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Sarah Vickerstaff

Professor of Work and Employment, University of Kent

I am a Professor of Work and Employment at the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research.

My main research interests are in the changes to the relationship between paid work and the life course, in particular at the beginning and end of working life.

The parallels between debates on the changing nature of ageing at the end of the life course and at the beginning are striking. The literature on youth transitions has been grappling with the problem of understanding the experience of youth and emerging adulthood in societies where the traditional routes from school to work and family home to independent living seem to have become less secure and more fragmented. Young people in Britain no longer make cohort related “mass transitions” into work at given ages; the routes and pathways have apparently become more complex and varied. This provides a parallel with the discussion of the break up of mass transitions into retirement for men at 65 and women at 60. Routes into retirement and older age and their timing have also apparently become more complex and varied.

I am currently PI for an ESRC/MRC funded research consortium undertaking a mixed method study of: Uncertain Futures: Managing Late Career Transitions and Extended Working Life.

I joined the University of Kent in 1984 from the City of London Polytechnic. During my career I’ve been a Lecturer in Industrial Relations, Human Resources Management and a Reader in Employment Policy and Practice. I was promoted to Professor of Work and Employment in 2004.

I completed my PhD in Sociology, passed without revision, at the University of Leeds and my BSc in Sociology with First Class (Honours) at the University of Leicester.

The question employers are wary to ask: when are you going to retire?

Feb 06, 2017 18:03 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life

There is a new taboo in the workplace: retirement. Age discrimination legislation and the abolition of the default retirement age means that companies are worried about talking to older workers about retiring, for fear of...

Economy

Trump's Iran War Speech Sparks Market Anxiety Over Extended Conflict

President Donald Trump addressed the nation Wednesday evening, declaring that U.S. military operations against Iran were nearing their core objectives but warned that intensive strikes would continue for another two to...

Trump Threatens Escalation Against Iran, Warns of Infrastructure Strikes

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States would significantly intensify its military operations against Iran within the next two to three weeks, while warning of devastating strikes on the countrys...

Asian Stocks Drop as Trump Signals Iran War Escalation

Asian equity markets retreated sharply on Thursday, erasing earlier gains as U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to intensify military operations against Iran within the next two to three weeks. The remarks sent...

Asian Currencies Weaken as Dollar Rebounds Amid Middle East Escalation

Most Asian currencies declined on Thursday as the U.S. dollar staged a recovery, driven by renewed safe-haven demand following President Donald Trumps comments signaling a further escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict....

U.S. Stock Futures Steady Amid Iran Ceasefire Talks and Trump Address

U.S. stock index futures held steady Wednesday evening as investors turned their attention to a primetime address from President Donald Trump regarding a possible military de-escalation with Iran. The cautious tone in...

Politics

Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen Killed in Suspected Domestic Violence Incident

Nancy Metayer Bowen, the 38-year-old vice mayor of Coral Springs, Florida, was fatally shot at her home on Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a domestic violence homicide. Her husband, Stephen Bowen, 40,...

Trump Administration Plans 100% Tariffs on Pharmaceutical Imports

The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to impose tariffs as high as 100% on pharmaceutical imports, according to a Financial Times report citing sources familiar with the matter. The levies could be...

Trump Defends U.S.-Israel War on Iran in Prime-Time Address as Public Support Wanes

President Donald Trump took to prime-time television Wednesday night to defend the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, now entering its second month. In a 19-minute White House address, Trump claimed...

Trump Claims Iran Sought Ceasefire as Middle East War Escalates

Tensions in the Middle East reached a new flashpoint this week as U.S. President Donald Trump publicly claimed that a senior Iranian official requested a ceasefire, a statement Tehran swiftly and firmly rejected. The...

Congress Eyes Two-Bill Strategy to Resolve DHS Funding Crisis

Republican congressional leaders have unveiled a two-pronged legislative strategy to end the ongoing Department of Homeland Security funding deadlock, aiming to reopen the agency, ensure federal workers receive back pay,...

Science

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

Technology

SpaceX Eyes Historic IPO at $1.75 Trillion Valuation

Elon Musks aerospace giant SpaceX has quietly filed a confidential IPO registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Bloomberg News sources familiar with the matter. The move signals that the...

Annie Altman Amends Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Annie Altman has filed an amended civil lawsuit against her brother, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, accusing him of sexually abusing her over a span of nearly a decade. The amended complaint was submitted Wednesday in St. Louis...

TSMC Japan's Second Fab to Produce 3nm Chips by 2028

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the worlds leading contract chipmaker, has confirmed plans to begin equipment installation and mass production of 3-nanometre wafers at its second fabrication plant in...

Apple Turns 50: From Garage Startup to AI Crossroads

In early 1976, engineer Steve Wozniak finished designing a computer circuit board he planned to share with fellow hobbyists at a local California tech club. His friend Steve Jobs recognized a commercial opportunity, and...

Rubio Directs U.S. Diplomats to Use X and Military Psyops to Counter Foreign Propaganda

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has instructed American diplomats to leverage social media platform X and collaborate with Pentagon psychological operations units as part of a broader strategy to combat foreign...