The role of strategic human resource management in late career

The urgent need to manage an increasingly ageing workforce has prompted rigorous multi-disciplinary research across the world. A plethora of studies focuses on the best ways in which both organisations and employees can support employees’ well-being and high performance in late career. From this perspective, the key role of strategic Human Resource Management is a topic of strong interest. Recent findings suggest that, in contrast to traditional views, older workers (those aged 55 years and over) are interested and capable of development. Hence, management practices that allow and encourage development opportunities in late career may be highly beneficial for both employers and employees

Who could thrive in late career? Answers for both employees and employers

The alarming statistics about the fast rates of population aging in the last 30 years and the possible negative economic and societal consequences of this process, have prompted many employers to consider their aging workforce more seriously. Yet, workers aged 55 years and over are not always utilized or valued as much as they could be in the workplace. Many of them realize the need to work for longer than anticipated, due to economic pressures and changes in official retirement ages. For some, this will require a change in perspective and strategies for managing self and career

What is psychological well-being and how it changes throughout the employment cycle?

Nowadays, there is much evidence about the importance of psychological well-being in the workplace. Research has demonstrated consistently that employee’s well-being is positively associated with physical health and is a strong predictor of high individual work performance as well as of some outcomes at organisational level (e.g. customer satisfaction, productivity, profitability and employee turnover). Overall, it is known that employees with high levels of psychological well-being perform better at work than those with lower levels of psychological well-being. However, researchers do not always agree on what exactly well-being means and how it can be measured

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

Thriving, surviving and performing in late career: a mixed-method study of pathways to successful aging in organizations

We develop and test a model of successful aging at work in two studies. The first identifies key human resource (HR) practices that late-career workers find valuable, and explores workers’ experiences of them. The second examines the role of those practices along with individual behavioral strategies in successful aging at work, as expressed by a sense of thriving and by three dimensions of job performance. We also introduce the new construct of surviving at work, contrasting with thriving. Study 1 reports qualitative data from interviews with 37 older workers (nearly all 55+) and 10 human resource managers in the United Kingdom (UK) and Bulgarian healthcare and information and communication technology sectors. Study 2 employs quantitative data from 853 UK older workers in the same two sectors. We find (Study 1) eight types of HR practices that seem particularly salient to older workers, and which they experience to varying extents. These practices cut across existing typologies, and we recommend them for future research. In Study 2 we find that selection, optimization and compensation strategies adopted by individuals are directly related to self-rated job performance, and mediate some of the effects of HR practices on job performance. In addition, optimization specifically affects performance via thriving, and to a lesser extent via surviving. The same is true for availability of HR practices. The results demonstrate the importance of both HR practices and individual strategies in fostering successful aging at work, and the important role of thriving in this process

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

Thriving in late career: the role of the psychological experiences of vitality and learning in the relationships between work design characteristics and individual work outcomes

We propose a model of work design in late career that will be tested in two quantitative studies with overall 800 older workers (aged 55 years and over) from two industrial sectors in the United Kingdom (healthcare and information and communication technologies). Our conceptual model integrates current theories around life-span development, positive organisational behaviour, job design, work performance, well-being, and late career. Our aim is to explore the potential benefits of flexible work design in late career for both employers and employees in terms of various aspects of employees’ individual performance. We suggest that certain job design and broader work characteristics will have positive or negative effects on the individual work outcomes in late career. Most of these effects will be mediated (fully or partially) by employees’ experiences of thriving at work, demonstrated through two main types of orientations (vitality and learning) and will be best interpreted within a life-span developmental framework

Data about "Thriving at Work"

This is previously unpublished data including bi-variate correlations between Thriving at Work and other person/demographic and outcome variables. Scale reliabilities are also presented. The data is derived from a sample of 121 older (aged 55 years and over) workers from Bulgaria