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

Sweden

Norway

Denmark

Finland

40

50

60

70

Percent %

source: Eurostat

The case studies

• 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

• 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 self-employed 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

• 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.