HR Practices for Managing Aging Employees in Organizations: The Case of Thailand

Abstract

This paper examines human resource (HR) strategies and practices considered particularly beneficial for aging employees in organizations in Thailand, an under-researched developing country. Based on a cross-case analysis of seven organizations across industries, the evidence draws on semistructured interviews and focus groups with aging employees, semistructured interviews with top managers and/or HR managers, field visits, and a review of archival documents and web-based resources, including newspaper reports and magazines. This paper proposes that HR strategies for managing aging employees at Thai organizations can be classified into 4 groups: growth, maintenance of the current level of functioning, recovery from losses, and regulation of losses. Each group includes several HR practices appropriate for managing aging employees. Furthermore, one of the most important HR practices that is specifically appropriate for managing aging employees in Thailand and other developing countries with high levels of personal debt is the facilitation of financial planning, categorized as maintenance of the current level of functioning because it helps aging employees maintain their standard of living after retirement. The proposed HR strategies and practices are particularly beneficial for aging employees because they help individuals achieve higher levels of functioning, maintain the current levels of functioning despite new challenges, return to previous levels of functioning after loss, and organize adequate functioning at lower levels when maintenance or recovery is impossible.