Pathways to successful aging in organizations

Pathways to successful aging in organization

Thriving at 55+: supporting late career employees in satisfying and productive work

Population ageing is taking place in almost all areas of the world with Japan, Germany and Italy being the most ageing countries. Being a result of two simultaneous developments - the steady increase of life expectancy across Europe and falling fertility rates, demographic ageing is expected to become entrenched in many countries during the next half of the century with the number of people aged 60 years or over increasing more than twice and exceeding the number of children by 2050. Thus, the ageing population becomes a key challenge for society and an important social and economic responsibility. Furthermore, the ageing of the population has led and will lead to significant changes in the workforce, particularly demonstrated by the rise of employment rates amongst older workers (usually workers aged 55 years and over). As the need to keep older workers in the workforce has been referred to as an “emergency”, various prevention measures ranging from changes in the legislation and social security systems to the introduction of tailored life-long learning programmes and flexible work models have been undertaken recently. As result, across Europe there has been a considerable increase of the employment rates of older workers (aged 55-64) over the last ten years from 38% to 47%. There is a wealth of examples about how employers can benefit from hiring and retaining older employees at work. Reforms in the pension and legislation systems have been made, and actions in terms of the development of age neutral recruitment and retention measures have been undertaken. Most arguments are around potential financial and social benefits as results of utilising older workers’ experience and transferring their skills to younger employees within organisations. However, the task of retaining older workers in the workforce is a reflection of individual needs as well as societal ones. Research on older workers’ motives to stay at work demonstrates that beyond financial needs people see their inclusion in the labour market as an important aspect of their personal identity and their social life. Older workers’ successful involvement with the labour market could be related to their own overall well-being, which is reflected in the concept of ‘successful ageing’ taking into account age-related changes in work-related abilities and motives. Also, it is not just a question of keeping older workers in work: how can one also make the most of their contribution? The “Thriving at 55+” project addresses the question of how older workers experience their ageing in the workplace and focuses particularly on the features of work and work environment that both older workers and their employers consider important for older workers’ well-being and performance. It investigates in-depth the personal and organisational strategies that are most effective in helping older workers to not just maintain, but also improve their well-being and performance at work and, therefore, ensure better and longer working lives

Hanging on or bowling along? Thriving, surviving and performing in late career

Both the human resources (HR) and the traditional career development literatures tend to portray late career as a time of inertia, with policies being designed to enable people to survive in the workplace until they (and their employer) are rescued by retirement – a rescue service that arrives later than it once did. In this presentation we examine the approaches taken by older workers to their jobs and the factors that appear to help or hinder the extent to which they feel they are (i) surviving and (ii) thriving at work. We also comment on the generalizability or otherwise of our findings across sectors and countries. 698 older workers, mostly aged over 55, in the health and IT sectors in UK and Bulgaria completed an online questionnaire which included validated measures of a number of key constructs, as well as some newly-developed ones. We report on the strategies the older workers use to deal with their work, the job characteristics and HR policies they experience, the extent to which they feel they are thriving, surviving, and performing. Finally, we comment on the implications of our findings for the ways in which organizations, including universities, utilise and support their numerous older workers

The psychology of careers in industrial-organizational settings: a critical but appreciative analysis

The psychology of careers in industrial-organizational settings: a critical but appreciative analysi

A qualitative analysis of older workers' perceptions of stereotypes, successful ageing strategies and human resource management practices

Because of the progressive ageing of the world’s population in the last 25 years, the contributions of older age groups of workers have become increasingly important in many countries. Yet, older workers (those aged 55 years and over) are not always utilised or valued as much as they could be in the workplace. As a part of an EU funded cross-cultural and cross-sectoral programme we are investigating what features of work and work environment both older workers and Human Resource managers find increasingly important for older workers’ well-being and performance. We are discussing workers’ individual approaches in the utilisation of successful ageing strategies as well as the types of organisational support valued by older workers. Our findings based on a literature review and interview data from over 40 interviews in nine employment organisations from two countries (United Kingdom and Bulgaria) and two industrial sectors (healthcare and IT) suggest that workers in their late career are likely to acknowledge the occurrence of some age-related changes in their work values, needs, approaches and capacity. These changes, in turn shape workers’ views about the types of work environment and organisational support they want

