You might think male models lead glamorous lives, filled with endless travel and invitations to socialize with the rich and beautiful. Almost everyone has formed an unrealistic picture of their lives, believing that they spend one afternoon beside the Mediterranean Sea sipping coffee and getting suntanned and the next moment they are on board flying to Rome. However, according to a 2016 documentary made by the pop culture news site Fusion, the financial reality of male models is not very pretty.

The main subject of the documentary, titled Unglamorous, is a male model named Cameron Keesling who went to New York to start his career, hoping to make a fortune in the world of models. Keesling is not a supermodel but he has certainly made his name known in the industry. He was “working in the industry for about a year before landing the cover of Italian Vogue” in 2014. But “Keesling and his companions were paid nothing for the efforts”, Fusion reporter Nikita Redkar wrote.

Keesling also appeared at Paris Fashion Week and won lots of praise, while his compensation wouldn’t even cover the cost of traveling to and from Paris.

According to the documentary the most common way models get paid is by receiving free clothes, rather than money. In order to make ends meet, consequently, many of them have to take another job simply to make a living. Many of these models are in debt. Once they find an agency to represent them, a living income is provided by the agency to accommodate their rent, food, clothing and other expenses. Models are expected to pay off these costs once they find work, but many of the industry’s jobs don’t pay at all. Believe it or not, there is a pay gap between male models and female counterparts. Based on a survey conducted by Fortune.com, female models can make millions more than males, especially if you compare the top ten earners of each gender.

The three phases of life are increasingly a thing of the past.Where once working lives fitted neatly into the model of education,employment and then retirement,the simplicity of that division is being challenged by changing standards of the workforce.

Increasing numbers of workers,nearing their long-imagined transition(过渡)into retirement,seem to be actively putting off the moment at which they down tools.Newly released figures from the Office for National Statistics(ONS)have shown that there are over a million more over 50s in part-time work than a decade ago.And with nine out of 10 employers reporting difficulties hiring workers,there’s likely to be a growing market for their talents as bosses extend their searches to older people,including those who are willing to take on part-time responsibilities.

The ending of the three phases of working life isn’t simply down to people living longer or financial necessity-though those are certainly important factors-but also to an increasing desire to maintain a purposeful life. One survey of British retirees over 50 found that 85 per cent of them felt they’d retired too young—stopping working had left a void that they regretted afterwards.

The 2015 film The Intern conveyed this human need to have value.In it,Robert De Niro plays a 70-year-old widower who finds himself a fish out of water when he joins a trendy internet start-up.In the end,not only does he find the sense of belonging that he desires but his colleagues come to rely on his experience and different perspective.It’s a plot we can increasingly expect to happen in real-life offices over the decades to come as people live ever longer.

Already,we are seeing people in their 50s and 60s looking ahead to a retirement lasting 30 years,choosing instead to build second careers that they can maintain into their 70s or beyond. Freed from the financial burden of young children,they can prioritize flexibility,shorter working hours or more rewarding jobs in areas such as charity work or teaching.Many do it for no money at all,volunteering behind the till in charity shops or showing people round National Trust properties.

However,it’s the next generation where the effect of living longer will really be felt,and the financial necessity will start to bite.In the West,more than half of the children born in 2016 have a life expectancy of more than 100 years.In their book,The 100-Year Life,London Business School professors Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott suggest that acquiring sufficient funds to see oneself through a 40-or 50-year retirement will likely be beyond all but the highest earners.

Then there’s the oft-repeated claim that young people today are the first generation to be poorer than their parents.Certainly property prices are changing the way they plan for the future. In the mid-Nineties,the average home cost less than three times the average wage;last year, ONS stats placed that ratio at eight times wages.

The overall effect of these trends is that young people recognize that they will likely have to postpone dreams of retirement and instead strap on(绑住)more debt spread over longer spans.It’s why 44 per cent of under 30s say they expect to be working well into their 70s and why data this year from the Bank of England show that 16 per cent of UK mortgages(按揭贷款)now have terms of 35 years or more-a figure that has tripled in the past decade.

All of these factors look set to contribute to a workforce that has a significantly wider range of ages in the future.In an ra of work when we’ve all learned to be more inclusive,only eight per cent of firms with a diversity programme have adapted it to go beyond gender,race and sexuality and into age.Incorporating older employees into the workforce is set to be the next big thing at the office.

If Robert De Niro has anything to teach us,it’s that this can be an enormous force permanently for both employees and businesses.

Making employees feel happy and healthy at work is good for many businesses. But it isn’t always an easy thing. A study suggests that only 33% of the U. S. employees consider themselves fully engaged （投身于）in work, while 16% are greatly disengaged, and 51% are just showing up.

But there is an exception. When it comes to employee engagement, it seems that employees in small companies are doing better. According to the same research, the largest U. S. companies are at the lowest levels of engagement, while companies with fewer than 25 employees are at the highest. And in one recent report, 75% of small business workers surveyed said they were “very” or “extremely” satisfied with their role as a small company employee.

Unlike big companies, small companies are often short of resources but the employees can get more surprises there. Small companies offer excellent career opportunities to their employees. The bosses often know their staff very well and understand their personal needs. Employees of small companies are more likely to receive free meals, paid leave, and they can even bring their pets to work.

But of course ? there are many other draws in small businesses. One of the top draws is flexible scheduling (弹性工时). Another is being able to really see the fruits of one's labor. Besides, non-cash award is also a big draw. This could be something small that reflects employees’ interests and lifestyles.

While a parental leave might lead to some financial problems, small companies may do something to improve it. “It may be impossible for a five-person team to be reduced to four for six months,” writes Camillia Velasquez, head of HR management platform, Justworks. “But it could be possible to allow new parents to take on reduced hours in a work-from-home environment. ” This kind of method has been realized in some small companies.