Abstract
This study examines directions for work redesign which might lead to the creation of sustainable jobs for lower-educated older workers (45 years or over, ISCED 0-2) and thus motivate and enable them to extend their working lives. We use longitudinal data on 1,264 older Dutch workers collected by the Netherlands Working Conditions Cohort Study to analyse the characteristics of the work of lower-educated older workers and how these differ from those of higher-educated older workers. The aim is to determine whether work redesign initiatives directed to these characteristics might have the desired effect of enhancing work ability and/or work motivation. This study is unique in its focus on lower-educated older workers as a target group for active ageing policies at the EU, national and company HR levels, and also in its focus on work redesign rather than the training or improvement of the health of workers. Our findings suggest that redesigning social work characteristics can be a first step in developing sustainable jobs for lower-educated older workers. Moreover, a redesign of contextual work characteristics also seems promising.
Highlights
Ageing workers and active ageing policies are high on the EU social policy agenda
In this article we focus on older workers, aged 45 years or over, who have received little or no formal education (ISCED 0-2)
The aim of this study is to answer three research questions: (1) How do the work characteristics of lower-educated older workers differ from older workers with higher levels of education? (2) Which characteristics of the work of lower-educated older workers relate to their work ability and work motivation? and (3) What does this mean with respect to work redesign possibilities for our specific target group of lowereducated older workers?
Summary
Ageing workers and active ageing policies are high on the EU social policy agenda. With the drastic changes in the age structure of the working population in Western Europe and worldwide (European Commission, 2008; United Nations, 2007) the proportion of older employees is increasing, leading to future mass retirement (Vaupel & Loichinger, 2006). The proportion of people under 25 years of age is expected to decline from 30% in 2000 to 23% in 2050. These trends combined will result in a reduction in the size of the working-age population (25–64), which from 2040 onwards will represent less than half the total population (Descy, 2006). This will cause an estimated structural labour shortage of 20 million people by the year 2030 in the EU alone (European Commission, 2005)
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