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CHAPTER 4
Individual and organisational

predictors influencing ageing

workersʼ employability

Ida Wognum, Anouk Breukers, Max Wittpoth, Beatrice van der Heijden

An important way to improve ageing workersʼ employability is through
participation in formal and informal human resource development (HRD)
activities. However, older workers remain underrepresented in most forms of
training and development, and company policies are hardly directed at
improving older workersʼ employability through learning and development
initiatives. Personal motivation and ability to learn reflect employeesʼ
accountability for investments in their own development. Organisations need
to promote competence development of employees, by means of, for
example, a supportive and stimulating learning climate, supervisor support,
and good social relationship between employees and their supervisors. Two
studies were recently carried out to identify which individual and organisational
factors affect employability of an ageing workforce. The most important
findings are presented here. Based on these findings, recommendations are
made to stimulate companies to develop and implement strategies to improve
ageing workersʼ employability.

4.1. Introduction

Against increasing competition, redundancies, business closures and mergers
and an increasing degree of uncertainty, organisations must be able to adapt
to fluctuations in demand and changes in their environment to ensure
organisational viability (Valverde et al., 2000). They, therefore, require a highly
employable workforce that not only performs well in its current job, but that is
also able to take over new tasks and functions within, or outside the
organisation in case one has to leave oneʼs current employer. In this respect,
the changing demographic composition of the world population is an important
issue. Countries are facing unprecedented demographic changes. In the