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

The experience of being an older worker in an organization: a qualitative analysis

This qualitative study with 37 older workers from ten employing organizations in two countries (United Kingdom and Bulgaria) and two industrial sectors (healthcare and ICT) identifies key themes around workers’ conceptualizations of being an older worker and aging at work, and the types of organizational support they considered most beneficial in late career. The study integrates current fragmented theories around work performance and well-being in late career and also introduces new concepts in this context. We find that overall older workers are likely to view their late career more in terms of development than decline. This is reflected in their positive perceptions of themselves and their conceptualizations of beneficial age-related changes such as ability to see the big picture and freedom to speak frankly. Many of these stem from their accumulated knowledge and experiences, and valuing meaning and contribution over career advancement. Whilst some concern with coping and getting by is evident (we call this surviving), interviewees were able to articulate many ways in which they felt they were thriving (Porath et al., 2012) at work. We identify nine types of organizational support perceived by these older workers as most desirable (whether or not available). Four concern intrinsic features of work, three are to do with social integration and respect, and two concern extrinsic factors. Hence there is much that organizations can do apart from retirement programs and flexible work options to enable workers in late career to thrive and survive