Changes to policies for work and retirement in EU15 nations (1995–2005): an exploration of policy packages for the 50-plus cohor

’’Active ageing’’ policies have been presented as a potential panacea for the conflict between generations many argue will result from demographic ageing. Indeed, as part of a new intergenerational contract, older individuals (here defined as those aged 50-64) are expected to re-engage with, and remain in, the labour market longer. However, this implies all individuals experience the same policy mix. This study uses micro-level data to address changes to work and retirement policies for older individuals from 1995 to 2005, and the resultant alterations to the degree of choice in terms of labour market participation different sub-groups within this age cohort had. The data demonstrate that the policy shift towards ’’active ageing’’ is not universally applied to all older individuals as some retain the ability to early exit from the labour market. Thus the notion of a single intergenerational contract is overly simplistic and neglects a great deal of intragenerational difference

Informal and formal reconciliation strategies of older peoples’ working carers: the European carers@work project

Faced with a historically unprecedented process of demographic ageing, many European societies implemented pension reforms in recent years to extend working lives. Although aimed at rebalancing public pension systems, this approach has the unintended side effect that it also extends the number of years in which working carers have to juggle the conflicting demands of employment and caregiving. This not only impinges on working carers’ well-being and ability to continue providing care but also affects European enterprises’ capacity to generate growth which increasingly relies on ageing workforces. The focus of this paper will thus be a cross-national comparison of individual reconciliation strategies and workplace-related company policies aimed at enabling working carers to reconcile both conflicting roles in four different European welfare states: Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom

Technology in care systems : displacing, reshaping, reinstating or degrading roles?

In the United Kingdom and further afield, policy discourse has focused on the efficiencies technology will afford the care sector by increasing workforce capacity at a time when there are recruitment and retention issues. Previous research has explored the impact of telecare and other technologies on roles within the care sector, but issues related to job quality and the consequences of newer digital technologies that are increasingly being deployed in care settings are under researched. Through an exploration of the literature on robotics and empirical studies of telecare and mainstream ‘smart’ digital technology use in UK adult social care, this paper examines how these technologies are generating new forms of work and their implications for job quality, arguing the tendency to prioritise technology results in the creation ‘machine babysitters’ and ‘fauxtomatons’