Transcript Bild 1 - Cedefop

Enabling longer work life –
four case studies
Jan Holmer
Roland Kadefors
Per-Olof Thång
Department of Work Science
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
Swedish demography 1970-2030
Total employment rate of older workers, 55-64 years
Percent %
70
Sweden
Norway
Denmark
Finland
60
50
40
source: Eurostat
The case studies
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Which obstacles do people over 50 years of age
encounter when they endeavour to remain in or to
re-enter the labour market?
Which are the individual factors that enable
people to work beyond retirement age?
Which factors facilitate for people to stay longer
in working life before retirement?
Considering the ageing workforce and
retirements to come: how to bring about a
relevant knowledge transfer between age groups?
Reflections on the concept of Work
The obstacles:
an interview study
Material and methods:
• 78 problem owners over the age of 50,
• representatives of social partners,
• officials representing the Swedish Social
Insurance Agency, and the
• Swedish Public Employment Service.
The interviews were based on a guide covering
personal as well as contextual factors.
The obstacles
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Competence related factors;
health related factors;
rules and regulations;
negative attitudes.
Competence related factors
• A lack of updated technical
abilities;
• insufficient opportunities given by
employers for competence
updating;
• many individuals were afraid of
new technologies and were
reluctant to take part in educational
activities.
Health related factors
• Problems in the musculoskeletal
system (low back, shoulder/neck);
• high work pace;
• irregular work hours, particularly
shift work.
Obstacles relate to effects of natural
ageing, but also to ailments caused
or aggravated by exposures in
previous employments.
Rules and regulations
• Limited access to economical
support for re-education;
• higher costs for employers to hire
elderly people;
• insufficient co-operation between
authorities.
Negative attitudes
• Among officials in the authorities;
• among employers;
• among the jobseekers themselves.
Percentage in different age groups who
consider themselves middle aged
- source: SOM-institutet, Senior 2005
Work and Work forms
Work, we propose, is activities performed within
social relations in a sphere of necessity.
Work forms are different ways of socially organizing
what people have to do to support themselves in
a given society.
Work and Work Forms
When talking about work forms, we generally think of
wage labour, but there is a whole set of work
forms.
Firstly wage labour can be divided in for instance a
traditional form and a career-oriented form.
Then there are self-employment, housework etc. We
may also distinguish between formal work as
wage labour, and informal work as voluntary
work.
Work and Work Forms
In each work form we can find salient features as
regards the social relations; in wage labour for
instance there is a typical relation between the
employer and the employee.
In each work form we may also expect different
thought configurations as concerns work.
For self-employed people the thought configuration
about work may mean that twenty-four hours are
given the characteristic of work. Work and leisure
are not separated in any distinctive way.
For a blue-collar worker, work mostly is a means to
earn money and nothing else. Work and leisure
are separate parts of life.
Work beyond retirement age
Which are the individual factors that enable people to
work (obstacles and possibilities) beyond
retirement age?
The methods used are participant observations of
and questionnaires to university professors.
Work beyond retirement age: results
We found that the forces for this kind of work are
inherent, embedded in the work itself (as we may
find also in other occupations, for instance the
career-oriented work form and also in selfemployed people).
For these kinds of occupations economic incentives
seemed to be of little importance.
The pleasure in knowing something and having a
capacity to do something is important.
Work beyond retirement age: results
But the commitment is also a result of work
characteristics; a work with exacting duties and
good possibilities to manage and control and to
follow up what has been contributed and
achieved.
These work characteristics are necessary, though
not always sufficient, conditions to make persons
in general manage to work in older ages (due to
rules for retirement, for example).
Knowledge transfer
between age groups
How to bring about a relevant knowledge transfer in
an organisation considering the ageing workforce
and retirements to come?
Interviews were carried out with heads in some
twenty organisations drawn from public and
private sectors.
Knowledge transfer between age groups:
preliminary findings
There is a tendency towards a changeover from
formal education and training to informal and
non-formal learning, and training in form of
knowledge transfer close to the working place
and work-integrated learning.
This is done by for instance:
• studying by walking around/learning by asking;
• some colleagues gives instructions and
explanations;
• work in parallel (the post is filled in double);
• sponsorship (including continuous guidance);
• mentorship;
• working in teams (often cross-professional);
• work place meetings...
Knowledge transfer between age groups:
preliminary findings
In order to keep the competence in the organisation,
some trades have created an incentive for the
elderly employees to remain for a prolonged
working period, meaning that the employee,
• is working 80%,
• has 90% full pay, and
• retains 100% pension at official retirement.
Then the employee has to participate in mentoring
activities.
Facilitating factors
in blue collar work
An Education Programme for Machine Operators in
the Swedish Forest Industry during the late 1990s
Background
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The employees were getting older.
The turnover was too low.
Too many employees had a short formal
education.
Too few young employees had a more
qualified education.
Rapid technological development.
Further education was needed to make
it possible to work until retirement.
Purpose of the project
• Recruit older (50+) machine operators with a short
formal education.
• Teaching and learning should be computer
supported.
• A supervisor (contact person) should be recruited.
• Some subjects were picked beforehand.
• The industries participating should cooperate
within the programme.
• A local learning centre with computers and
equipment should be established.
Main subjects
• Mathematics
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Swedish
• English
• Other
Results at a company level
• Better educated manpower.
• Better motivated manpower.
• Support is essential for every single
employee.
Results at an individual level
• 60% completed the studies.
• Self reliance had been boosted.
• A few applied for university studies.
• Personal motives to participate were
stronger than work related motives.
• Strengthened chances on the labour market.
Conclusion (1)
• Recurrent education of older workers could be
a vigorous instrument to motivate them to stay
longer in working life.
Conclusion (2)
We believe that it is less ”personal
characteristics” compared to work
forms, work characteristics and
contextual factors (like rules and
regulations) that make persons
manage to work up to and beyond
the official retirement age.
Conclusion (3)
There is a changeover from formal
education and training to informal
and non-formal learning and
training in form of knowledge
transfer close to the working place
and work-integrated learning.
Conclusion (4)
If it is endeavored to increase work participation in
the 55-64 years old, it is unlikely that economical
incentives will suffice. The realities behind the
statistics need to be addressed.
We believe that this is not only a matter of national
economics, but should be seen in the context of
the place that work has, or may have, in the life of
the citizens.