A working paper from the Center for Retirement Research says evidence suggests that workers in traditional jobs end up shifting to nontraditional ones when their industries are hit with automation. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The growth of globalization and automation on the job market is stimulating the spread of “alternative employment arrangements” that often lack such former job essentials as benefits and stability in wages and hours.

And in areas more exposed to the increasing competition presented by globalization and automation, concerns have arisen that older workers might be the ones who end up working under those alternative arrangements, and thus losing out on the formerly traditional benefits of conventional jobs—which in turn puts their retirement at risk.

According to a working paper from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, older workers need the longevity and benefits offered by traditional jobs in order to prepare adequately for retirement—a longer career that gives them more time to prepare, and benefits that allow them to be able to save money and to have access to affordable health care.