Page 51 - increasing-the-value-of-age-guidance-in-employers-age-management-strategies

Increasing the value of age: guidance in employers’ age management strategies

population by reflecting its age structure, contributing to improving the
commercial performance of organisations. Keeping older workers active also
contributes to maintaining/transmitting knowledge and experience in
organisations. At macro level, it supports the sustainability of social security,
health care and pension systems.
Demographics are also relevant to active age management. The changing
composition of the (working) population leads to labour market shortages in the
future and keeping older workers active contributes to resolving labour market
bottlenecks.
A final argument is that to uphold solidarity and ethical principles, the age
structure of the work force should be similar to that one of the population (within
working age).
A striking example of this change in policy comes from Denmark, where for
many years labour policies aimed at increasing access of youth to the labour
market rather than older people. In support, municipalities had a national
agreement creating favourable options for senior employees to retire. In 2007, via
a tripartite agreement between the social partners, the policy shifted towards
retention of senior employees. Similar examples can be found in other European
countries.
Some countries report that, despite this trend, the situation of older workers
has become a secondary issue again, due to the impact of the current crisis over
the younger age cohorts. In many cases, policy discussions are mainly focused
on youth employment, as in Spain, under the effects of the financial crisis, and
Sweden, where youth unemployment is high and has received more attention in
media and in policy debates.

4.2.1.1. Active age management policies and the potential of guidance
Due to the changing perspective in valuing older workers, policies on active age
management have emerged across Europe. Despite the fact that countries have
different understanding of active age management policies and, frequently, not
even a concrete definition (as reported for Estonia) some policy measures
associated with active age management could be identified.
The literature review on the 12 selected Member States revealed wide
variation in the extent to which they implemented policies specifically targeting
older workers, and the degree to which they supported older workers through
broader employment policies open to all age groups. These instruments could be
categorised as legislative, financial, and communication/awareness raising
measures, as presented in Table 4.

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