The population of The Netherlands will, as in other industrialized countries, continue to age in the coming decades. So far, the working‐age population has not been affected, but…
Abstract
The population of The Netherlands will, as in other industrialized countries, continue to age in the coming decades. So far, the working‐age population has not been affected, but the ageing process is set to leave its mark on the labour force in the next 25 years. An ageing labour force and possible future policy measures in this area will have important repercussions for individual organizations. Research into future trends has shown that the percentage of people aged over 50 in public service will increase from 15 per cent in 1995 to 35 per cent in 2010. Policy measures aimed at stimulating the labour force participation of the elderly will boost this percentage even further. The elderly employees not only hold the highest positions, but also they withdraw from the workforce in limited numbers. Unless the number of jobs is increased, opportunities for promotion and entry into the Civil Service are likely to decline. The only way to counteract an ageing workforce ‐ even if only to a limited degree ‐ is to encourage the retirement of elderly employees and/or to significantly boost the number of jobs within the organization. Such measures would run counter to current political trends. An alternative would be to reassess the position of the elderly within the organization.
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Eleanor M. M. Davies, Karen Hanley, Andrew K. Jenkins and Chad Chan
Older workers represent an increasingly important source of labour for organisations. Irrespective of age, a worker needs the appropriate skills and knowledge to be productive and…
Abstract
Older workers represent an increasingly important source of labour for organisations. Irrespective of age, a worker needs the appropriate skills and knowledge to be productive and to help the organisation achieve its strategic objectives. However, in many organisations, older workers are less likely to be offered training opportunities than their younger compatriots. This is due, in part, to negative stereotypical assumptions about older workers by managers. Learning and training are influenced by an individual’s career span and motivation. As a person ages, their work-related needs will change. There is a shift from growing and developing their career to a focus on security, maintenance, emotional satisfaction and mastery. Cognitive change takes place during a person’s life, and a gradual decline in primary mental abilities can be expected, but the notions of general decline are simplistic and misleading. A person is able to learn at any age and the older worker is capable of adjusting to changes in work. Many people assume that older workers are homogeneous but this is not the case. There are significant differences between older workers and these differences need to be acknowledged and understood. The organisational culture will affect learning and training opportunities for older workers, as will the attitudes of managers to older employees. Learning and training for older workers will also be influenced by the national culture and, in this chapter, selected Asian countries are discussed. The chapter concludes by offering recommendations regarding learning and training for older workers in organisations.
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Miriam Taís Salomão, Susana Costa Silva and José Ricardo Côto
Cosmopolitans transcend their local boundaries by interacting and actively seeking other cultures, and the applications of these characteristics to consumption behaviour is called…
Abstract
Purpose
Cosmopolitans transcend their local boundaries by interacting and actively seeking other cultures, and the applications of these characteristics to consumption behaviour is called consumer cosmopolitanism. To outline inferences on what school leavers would experience, consider or do when planning to study abroad, this paper aims to examine people who have experienced Erasmus concerning the relationship between their level and type of consumer cosmopolitanism and the decisions related to enrolling in the Erasmus programme, which include the decision itself, motivations, choice of destination, pursuing cultural differences and search for different levels of globalisation.
Design/methodology/approach
After proposing a conceptual model, data were collected by surveying undergraduate or postgraduate students. Then a set of multivariate analyses were developed to validate the hypotheses.
Findings
Contrarily to what could be expected, results indicate that consumer cosmopolitanism decreases the likelihood for students to enrol on the programme. Additionally, three types of consumer cosmopolitanism were found: low, cultural and high cosmopolitans. According to results, low cosmopolitans display lower likelihoods of enrolment than the other two types. This evidence supports that intention to enrol is not always a good predictor of behaviour and that a gap is proven here as well. This study also suggests that cosmopolitan consumers do not reveal a preference for countries with similar/different cultures or levels of globalization to that of their own country, but, conversely, experiencing a different culture remains one of the leading motivations for these consumers.
Originality/value
Although cosmopolitanism has been extensively studied in different research fields, its link with the decisions on studying abroad has barely been explored.
