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The authors consider the impact of ageing on individual employees and their working environments. Special consideration is given to the fact that the consequences can be very productive for enterprises. What is required is continuous personnel development with prevention measures. If older employees are promoted on a regular basis through training opportunities, enterprises do not lose existing knowledge. Instead, such knowledge continues to be processed. Teams composed of young and old create synergy effects from the intersection of new knowledge and superior experience. The practical examples provided show how enterprises can benefit from older employees by taking advantage of opportunities and developing skills. Show less

Following the European Employment Directive, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 outlawing age discrimination in employment and vocational training came into force in the UK in October 2006. These regulations made unjustified age discrimination in employment and vocational training unlawful. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) commissioned a survey of employers' policies and practices with an age dimension prior to the implementation of the regulations. The main purpose of the survey was to enable the effectiveness of the draft Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 to be evaluated in the future, through providing a baseline measure of these policies and practices against which future change could be measured. The study was based on a representative survey of 2,087 establishments in Britain with at least five employees, conducted between November 2004 and May 2005. Respondents were the most senior person with an overview of human resource policies for the establishment.

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This article outlines issues surrounding the workplace circumstances of employees of intermediate age, who act as the linchpin of enterprises' human resources. In Japanese companies there is significant correspondence between age and rank due to seniority-based promotions, meaning that in effect intermediate age (for the purposes of this article, age 35-49) is often synonymous with intermediate rank (i.e. 'middle management'). These employees tend to be extremely overworked, and it is predicted that this situation will grow even more severe in the future. Excessive workload may be caused by a shortage of employees of intermediate age, or may arise when there are a sufficient number of employees at this age/rank but an insufficient number of younger workers, or even when there are more employees of intermediate age than required, but an insufficient number of both younger and middle-aged or older workers. Under such circumstances employees of intermediate age must handle tasks that ought to be performed by their juniors or seniors, and this results in inadequate time left over for training their juniors or subordinates, which in turn causes a high rate of turnover among younger workers. The problems of employees of intermediate age influence other age groups as well and affect the entire workplace. Behind this problem lies a backdrop of uneven age distribution, a primary cause of which is the widespread curtailing or suspension of hiring of new graduates at many companies in the past. As a result, workplaces today need a sufficient number of new graduates to fill the gap, but discussions or negotiations between labor and management to determine what this 'sufficient number' might be only take place at around 16 per cent of enterprises. Human resources are the bedrock on which businesses are built, and today there is an urgent need to consider this issue from a long-term perspective.

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The Australian HR Institute and the Australian Human Rights Commission surveyed 604 [human resources] HR leaders, academics, and business leaders between the 15th and 23rd of February 2021. The aim of the study was to understand organisations' strategies to recruit and retain older workers, and how [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 has impacted these strategies. Further, the study was to compare how these approaches have shifted in Australian workplaces over time, utilising data from previous surveys in 2012, 2014 and 2018. The majority of respondents reside in Victoria (27.8 per cent) and New South Wales (25.8 per cent), in a Metropolitan area (76 per cent), and are HR practitioners working within an organisation (67.4 per cent).

This survey was done in COVID time and it is likely that this had an impact on the answers and on organisational behaviours. Responses to the specific questions on this topic are interesting but not conclusive. Overall results indicate some small continuing gains but also a number of areas where progress has stalled or even gone backwards. The HR community in Australia is classifying 'older workers' as younger over time, even though the Australian workforce is ageing, with a higher proportion classifying an older worker as between 51-55 (16.9 per cent; an increase of 6.1 per cent since 2018). Results indicate that the number of older workers in Australian organisations is increasing, with one third of respondents saying at least half of their workforce is made up of workers above 55 years old. One in three respondents believed their organisation's recruitment practices have somewhat negatively impacted older workers. There is also an increase of 13.8 per cent since 2014 in the number of respondents who recognise that the departure of older workers causes a loss of key skills or knowledge but it's unfortunate that there has been little or no increase in the same time period in organisations to capture corporate knowledge as older workers transition out of the workplace. This disconnect could usefully be addressed.

