How do employers cope with an ageing workforce?

How age-conscious are human resource policies? Using a survey of Dutch employers, we examine how employers deal with the prospect of an ageing work force. We supplement our analysis with an additional survey of Dutch employees to compare human resource policies to practices. Results show that a small minority of employers are taking measures to enhance productivity (training programmes) or bring productivity in line with pay (demotion). Personnel policies tend to ‘spare’ older workers: giving them extra leave, early retirement, or generous employment protection: older workers who perform poorly are allowed to stay, whereas younger workers under similar conditions are dismissed.age/aging, employers, productivity, stereotypes

Size and Causes of the Occupational Gender Wage-gap in the Netherlands

Research from the United States consistently shows that female-dominated occupations generally yield lower wages than male-dominated occupations. Using detailed occupational data, this study analyses the size andcauses of this occupational genderwage-gap in the Dutch labourmarket using multi-levelmodelling techniques.The analyses showthat bothmen andwomen earn lowerwages if they are employed in female-dominated occupations. This especially indicates the signi¢cance of gender inWestern labour markets, since overall levels of wage inequality are relatively small in the Netherlands compared to, for example, the United Kingdom and the United States. Di¡erences in required responsibility are particularly important in accounting for this occupational wage-gap. Nonetheless, we find large wage penalties for working in a female-dominated instead of a maledominated occupation for occupations that require high levels of education, skills, and responsibility.

Labour market flexibility in the Netherlands:looking for winners and losers

Almost two decades have passed since Dutch employers, unions and the government, in their struggle against unemployment, agreed on a policy to increase labour market flexibility. Over the years the share of flexible jobs in the Netherlands has gradually increased to around ten percent. According to some parties the introduction of more labour market flexibility would lead to more inequality and a division in the labour market between workers with permanent employment and an underclass of women, immigrant workers and poorly educated workers with temporary contracts.The Dutch government has always claimed that a special set of legal rules regarding labour market flexibility would prevent the development of such an underclass. In this article three questions are addressed: Who has a flexible labour contract and who is in permanent employment? What is the pattern of transition to permanent contracts? What are the consequences for wage rates for those on permanent or flexible contracts respectively? The answers to these questions are provided using panel data for the period 1986–96.The results show that labour market flexibility has been introduced into the Dutch labour market without detrimental consequences for specific groups of workers

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Employability-enhancing practices usually refer to training or courses, but also practices directed towards older workers to sustain their work capability can be embraced by this term. In the context of an ageing population and workforce, older workers’ labour market participation gains an increasingly important role. Therefore, the importance of employability-enhancing practices is noted as a solution to sustain their employment. In this study, we focus on employer-provided employability practices for older workers. We answer the following research question: which practices do employers use to enhance their older workers’ employability and under which conditions are these practices adopted. Analyses on Dutch corporate data (N=860) show that employers mainly provide employability-enhancing practices that are easily implemented and not expensive. This finding replicates prior research and clarifies that job redesign should be considered as a possibility to keep older workers in the labour market. Furthermore, our study shows that both organizational and labour market characteristics affect employers’ decisions whether to provide employability-enhancing practices for their older workers. This suggests that policy measures might be necessary to assimilate investments in employability-enhancing practices across organizations

Werkgevers worstelen met Abraham (en Sara):50-plussers nog weinig in tel

De vergrijzing van de Nederlandse beroepsbevolking schrijdt in rap tempo voort en steeds meer werkgevers worden ook binnen hun eigen organisatie met die vergrijzing geconfronteerd. Uit de hier gepresenteerde resultaten van een steekproefonderzoek onder arbeidsorganisaties blijkt dat volgens veel werkgevers verdere vergrijzing van het personeelsbestand vooral kosten met zich meebrengt. Op het punt van de baten heeft men geen hoge verwachtingen. Het personeelsbeleid ten opzichte van oudere werknemers kan vooral worden gekarakteriseerd als ‘ontzie’-beleid: oudere werknemers mogen meer en hoeven minder. Dit beleid drijft de kosten van de vergrijzing van het personeelsbestand alleen nog maar verder op. Maatregelen om de baten te vergroten – bijvoorbeeld via investeringen in het menselijk kapitaal van oudere werknemers – worden slechts in beperkte mate genomen. Oudere werknemers worden nauwelijks beschouwd als een remedie tegen de (dreigende) schaarste aan personeel die voor steeds meer organisaties werkelijkheid wordt