Older workers in the firm and as job candidates : the view of those responsible for personnel management

Abstract

"The problems that older workers experience in finding new work are well-known. Those responsible for personnel management in firms play a key role in the reintegration of older workers. In this paper the results of a survey conducted among personnel managers are presented. The questions focussed on the importance of workers' and job applicants' ages for the firm. Furthermore the survey dealt with the question as to what the unemployment of applicants signalises for personnel managers. The research was conducted in the form of partially structured interviews, which made it possible to record opinions and attitudes in their diversity. In this respect the following points take into account only some of the key results: The general attitude was: We need young and older workers. Young workers are required for the jobs that demand 'new' qualifications, and for those where physical and psychological resilience or speed and flexibility matter. Older workers are needed for managerial functions at all hierarchical levels, for training functions and quite generally whenever experience and technical or firm-specific knowledge are in demand. This does not automatically result in good employment prospects for external older job applicants. There are fewer jobs of this type overall; they are attractive advancement positions for a firm's own employees and there are good reasons for considering these employees as applicants for such jobs. Also the ideas of a desirable or 'normal' age structure in a firm, which continue to be orientated towards the idea of an age pyramid, oppose older applicants. From the point of view of those responsible for personnel issues a point against hiring older workers is also the firms' interest in employment relationships that are as long-term as possible. At the same time the firms express the fear of being unable to part with older workers, and not only because of dismissal protection regulations but also because of the feeling of a greater social obligation - in order to avoid this older workers are not hired in the first place. The personnel managers are aware that unemployment can affect anybody but many assume that if people use their own initiative and are willing to lower their sights, they need not remain out of work. Above all it is assumed that unemployed people very rapidly lose the characteristics for which their age actually stands, i.e. reliability, solid knowledge and work discipline. On the whole the study showed that many different areas must be tackled if the integration chances of older people are to be improved." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Koller, B. & Gruber, H. (2001): Ältere Arbeitnehmer im Betrieb und als Stellenbewerber aus der Sicht der Personalverantwortlichen. In: Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Vol. 34, No. 4, p. 479-505.