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The HRpulse survey is designed to gather opinions and feedback on human resources (HR) management topics that impact on organisational performance. This curent survey was conducted online during December 2011 and communicated by email to the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) member database. A total of 1212 respondents returned answers to the survey. Responses were treated anonymously. In discussing the findings, numerical data is rounded to the nearest whole number. Key findings include: approximately half the respondents to the survey (46 per cent) report that the departure of older workers from their workplace in the last year has caused loss of key knowledge or skills; approximately one-fifth of respondents (22 per cent) report that the departure of older workers has caused the organisation to be less competitive; and more than eight out of 10 respondents (83 per cent) would like to see steps taken within their organisation to retain older workers.

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industries have seen impressive growth over the past few years. As ICT becomes integral to other sectors, transforming the way they work, the ICT sector itself is experiencing rapid change. Digitalization is reshaping economies across the world, including those of Canada, China, Germany and Singapore, and it is a significant driver of increasing demand for ICT specialists - both in the ICT sector and across many other sectors of the economy. However, a shortage of skilled ICT workers is becoming a major concern for governments, and employers' and workers' organizations in many countries. A lack of skilled labour will constrain future growth and job creation in the sector, but with the right policies in place, the digital economy could make a significant contribution to advancing decent work and inclusive economic growth at the global, regional and national levels.

This report is part of a series published under the ILO development cooperation project entitled 'The Future of Work in Information and Communication Technology'. The global research project focuses on anticipated needs for skilled workers and strategies for addressing labour shortages, including the scaling up of investments in ICT education and training, and more efficient management of ICT specialist migration flows. The report specifically examines (a) trends in the ICT sector and ICT labour markets; (b) the potential demand for ICT jobs and anticipated shortages of skilled workers in the digital economy, as well as approaches for improving the education and training of ICT workers; and (c) factors affecting the labour migration of highly-skilled ICT workers in the four target countries.

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This handbook examines the aging workforce from the perspectives of the individual worker, organisations and society. Comprising six core sections, the handbook covers the following areas: international demographic trends, retirement projections, and retirement policies; contemporary work perspectives and person-environment fit for the older worker; physical capabilities, cognitive abilities, and occupational health of an aging worker; organisational strategies for an older workforce, including research regarding retirement, training and retention; and individual, organisational and societal perspectives on work and retirement.

The contents are as follows: Part one, 'Introduction', contains: Work and aging: introduction / Jerry W. Hedge and Walter C. Borman. Part two, 'Demographic perspectives', contains: Global aging and aging workers / David R. Phillips and Oi-ling Siu; Workforce demographics in the United States: occupational trends, work rates, and retirement projections in the United States / Victoria A. Albright; The aging of the workforce in European countries: demographic trends, retirement projections, and retirement policies / Vegard Skirbekk, Elke Loichinger, and Bilal F. Barakat; The changing workforce demographics in Asia Pacific: a diversity of work and retirement trends / Paul T. Van Katwyk; Aging workforce demographics in Canada: occupational trends, work rates, and retirement projections / Steven F. Cronshaw. Part three, 'Theoretical and methodological perspectives on workforce aging', contains: A review of aging theories and modern work perspectives / Boris B. Baltes, Cort W. Rudolph, and Anne C. Bal; Aging and participation in career development activities / Thomas W. H. Ng and Daniel C. Feldman; Studying the aging worker: research designs and methodologies / Brendan M. Baird, Lindsay Pitzer, Alissa Russell, and Cindy S. Bergeman; Defining age and using age-relevant constructs / Alexander R. Schwall; The aging worker and person-environment fit / Elissa L. Perry, Gina Dokko, and Frank D. Golom.

Part four, 'The older worker', contains: Physical capabilities and occupational health of older workers / Julie A. Maertens, Stefanie E. Putter, Peter Y. Chen, Manfred Diehl, and Yueng-Hsiang (Emily) Huang; The aging process and cognitive capabilities / Tracey E. Rizzuto, Katie E. Cherry, and Jared A. LeDoux; Aging, personality, and work attitudes / Eric D. Heggestad and Ashley M. Andrew; Job performance and the aging worker / Michael A. McDaniel, Bryan J. Pesta, and George C. Banks; Age stereotypes and workplace age discrimination: a framework for future research / Richard A. Posthuma, Maria Fernanda Wagstaff, and Michael A. Campion; Ending on the scrap heap?: the experience of job loss and job search among older workers / Ute-Christine Klehe, Jessie Koen, and Irene E. De Pater; Aging workers and technology / Lori Foster Thompson and Christopher B. Mayhorn. Part five, 'Organizational strategies for an older workforce', contains: Workforce planning with an aging workforce / Martin M. Greller; Recruiting/hiring of older workers / Filip Lievens, Greet Van Hoye, Hannes Zacher; Retention strategies and older workers / Cheryl Paullin and Deborah L. Whetzel; Dynamic learning: discovering, applying, and updating knowledge faster than the speed of change / Lloyd Baird and Darrell Griffin; The training and development of an aging workforce / Margaret E. Beier, Mark S. Teachout, and Cody B. Cox; Job design and redesign for older workers / Joseph Sharit and Sara J. Czaja; Multiple generations in the workplace: exploring the research, influence of stereotypes, and organizational applications / Arlene Pace Green, Laura Mastrangelo Eigel, Jacquelyn Boone James, Danielle Hartmann, and Kate Malter McLean.

