Demographic change in gainful employment: risks and potentials of ageing workforces

Abstract

At the background of demographic change in gainful employment the paper analyses which challenges are faced to employ an ageing workforce productively and to foster the workability of older workers.In particular, the influence of working conditions on the age-specific workability in the spheres of health, skills and motivation is stressed. The given risks and potentials in the development of workability are embedded in a clarifying system of human resource strategies on company level in the sense of production regimes. A system of age-management is enfolded which incorporates a longitudinal perspective and tries to integrate the relevant fields of action such as work design, career management, health promotion and training. Finally, it is stressed that for implementing this strategy successfully it is not only necessary to reflect the specific company frameworks but also to observe a stronger actor centered perspective, e.g. via collective agreements.