From an international comparative point of view the paper deals with driving forces and potential obstacles for the labour market participation of older workers. It goes into depth by focusing on four case studies that seem to be typical for different contexts. Germany, Israel, Italy and Sweden were selected in order to examine the development and the situation of older workers in detail. Each country stands for a specific configuration, e.g. because it may represent a trend reversal, a continuously outstanding performance, or lasting problems. The cases also provde information on pension reforms and approaches to better manage ageing workforces, in some cases including a new balance of work and retirement. Being aware of the different country situations, it becomes obvious that one size of politics does not fit all. Independent of national policies, employability over the life cycle should gain more attention. Regarding future developments, continuous skill improvement and a healthy work environment are indispensable to keep older workers in work.
Taking an international comparative perspective, this paper deals with driving forces of and potential obstacles to the labor market participation of older workers. It focuses in depth on four case studies that appear to be prototypical for different contexts. Given the high variance of cultures of work and welfare state systems in Europe and its neighbouring countries, Germany, Israel, Italy and Sweden were selected with the aim of examining the development and situation of older workers in great detail. Each country stands for a specific configuration, e.g. because it may represent a trend reversal, a continuously outstanding performance or lasting problems. The cases also include information on pension reforms and approaches to better manage aging workforces. In face of the different country situations, it becomes obvious that one size of policies does not fit all. Independent of national policies, employability over the life cycle requires more attention. Regarding future developments, several domains of organizational practices are indispensable for appropriately managing an aging workforce, including skill improvement and a healthy work environment. ; Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich aus einer international vergleichenden Perspektive mit Treibern und Hemmnissen der Arbeitsmarktpartizipation von Älteren. Der Fokus der Studie richtet sich auf Länderbeispiele, die prototypisch für bestimmte Kontexte stehen. Ausgehend von unterschiedlichen Rahmenbedingungen am Arbeitsmarkt und wohlfahrtsstaatlichen Regulierungen in Europa und benachbarten Ländern wurden mit Deutschland, Israel, Italien und Schweden vier Länder ausgewählt, in denen der Entwicklung und Situation älterer Beschäftigter am Arbeitsmarkt nachgegangen wird. Jedes der ausgewählten Länder steht für eine spezifische Konstellation, sei es, dass eine Trendwende erreicht wurde, ein langfristig hoher Beschäftigungsstand realisiert werden konnte oder anhaltende Probleme zu beobachten sind. Die Fallbeispiele befassen sich u.a. mit rentenpolitischen Reformen sowie arbeitsmarktpolitischen Ansätzen zum Management alternder Belegschaften. Sie zeigen, dass es keinen Königsweg zur Verbesserung der Arbeitsmarktsituation Älterer gibt. Unabhängig von staatlichen Politiken kommt der Entwicklung der Beschäftigungsfähigkeit über den Lebenszyklus große Bedeutung bei. Mit Blick auf zukünftige Entwicklungen sind geeignete betriebliche Praktiken für das Management alternder Belegschaften unverzichtbar. Entscheidend sind dabei insbesondere Initiativen, die auf ein lebenslanges Lernen und ein gesundes Arbeitsumfeld zielen.
From an international comparative point of view the paper deals with driving forces and potential obstacles for the labour market participation of older workers. It goes into depth by focusing on four case studies that seem to be typical for different contexts. Germany, Israel, Italy and Sweden were selected in order to examine the development and the situation of older workers in detail. Each country stands for a specific configuration, e.g. because it may represent a trend reversal, a continuously outstanding performance, or lasting problems. The cases also provde information on pension reforms and approaches to better manage ageing workforces, in some cases including a new balance of work and retirement. Being aware of the different country situations, it becomes obvious that one size of politics does not fit all. Independent of national policies, employability over the life cycle should gain more attention. Regarding future developments, continuous skill improvement and a healthy work environment are indispensable to keep older workers in work.
Der vorliegende Aufsatz beschreibt den demographischen Wandel in der Bevölkerung Deutschlands und die damit verbundenen Auswirkungen auf den Arbeitsmarkt und die Personalpolitik in Betrieben.
In: Pit , S , Fisk , M , Freihaut , W , Akintunde , F , Aloko , B , Berge , B , Burmeister , A , Ciacâru , A , Deller , J , Dulmage , R , Han , T H , Hao , Q , Honeyman , P , Huber , P C , Linner , T , Lundberg , S , Nwamara , M , Punpuing , K , Schramm , J , Yamada , H & Yap , J C H 2021 , ' COVID-19 and the ageing workforce : global perspectives on needs and solutions across 15 countries ' , International Journal for Equity in Health , vol. 20 , no. 1 , 221 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01552-w
Background: COVID-19 has a direct impact on the employment of older people. This adds to the challenge of ageism. The World Health Organization has started a worldwide campaign to combat ageism and has called for more research and evidence-based strategies that have the potential to be scaled up. This study specifically aims to identify solutions to combat the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the global ageing workforce. Methods: We present 15 case studies from different countries and report on what those countries are doing or not doing to address the impact of COVID-19 on ageing workers. Results: We provide examples of how COVID-19 influences older people's ability to work and stay healthy, and offer case studies of what governments, organizations or individuals can do to help ensure older people can obtain, maintain and, potentially, expand their current work. Case studies come from Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Israel, Japan, Nigeria, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Across the countries, the impact of COVID-19 on older workers is shown as widening inequalities. A particular challenge has arisen because of a large proportion of older people, often with limited education and working in the informal sector within rural areas, e.g. in Nigeria, Thailand and China. Remedies to the particular disadvantage experienced by older workers in the context of COVID are presented. These range from funding support to encouraging business continuity, innovative product and service developments, community action, new business models and localized, national and international actions. The case studies can be seen as frequently fitting within strategies that have been proven to work in reducing ageism within the workplace. They include policy and laws that have increased benefits to workers during lockdowns (most countries); educational activities such as coaching seniorpreneurship (e,g, Australia); intergenerational contact interventions such as ...
Background: COVID-19 has a direct impact on the employment of older people. This adds to the challenge of ageism. The World Health Organization has started a worldwide campaign to combat ageism and has called for more research and evidence-based strategies that have the potential to be scaled up. This study specifically aims to identify solutions to combat the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the global ageing workforce. Methods: We present 15 case studies from different countries and report on what those countries are doing or not doing to address the impact of COVID-19 on ageing workers. Results: We provide examples of how COVID-19 influences older people's ability to work and stay healthy, and offer case studies of what governments, organizations or individuals can do to help ensure older people can obtain, maintain and, potentially, expand their current work. Case studies come from Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Israel, Japan, Nigeria, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Across the countries, the impact of COVID-19 on older workers is shown as widening inequalities. A particular challenge has arisen because of a large proportion of older people, often with limited education and working in the informal sector within rural areas, e.g. in Nigeria, Thailand and China. Remedies to the particular disadvantage experienced by older workers in the context of COVID are presented. These range from funding support to encouraging business continuity, innovative product and service developments, community action, new business models and localized, national and international actions. The case studies can be seen as frequently fitting within strategies that have been proven to work in reducing ageism within the workplace. They include policy and laws that have increased benefits to workers during lockdowns (most countries); educational activities such as coaching seniorpreneurship (e,g, Australia); intergenerational contact interventions such as ...