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

There is substantial evidence that workplace practices can support employee health and well-being. In the present paper we focus on and explore the role of 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 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 no direct empirical evidence currently exists that links WI practices to the health and well-being of older workers, the available research gives rise to a number of propositions for research and practice. These propositions can contribute to the development of a fruitful line of research on the impact of WI on older workers’ health and well-being

HR practices around workability in the UK in the context of an ageing workforce

The concept of workability introduced by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, has been widely used in Nordic countries in terms of ageing workforce and extension of working lives. This PhD thesis aims to explore the role of workplace practices around workability in two organisations in the UK. The research aims of the thesis are to investigate the HR practices that are relevant to workability in the context of an ageing workforce in the UK. Additionally, it is explored how workability is understood/conceptualised in the UK context. Moreover, it is studied how HR practices impact on workability in the context of an ageing workforce in the UK. A mixed-methods design was adopted to address the research questions of the thesis providing an exploration of different perspectives. The first and the second research questions were addressed through a qualitative study which involves interviews with managers and focus groups with employees to identify the HR practices that are relevant to workability as well as the contextual factors that can affect the implementation and perception of HR practices in relation to workability as well as how workability is understood in the UK. The data were analysed using applied thematic analysis. The third research question is addressed through a quantitative study which involves the first wave of a two-wave survey of non-managerial employees. To explore the existence of any causal relationship between perceived HR practices and workability, a second wave of survey was conducted involving a four-month time lag. These data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. The key findings from the qualitative study showed that there is a number of HR practices in relation workability such as flexible working options, performance appraisals, ergonomic adjustments etc. Also, the participant organisations offered several HR practices that were relevant to all participants including the older ones. The key findings from the quantitative study showed that there are two bundles of HR practices: the bundle of Training/Development/Non-discrimination and the bundle of Job Design. The findings from this research will benefit UK organisations, who are interested in making the most of their workforce and harness employees’ potential at work as they age

Engaging leaders at two hierarchical levels in organizational health interventions: insights from the intervention team

Purpose: Although visible leader support is an essential ingredient for successful organizational health interventions, knowledge on how leaders at different hierarchical levels engage with interventions is underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper is to explore leader engagement by drawing from the experiences of the intervention team. Design/methodology/approach: Data from semi-structured interviews with the team responsible for implementing an organizational health intervention in two large UK organizations were used to examine how leaders at strategic (senior management) and operational (line managers) positions engaged with the intervention. Findings: Thematic analysis uncovered 6 themes and 16 sub-themes covering the leaders’ initial reactions to the intervention, barriers to leader engagement, ways in which the intervention team dealt with these barriers, factors facilitating and factors accelerating leader engagement, and differences in engagement between leadership levels. Research limitations/implications: This study can inform research into the conditions for optimizing leader engagement in organizational health interventions and beyond. Insights also emerged on the roles of leaders at different hierarchical levels and the value of perspective taking for intervention implementation. Practical implications: Recommendations for bolstering the engagement of leaders in interventions are offered, that apply to all leaders or separately to leaders at strategic or operational levels. Originality/value: The experiences of the intervention team who sought to engage leaders at different organizational levels to support the intervention are invaluable. Understanding how leader engagement can be maximized can better equip intervention teams for delivering successful interventions

Curvilinear relationships between age and job performance and the role of job complexity

Despite suggestions that work performance varies with age, the empirical evidence is inconclusive and contradictory. Possible reasons for this are the lack of differentiation between different types of performance and a naive assumption of a negative linear relationship between age and task performance across the working lifespan. With this study we question and revisit these expectations. We take a lifespan perspective to explore differential and curvilinear relationships between age (measured as chronological age) and three types of task performance (task proficiency, proactivity, and adaptivity), moderated by job complexity (measured as cognitive demands). Using Bayesian polynomial regression on survey data from 903 employees, we tested the relationships between age and each performance type, with job complexity as a moderator. The data indicated a U-shaped age–adaptivity relationship (main effects for job complexity) and an S-shaped age–proactivity relationship that was more pronounced under low job complexity (interaction effect). We identify the turning points for these changes, which show midlife as a critical period for changes in performance where the job context itself shapes the gradient and direction of these changes. Our findings provide crucial evidence that different types of job performance vary by age and the role of perceived job complexity in explaining trajectories in proactivity and adaptivity. Implications for job design, organizational interventions, and human resource management are discussed

Curvilinear relationships between age and job performance and the role of job complexity

Despite suggestions that work performance varies with age, the empirical evidence is in-conclusive and contradictory. Possible reasons for this are the lack of differentiation be-tween different types of performance and a naïve assumption of a negative linear relation-ship between age and task performance across the working lifespan. With this study we question and revisit these expectations. We take a lifespan perspective to explore differen-tial and curvilinear relationships between age (measured as chronological age) and three types of task performance (task proficiency, proactivity, and adaptivity), moderated by job complexity (measured as cognitive demands). Using Bayesian polynomial regression on survey data from 903 employees, we tested the relationships between age and each perfor-mance type, with job complexity as a moderator. The data indicated a U-shaped age-adaptivity relationship (main effects for job complexity) and an S-shaped age-proactivity relationship that was more pronounced under low job complexity (interaction effect). We identify the turning points for these changes, which show midlife as a critical period for changes in performance where the job context itself shapes the gradient and direction of these changes. Our findings provide crucial evidence that different types of job performance vary by age and the role of perceived job complexity in explaining trajectories in proactivi-ty and adaptivity. Implications for job design, organizational interventions, and human re-source management are discussed