Dealing with economic and demographic challenges: Workplace innovation practices as a timely and effective response to older workers' needs

Abstract

Abstract There is substantial evidence that workplace practices can support employee health and well-being. In the present paper we explore the role of a specific type of practices, workplace innovation (WI) practices, for older workers’ health and well-being. We start by arguing for a more comprehensive and less fragmented approach to workplace practices and for practices that can create the conditions to support both quality of working life and organisational performance. We then suggest that WI practices offer such an approach and present the evidence that links the effects of four types of WI practices (work organisation, structure and systems, learning and reflection, and workplace partnership) to a range of health and well-being outcomes (health, well-being, work engagement, performance, and decisions to delay retirement). Even though there is currently no direct empirical evidence that links WI practices to the health and well-being of older workers, the available research offers indirect support for a number of propositions for research and practice. These propositions can help and contribute to the development of a fruitful line of research on the impact of WI on older workers’ health and well-being. Keywords: Older workers, workplace innovation practices, human resource management, health, well-being, work engagement, performance, retirement