Extending Working Lives? Employability, Work Ability and Better Quality Working Lives

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Maltby
Keyword(s):  
Work Ability ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Preventative Approach

Faced with a changing economic and demographic outlook, this article will suggest the adoption of a proactive and preventative approach to the quality of work and ‘worklife’ for the UK's ‘older workers’. Ultimately, it seeks to explore the possibilities for the implementation of the Finnish concept of Work Ability (Illmarinen, 2005) in the context of the UK policy agenda. It will be suggest that this approach provides a policy framework that addresses recessionary pressures whilst maximising quality of life and the active ageing of individuals.

The ESRC Growing Older research programme, 1999–2004

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 657-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALAN WALKER
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Full Capacity ◽  
The Uk

This article introduces the seven specially commissioned papers in this special issue of Ageing & Society from the projects funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council's Growing Older Programme. The ESRC Programme has been the largest single investment in social sciences research on ageing in the United Kingdom. It comprised 24 projects and, when operating at full capacity, 96 researchers. The article details the background to the Programme, its commissioning process, its eventual structure and how it operated. Then a selection is made of some of the ways in which the Programme has contributed new knowledge to social gerontology. No attempt is made to achieve comprehensive coverage of the Programme's topics but rather a selection is presented of the new insights generated under its six themes: defining and measuring quality of life, inequalities in quality of life, technology and the built environment, healthy and active ageing, family and support networks, and participation and activities in later life. The projects were spread unevenly across these themes but important new knowledge has been produced under each theme. The conclusion emphasises the scientific contribution of the Programme and especially the extent to which older people's own attitudes, aspirations and preferences have been at the forefront, but it questions whether or not policy makers and practitioners will use this major evidence base.

Skills and Training for the Older Population

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Loretto ◽  
Chris Phillipson ◽  
Sarah Vickerstaff
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Training And Education ◽  
Training Development ◽  
Work Training ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
The Uk ◽  
To Receive ◽  
And Training

Despite rises in employment rates across many countries, older workers (those aged 50+) are less likely than younger employees to receive workplace training and skills development. Using the UK as its starting focus, this chapter analyses the theoretical and empirical reasons for these gaps. The analysis covers in-work training and development, as well as considering the position of those older people who are unemployed but looking for work. The discussion also embraces the roles of training and education for older workers who may want to delay retirement or retire flexibly, and examines the relationships between training, development and active ageing. Concluding discussions highlight national and international policy initiatives to encourage investment in educating and training for this new work generation.

The Quality of Work Among Older Workers

2017 ◽  
pp. 91-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Lawton ◽  
Daniel Wheatley
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Quality Of Work

scholarly journals Active ageing policy in challenging production environments: a case study involving social partners in Spain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Sánchez ◽  
Pilar Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
Production Environments ◽  
Social Partners ◽  
Study Methodology

AbstractIn recent years, due to population ageing, the European Union has promoted active ageing policies as a means to encourage workers to delay labour market exit. Our paper explores what active ageing means to social partners (employers, managers and workers) in Spain and also the viability of implementing an active ageing culture in organizations. We used a qualitative case study methodology to identify perceptions regarding obstacles and facilitators in the adoption of an active ageing culture in different production sectors, as well as responses to active ageing policies. Data-generating workshops were held with employees and managers of four types of companies located in the south of the country. Perceived obstacles to active ageing were more organizational than individual in nature. Some of these obstacles gave rise to a kind of forced active ageing in a context in which the previous predominant message had been to retire as early as possible. Job adaptation was perceived as both an obstacle and a facilitator. Increasing recognition of older workers and raising their motivation to extend their working lives were found to be important pending tasks. In contexts of high unemployment, active ageing often remains largely unknown within productive organizations, and the idea of retiring as soon as possible continues to guide many workers. In these circumstances, the implementation of top-down, uniform active ageing policies has proven to be of limited efficacy. Awareness campaigns and initiatives aimed at improving older workers’ health and abilities should be launched as complementary active ageing strategies.

scholarly journals Quality of Work Life of Women Employees in Fireworks and Match Industries in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-56
Author(s):  
R. Padmaja
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Quality Of Work Life ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Women Employees

Generally the quality of work life of employees is based on Hours of work and arrangements of working time; Work organization and job content; Impact of new technologies on working conditions; Working conditions of women, young workers, older workers and other special categories; Work-related welfare services and facilities. This paper highlights about the quality of work life of the women employees working in the various fireworks and match industries in Sivakasi.

scholarly journals Workplace location and the quality of work: The case of urban-based workers in the UK

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 004209802091188
Author(s):  
Daniel Wheatley
Keyword(s):  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Quality Characteristics ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
Working At Home ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Temporal Flexibility ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Mobile Working

Recent growth in flexible work which is detached from traditional urban workplaces, including homeworking, mobile working and forms of self-employment (gig work), has increased interest in the quality of work. This article compares job quality indicators between urban-based workers in standard (employer/business premises) and non-standard (homeworking, driving/travelling, mobile working) workplaces. Multinomial logistic regression is applied to UK panel data from four waves (2010–2011, 2012–2013, 2014–2015, 2016–2017) of the Understanding Society study. The analysis finds that urban-based employees working at home, predominantly in highly skilled occupations, have jobs which exhibit a number of characteristics of good work. Self-employed homeworkers, more often women, have lower job quality but leisure satisfaction benefits. Mobile working jobs offer greater spatial and temporal flexibility and job satisfaction, but also exhibit lower quality characteristics evident of trade-offs and divisions between forms of mobile work. Driving/travelling jobs exhibit lower job quality characteristics, especially among self-employed urban-based workers.

Labour Market Policy for ‘Active Ageing’ in Europe: Expanding the Options for Retirement Transitions

2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
MIRIAM HARTLAPP ◽  
GÜNTHER SCHMID
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Significant Variation ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Labour Market Policy ◽  
Market Policy ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Inhibiting Factors ◽  
Normative Criteria

AbstractBased on the theory of Transitional Labour Markets (TLM), this article derives normative criteria for ‘active ageing’. We argue why and under what conditions more employment for older people can help to improve their quality of life and can thus be considered an important part of future social policy. To this end, the article presents a brief review of the employment situation of older workers (aged 55–64) in the different European countries so as to identify what precisely might be required at the level of labour market policy. It systematically discusses the promoting and inhibiting factors behind the significant variation in the employment of older workers across Europe, and tests their explanatory value in a simple statistical model. Finally, we put the quantitative evidence into the perspective of policy examples, summing up some general strategies for ‘active ageing’.

How Different is the Older Labour Market? Attitudes to Work and Retirement among Older People in Britain

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen McNair
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
The Uk

Governments are seeking strategies to extend working life, but with limited evidence on the attitudes to work, and motivation of workers over 50. This paper reports the findings of two national surveys which aimed to increase understanding of the attitudes to work of older people in the UK. They found that older people generally view work very positively, but that the forces which divide the labour market as a whole have an increasingly polarising effect as people grow older. The paper suggests that successful implementation of ‘extending working life’ policies will depend on a better understanding of the quality of work, of the diversity of older workers, and of the role of training.

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