CHALLENGES OF AGING LABOR FORCE IN AN ORGANIZATION

Abstract

This paper examines the impacts of the changes of the composition of the ageing labor force on the skills and knowledge transfer in an organization. The changing individual needs of older individuals are creating powerful, labor dynamic incentives. For the management organizations from private and public sector, this is an organizational challenge linked to cultural transformation on the level of organization. The results of the study show that the manager and non-manager respondents have the unique aspect of the role of senior employees in some small Slovenian organizations. Managers in the sample based on their managerial experience, see the older workers in an organization primarily as transformers of jobs to younger employees, which should be courteous and efficient and should help the organization competitiveness. Non – managers’ respondents give priority to employment and retirement strategy for senior employees and maintain a positive view of older employees’ motives and productivity. Further, non – managers point to the need to keep older workers with unique skills and competences in an organization. We conclude that organizations will meet the challenge of ageing labor force in the near future. They will have to start the organizational culture, which will promote business change and continuous flow of skills and competences through inter-generation model.