Social representations of Chilean workers on the labor inclusion of older people: a profile differentiated by their schooling

Abstract

Introduction: older adults make productive contributions, yet face labor inequities linked to educational attainment and credentialism; in Chile, life expectancy reaches 80.3 years. This study compares the social representations held by workers regarding the labor inclusion of individuals aged 55 and older.

Method: a cross-sectional, sequential explanatory mixed-methods study was conducted, grounded in the structuralist approach of Social Representations Theory. Participants were 229 Chilean workers from the construction, agriculture, and services sectors across 136 communes, selected through non-probabilistic sampling between 2021 and 2022. Free lists on the labor inclusion of individuals aged 55 and older were collected and processed through prototypical and similarity analyses (IRaMuTeQ). Participants were categorized into three groups based on their educational level: low (n = 121), middle (n = 60), and high (n = 48).

Results: participant discourses varied according to their educational attainment. Analysis indicates that workers with lower educational levels place significantly greater importance on the term "opportunity" rather than "experience." Consequently, the representation of the "opportunity for inclusion" is characteristic of lower-education groups, whereas the value of "greater experience" is more salient for those with higher educational backgrounds.

Conclusions: barriers to labor inclusion are structural and economic rather than interpersonal. While higher educational levels prioritize experience, lower levels prioritize the opportunity for entry. Despite general social openness, low educational attainment deepens precarity, necessitating policies that transform these inequities into productive and equitable labor environments.