Perceptions of radiography and the NHS: some preliminary findings

The NHS Plan (Department of Health, 2000) announced that, by the year 2004, 6,500 more therapists and other health professionals would be employed in the NHS. However, there is currently a shortage of entrants to professional training courses in radiography. In a survey of UK therapy radiography schools, Johnson (2000) highlighted a total shortfall of 22 therapy radiography students for the 1999 intake, rising to 46 for the 2000 intake. In order to respond to the increased demand for radiographers it is crucial to identify the key factors that encourage or dissuade potential recruits to enter a radiography career and whether to pursue that career with the NHS. To address these issues a team from the Business School at Loughborough University has been commissioned by the Department of Health to carry out research into the ways in which the NHS is perceived as an employer by potential staff. The two-year project, which commenced in September 2000, focuses specifically on the radiography, physiotherapy and nursing professions. The investigation has been divided into two main stages. The first qualitative stage has now been completed and the findings provide the basis for this paper. The second, quantitative stage is currently being conducted and completion is expected by Autumn 2002. Further details of the structure of the research project are provided in, Who Would be a Radiographer in the NHS? Synergy News, August, 2001

Envelhecimento da força de trabalho – desafio ou vantagem?

In the last 25 years statistics have been consistently alarming about the rates and potential consequences of population ageing. The ageing workforce has become of considerable importance for many employers. Yet, workers aged 55 years and over are not always utilised or valued as much as they could be in the workplace. Many of them need to work for longer than they expect, due to pension fund shortfalls and changes in official retirement ages. For some, this will require a change in perspective and new strategies for managing self and career

Older workers need to stop believing stereotypes about themselves (and so do their employers)

Age discrimination is considered the most widely experienced form of discrimination across Europe. In a work context, this can be particularly harmful. Although older workers are sometimes stereotyped in positive ways — as more loyal, reliable, or committed compared to their younger colleagues – negative stereotypes abound. We explore this topic further and argue about the wide-spread misconceptions of age-related negative stereotypes

Bimetallic Ruthenium PNP Pincer Complex As a Platform to Model Proposed Intermediates in Dinitrogen Reduction to Ammonia

A series of ruthenium complexes was isolated and characterized in the course of reactions aimed at studying the reduction of hydrazine to ammonia in bimetallic systems. The diruthenium complex {[HPNPRu­(N₂)]₂(μ-Cl)₂}­(BF₄)₂ (<b>2</b>) (HPNP = HN­(CH₂CH₂PⁱPr₂)₂) reacted with 1 equiv of hydrazine to generate [(HPNPRu)₂(μ²-H₂NNH₂)­(μ-Cl)₂]­(BF₄)₂ (<b>3</b>) and with an excess of the reagent to form [HPNPRu­(NH₃)­(κ²-N₂H₄)]­(BF₄)Cl (<b>5</b>). When phenylhydrazine was added to <b>2</b>, the diazene species [(HPNPRu)₂(μ²-HNNPh)­(μ-Cl)₂]­(BF₄)₂ (<b>4</b>) was obtained. Treatment of <b>2</b> with H₂ or CO yielded {[HPNPRu­(H₂)]₂(μ-Cl)₂}­(BF₄)₂ (<b>7</b>) and [HPNPRuCl­(CO)₂]­BF₄ (<b>8</b>), respectively. Abstraction of chloride using AgOSO₂CF₃ or AgBPh₄ afforded the species [(HPNPRu)₂(μ²-OSO₂CF₃)­(μ-Cl)₂]­OSO₂CF₃ (<b>9</b>) and [(HPNPRu)₂(μ-Cl)₃]­BPh₄ (<b>10</b>), respectively. Complex <b>3</b> reacted with HCl/H₂O or HCl/Et₂O to produce ammonia stoichiometrically; the complex catalytically disproportionates hydrazine to generate ammonia

Reductive Elimination of Diphosphine from a Thorium–NHC–Bis(phosphido) Complex

The synthesis, characterization, and reductive elimination reactivity of a bis­(NHC)­borate-supported thorium bis­(phosphido) complex (<b>2</b>^<b>Mes</b>) is described. Treating <b>2</b>^<b>Mes</b> with 2,2′-bipyridine leads to the reductive elimination of dimesityldiphosphine (<b>4</b>) and the formation of the previously reported NHC–thorium–bpy complex (<b>3</b>). The kinetics of the bpy-induced reductive elimination were studied by ³¹P NMR and suggest the presence of an intermediate. Treatment with alternative oxidants also leads to diphosphine elimination, but the corresponding thorium species have not been isolated cleanly. Additional primary (<b>2</b>^<b>Ph</b>) and secondary (<b>2</b>^<b>PPh2</b>) Th–bis­(phosphido) complexes were synthesized but do not demonstrate the same facile reductive elimination as <b>2</b>^<b>Mes</b>