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Claire Anumba, A.R.J. Dainty, S.G. Ison and Amanda Sergeant
The UK construction industry faces unprecedented skills demands which have been fuelled by sustained sectoral growth and a concurrent downturn in the number of young people…
Abstract
The UK construction industry faces unprecedented skills demands which have been fuelled by sustained sectoral growth and a concurrent downturn in the number of young people entering the industry. However, patterns of supply and demand are not uniform across the country, with regional and local skills shortages being determined by the specific socio‐economic context of the area under consideration. Thus, developing effective labour market policy demands spatially‐oriented labour market information which can be reconciled against industry growth forecasts within a particular region or locality. This paper explores the potential of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in providing such a mechanism for enhancing the labour market planning process. The paper details how GIS can aid construction labour market planning through its ability to integrate disparate labour market information efficiently, thereby placing analysts in a better position to understand specific spatial patterns. A range of datasets were strategically combined in order to reveal regional nuances in labour demand and supply which would be difficult to discern without the use of such a tool. Although the GIS output would need to be considered in combination with a range of other forecasting techniques if robust projects of labour demand and shortage are to be generated, it nevertheless offers an effective decision‐support tool for informing labour market policy in the future.
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The purpose of this paper is to draw the attention to the necessity of knowledge management (KM) among the older workforce and to provide guidelines for human resource (HR…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to draw the attention to the necessity of knowledge management (KM) among the older workforce and to provide guidelines for human resource (HR) managers on how to engage in this process.
Design/methodology/approach
First, characteristics of older employees, viewpoints of HR managers on the older workforce and critical success factors of KM are explored through a literature review and conversations in the field. Thereafter these findings are combined in order to arrive at those aspects that an ideal organizational culture for KM must entail among the older workforce. When a more proactive management style is incorporated in this culture, KM among older employees will be significantly facilitated.
Findings
The paper finds that there exist opportunities for synergy between a proactive management style towards older employees and effective KM among this group. HR managers need to review their point of view towards the older worker in order to facilitate knowledge sharing.
Research limitations/implications
This article's intention is to give general guidelines to HR managers on how they can facilitate KM among older workers. It is not extensively based on direct empirical findings; therefore further research is needed to verify, falsify, specify and complete the conclusions and recommendations made in this article.
Practical implications
This paper constitutes a real potential to develop a variety of new approaches in knowledge management, in particular towards older employees.
Originality/value
The paper brings together two topics, which have explicitly combined but received little attention from researchers. It provides HR management with practical suggestions on how to empower their older workforce and ensure knowledge sharing.
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Kène Henkens and Joop Schippers
The purpose of this paper (overview) is to provide a brief introduction to the topic of active ageing and summarise the seven studies included in this special issue. The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper (overview) is to provide a brief introduction to the topic of active ageing and summarise the seven studies included in this special issue. The authors also acknowledge those who were instrumental in bringing this issue to fruition.
Design/methodology/approach
The International Journal of Manpower's usual double‐blind review process was used to select the seven papers included in this special issue. The papers themselves all have a cross‐national perspective using data from eight European countries. These papers represent a wide variety of designs, methodologies and analytic strategies used to study active ageing in the paid labour force as well as in civil society. The papers make use of large‐scale surveys among employers and volunteers, case studies in organisations, and vital statistics.
Findings
The findings of the studies included in this special issue provide insights into the factors and mechanisms that hamper higher participation levels of older adults in paid employment and civil society, and give suggestions on how to improve their inclusion and how to deal with an ageing workforce.
Originality/value
Taken as a collective, the papers in this special issue help propel forward in significant ways the study of active ageing from an international and interdisciplinary perspective.
