing of work activities: Consider changing your role so that it has less responsibility, does not require you to travel as often or has fewer or no direct reports. Other examples include taking on more project-based work or moving out of a client facing role.
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Reduced working hours: Arrange to reduce the number of days you work, so you can more gradually ease into your new phase of life.
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Leave with or without pay: Another strategy could be to take long service leave or extended unpaid leave, where you can then give this new lifestyle a trial run.
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Contract or consulting work: Keep one foot in the action with contract or consulting work. This enables you to take on as much or as little work when you choose.
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Voluntary work: If keeping active and involved is your priority, consider volunteering your time and experience for a good cause.
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Downward career moves: For some people, easing back in their career may involve taking a downward career move. While lateral and vertical career moves can have their own associated risks, the downward career move can be even riskier, depending on the role, the organisation and strength of the industry sector.
The main concern for people taking a step down is that if they fail in the lower position, then this could have a greater long term negative impact on their career if they have aspirations to move back up the career ladder.
For people considering a downward career move, it is vital that you have the full support and understanding of your managers. If you are considering this type of downward move as you approach retirement, you should consider what the broader career or lifestyle implications of this will be. Think about whether or not you can readily adjust to less responsible duties, different reporting lines, a loss of power and influence, lower remuneration and other benefits.
Negotiating easing back with your employer
Your individual circumstances, the state of the market and your employer’s corporate culture will all influence the easing back options available and how far your negotiations will take you. Keep in mind the following tips when negotiating your easing back arrangements.
Research your employer’s policies
Many financial services organisations (usually the larger employers) will have specific, readily accessible policies and procedures that outline any easing back options. However, don’t feel restricted by these policies: most employers will consider creative working arrangements that benefit both parties.
As with any negotiation, make sure you have a well researched case to put forward, and present it in terms of a positive win/win scenario. Consider presenting your case in terms of 'what’s in it for you, and what’s in it for me.' Sell the benefits and focus on the positives as much as possible. Be prepared to be flexible as well. You may also like to review a comparison of working conditions amongst large financial services organisations to help research your case.
Discuss your proposal with key stakeholders in your organisation
Whatever options you decide, you will eventually need to broach the subject with your employer. A good place to start is to arrange a meeting with your direct manager. You may also consider a confidential discussion with your human resource representative to find out your options and what the organisation can do to assist you.
The more forward planning, communication and consultation you engage in with your current employer, the more likely you will be to get a positive outcome. Keep in mind, in most circumstances it is easier to achieve your easing back goals with a current employer than with a new one. If they are familiar with you and value the skills and experience you have brought to bear, they will be more likely to entertain your requests.
In summary ...
There are an increasing range of options available for employees interested in easing back in their careers, and the financial services industry is a leader in the provision of flexible working arrangements to facilitate this.
Where possible, try for a phased-in structured approach to easing back which will allow your organisation to plan more effectively, identify potential new replacement staff and train them properly. In return, employees can continue to benefit from the financial and social rewards from workplace participation along with the mental, physical and health benefits of staying actively engaged.
Additional resources
General related information
Australia – employment conditions information
New Zealand – employment conditions information
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Webpage:
Parental leave at Department of Labour at New Zealand.govt.nz
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