Part six, 'Perspectives on work and retirement', contains: Career planning for mid- and late-career workers / Sven Voelpel, Anne Sauer, and Torsten Biemann; Older workers and work-family issues / Tammy D. Allen and Kristen M. Shockley; Retirement planning: new context, process, language, and players / Helen Dennis and Kathryn Thomas Fike; Retirement dilemmas and decisions / Phyllis Moen; Health and fiscal and psychological well-being in retirement / Mo Wang. Part seven, 'Societal perspectives on work and retirement', contains: Aging workers, demographic subgroups, and differential work and retirement opportunities / Lauren Eyster, Demetra Smith Nightingale, and Jaclyn Nidoh; Age-based laws, rules, and regulations in the United States / Arthur Gutman; The fiscal challenge of an aging population in the United States / Sewin Chan; Entitlement programs, retirement-related policies, and governmental politics / Marilyn Moon; The pros and cons of pro-work policies and programs for older workers / Tay K. McNamara, Joelle M. Sano, and John B. Williamson. Part eight, 'Thoughts and future directions', contains: Advancing research and application in work and aging / Jerry W. Hedge and Walter C. Borman. Show less

Most Japanese employees are unemployable after mandatory retirement age. If mandatory retirees want to continue working after mandatory retirement, they would have to seek a new job. Skill development for elderly Japanese could be one of the ways to prevent them from long-term unemployment. This paper examines whether unemployment duration for elderly Japanese tends to be longer using macro data. It also examines whether there is negative duration dependence for the elderly who are in a non-working status except for those in full retirement, whether skill development shortens the non-working duration, and whether unemployment insurance benefits affect the non-working duration, using cross-sectional micro data sets for elderly Japanese who have desired to work after their mandatory retirement. There are three major contributions of this paper. First, we focus on the non-working durations of mandatory retirees who want to work. Second, we discuss the effects of skill development for elderly Japanese on their reemployment after mandatory retirement. There is no empirical study that sheds light on the effects of skill development on reemployment for Japanese mandatory retirees. Moreover, there is even less evidence on what kind of skill development elderly Japanese engage in. Finally, we consider an endogenous problem between the labor supply decision and unemployment benefits to reveal the impact of unemployment insurance benefits on the non-working duration for elderly Japanese.

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From 6 April 2011 the default retirement age (DRA) in the UK is being phased out so that people have more choice when to stop working. Consequently, from [this date] employers will not be able to issue any notifications of compulsory retirement using the DRA procedure. In order to explore employers' understanding of the changes in employment law relating to retirement age, and extending working life initiatives, a number of questions were included in [this first wave] of a piece of research which considered employers' awareness, understanding and activity relating to workplace pensions reform. A total of 751 Computer Aided Telephone Interviews (CATI) were undertaken with employers (202 with micros, 250 with small, 151 medium, and 148 with large employers).

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All OECD economies are undergoing rapid population ageing, leading to more age diversity in workplaces than ever before as people are not only living longer but working longer. Greater diversity of experience, generations and skills gives employers an important opportunity to harness the talent that different age groups bring to the workplace and improve productivity and profitability. What can employers do to maximise the benefits of a multigenerational workforce? This report presents a business case for embracing greater age diversity at the workplace and debunks several myths about generational differences in work performance, attitudes and motivations towards work. It points to key employer policies and offers practical examples in three key areas to support and promote an age-inclusive workforce. This includes designing and putting in place all-age and life-stage policies covering the full span of workers careers through best practice in recruitment, retention and retirement, as well as the promotion of life-long learning and good health at work.

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