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Jos Akkermans, Annet H. de Lange, Beatrice I.J.M. van der Heijden, Dorien T.A.M. Kooij, Paul G.W. Jansen and Josje S.E. Dikkers
The aging workforce is becoming an increasingly important topic in today’s labor market. However, most scientific research and organizational policies focus on chronological age…
Abstract
Purpose
The aging workforce is becoming an increasingly important topic in today’s labor market. However, most scientific research and organizational policies focus on chronological age as the main determinant of successful aging. Based on life span developmental theories – primarily socioemotional selectivity theory and motivational theory of life span development – the purpose of this paper is to test the added value of using subjective age – in terms of remaining opportunities and remaining time – over and above chronological age in their associations with motivation at work and motivation to work.
Design/methodology/approach
Workers from five different divisions throughout the Netherlands (n=186) from a taxi company participated in the survey study.
Findings
The results from the regression analyses and structural equation modeling analyses support the hypotheses: when subjective age was included in the models, chronological age was virtually unrelated to workers’ intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and motivation to continue to work for one’s organization. Moreover, subjective age was strongly related to work motivation. Specifically, workers who perceived many remaining opportunities were more intrinsically and extrinsically motivated, and those who perceived a lot of remaining time were more motivated across the board.
Originality/value
The findings indicate that subjective age is an important concept to include in studies focussing on successful aging, thereby contributing to life span developmental theories. Further implications for research and practice are discussed.
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Tanja Verheyen, Nick Deschacht and Marie-Anne Guerry
The purpose of this paper is to determine the occurrence of job level, salary and job authority demotions in the workplace through the analysis of Belgian Statistics on Income and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the occurrence of job level, salary and job authority demotions in the workplace through the analysis of Belgian Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SILC)-data of 2007-2011.
Design/methodology/approach
Three hypotheses are tested: H1: there is a gender inequality in job authority demotions. H2: the level of education and the probability of being subject to a job level, salary or job authority demotion are negatively correlated. H3: age is negatively correlated with job level, salary or job authority demotion probabilities. The cross-sectional data of the SILC cover a specific time period with data on inter alia living conditions. The longitudinal data give information on inter alia income and non-monetary variables over a period of four years. The authors estimate multivariate regression models for binary demotion variables. These analyses allow the authors to estimate the odds of being demoted. The authors discuss the demotion rates, the bivariate correlations and the regression analysis.
Findings
The data analysis result in the fact that base salary demotions are not commonly applied as literature and the Belgian law on salary protection endorses. Fringe benefits demotions, as for instance the abolition of a company car or a bonus are, however, more frequent. There is a gender gap with regard to job authority demotion. Highly educated respondents are less confronted with job authority demotions. Age is negatively correlated with base salary/fringe benefits or job authority demotion probabilities, but not with job-level demotions. H1 is thus confirmed. H2 and H3 only partly confirmed.
Research limitations/implications
Several analyses were restricted because the EU-SILC did not question all dimensions of demotion in detail.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the scarce literature on demotion and to empirical studies on demotions regarding job level, salary and job authority.
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This paper aims to investigate a workforce policy response to the ageing workforce, emerging social and demographic trends, ongoing and rapid change, the growth in complexity and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate a workforce policy response to the ageing workforce, emerging social and demographic trends, ongoing and rapid change, the growth in complexity and the changing nature of work.
Design/methodology/approach
The main method for constructing this paper is analysis of selected texts rather than the more conventional empirical studies. The approach is that of scenario construction, guided by the criteria established by Nowotny et al. Evidence is gathered of emergent trends that affect management practices and structures now and in the foreseeable future. These trends are identified and woven into a commentary that links them in a focus on the priorities for Australian organizations.
Findings
The findings from this research suggest that “command‐based” management structures of the bureaucracy, given emergent trends, present as an impediment to organizational success. Rather, a workforce policy reform agenda for both understanding and managing noted historical conditions in a coherent way is proposed.
Practical implications
The conclusions of this paper are significant for large organizations faced with the dynamism of the modern era and the difficulties associated with emerging demographic and social trends. They suggest a workforce policy reform agenda for both understanding and managing these historical conditions in a coherent way.
Originality/value
This paper deals with a topic that is exercising policy makers in all the developed economies. It offers practical advice to assist the development of workforce policy to better manage emergent trends.