Affiliations: School of Occupational Therapy & Occupational
Science Field, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Program, The University of
Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Deborah Laliberte Rudman, PhD, OT
Reg., Assistant Professor, School of Occupational Therapy, The University of
Western Ontario, Elborn College, 1201 Western Road, London, Ontario, Canada,
N6G 1H1. Tel.: +1 519 661 2111 ext. 88965; Fax: +1 519 661 3994; E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract: Increasingly, `productive aging' is promoted within government
policies and reports in several Western nations, as well as those of
international organizations. The ways in which `productive aging' comes to be
shaped within texts, that is, its discursive shaping, influences what aging
individuals view as possible and ideal ways to be and do in later life, as well
as what collectivities view as required services and programs to support such
identities and occupations. Drawing on governmentality theory, in concert with
occupational science, a critical discourse analysis of 72 Canadian newspaper
articles pertaining to work and retirement published in 2006 was conducted to
examine how 'productive aging' is shaped within such print media texts and the
possibilities for identity and occupation promoted. This work critically
analyzes ways 'later life workers' have come to be discursively shaped within
neoliberal sociopolitical contexts, characterized by emphases on fostering
individual responsibility, decreasing state dependency, and increasing
privatization. The authors raises concerns related to occupational injustice,
arguing for continuing vigilance regarding the ways 'productive aging'
discourses might be drawn on to justify further state and workplace retreat
from policies and programs that support those who face challenges to continued
engagement in work or who cannot, or chose not to, be 'forever productive'.
