High Satisfaction with Senior Job Programs in Incheon, but Work Duration and Salary Need Improvement

Monitoring Results of Incheon Social Service Center for Aging Society
Need for Job Segmentation by Health Status and Participation Age

Satisfaction with senior jobs in Incheon is high, but improvements are needed in the working institutions and wages, and there is also a demand for job segmentation according to health status and age of participation.

The Incheon Social Service Center's Aging Society Response Center released these survey results based on the operation of a 50+ age-friendly monitoring team (30 members) over three months from September to November this year. The monitoring team was divided into five groups and assessed the age-friendliness of Incheon according to the World Health Organization's age-friendly city guidelines.

First, in an interview survey on the "Current Status of Senior Jobs" targeting 30 participants at Bupyeong Senior Workforce Center, 60% of respondents had a current working period of 10 to 11 months, but 43% expressed a desire to work for more than 12 months. Most respondents wanted to work more than 3 hours and receive a wage of over 700,000 KRW. Currently, 55% receive less than 300,000 KRW.

Although the working period, hours, and wages are not sufficient, 74% answered that they are satisfied with their jobs, indicating that the jobs themselves are an important social activity for the elderly population.

The Incheon Social Service Agency's Aging Society Response Center is holding a performance report meeting for the 50+ Elderly-Friendly Monitoring Team, presenting the results of survey activities on topics such as senior employment and intergenerational communication.
[Photo by Incheon Social Service Agency Aging Society Response Center]

In a survey on "Good Jobs" conducted with 51 people aged 65 and older, 82.4% of respondents said they wanted to participate in senior jobs, preferring appropriate working hours of 3 to 4 hours and 2 to 3 working days per week. They identified good jobs as ▲job types classified according to health status ▲maintained for 1 year with 3 days a week, 4 hours each ▲career guarantee ▲jobs that allow working as leisure activities.

Respondents suggested measures for respecting seniors and social integration, such as providing intergenerational experience opportunities like cultural and experiential yards. To increase social participation of the middle-aged, they answered that it is necessary to designate a specialized hub institution for middle-aged support unique to Incheon and introduce a middle-aged support card.

In the investigation of senior job cases, it was pointed out that the emotional support service for elderly living alone, "Nono Care," sometimes turns into a break time for service users or is regarded as a housekeeping helper. It was also noted that deploying 20 people for tasks that only a few can do wastes manpower and costs. There was also criticism that not segmenting the participation age and setting it as 65 and older leads to inefficiency due to age differences of over 20 years.

A representative of the Incheon Social Service Center's Aging Society Response Center said, "Senior job participants proposed utilizing their expertise and experience and suggested the need for wage increases through jobs linked with private companies," adding, "The monitoring team’s activity results will be useful data for establishing senior policies in Incheon."