Redefinition and Measurement Dimensions of Sustainable Employability Based on the swAge-Model

Objectives: To solve the labour shortage, we clarify the definition and dimensions of sustainable employability, and make it possible to develop sustainable employability scales in the future and lay the foundation for subsequent quantitative research. Finally, people’s sustainable employability can be improved. Highly sustainable employability employees can continue to work in the labour market and their working lives can be prolonged. Labour market supply will increase and labour shortage will be partly solved. Methods: We discuss the concept of sustainable employability based on some previous studies. Our conclusion is that the existing definitions and measurement dimensions are problematic. The swAge-model, a tool that helps us understand how to make working life more sustainable and healthier for all ages, can be the basis of sustainable employability. Results: We develop a discussion paper concerning the definition and measurement dimensions of sustainable employability using the swAge-model with an added factor of intrinsic work value and the dynamic chain. Conclusions: Our definition of sustainable employability takes environmental factors into consideration and makes it clear that it is not a solely personal characteristic, but the result of an interaction between individuals and the environment, thus distinguishing employability from work ability. We use the swAge-model as a basis to make the composition of our definition more logical and informed. Our measurement dimensions are clearly described to facilitate the future development of a scale, and our concept may ultimately help to extend the working lives of older and retired workers and thus solve the future labour shortage problem.

Retired Chinese Workers, Musical Education, and Participant-Observation in The Beijing Sunshine Wind Band Art Troupe

The Beijing Sunshine Wind Band performs in community concerts in Beijing year round. The band began in 2007, founded by Lin Yi and her husband Zhao Yinglin. Lin Yi underwent cancer surgery in 1995 and recovered to form the band of around 100 retirees. Members begin musical training in retirement, and as adult learners practice hours gaining musical profi ciency. The music is Chinese and in jianpu numerical notation, but all of their instruments are Western woodwinds, brass, and percussion. The band performs at national events, museums and libraries, and toured Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Macau. Concert bands are civilian versions of military bands. Their marches include “The People’s Liberation Army March,” and lyrical songs such as “My Country” from a 1956 fi lm. Their performances draw revolutionary sentiments in suites such as The Red Detachment of Women, and the band performs songs from post-Mao decades, such as “Dare to Ask the Way,” from the television series Journey to the West. Trevor Herbert stated that concert bands serve communities as “rational recreation.” The goal of this article is show how a Chinese national concert band reached and created healthy lifestyles for retired workers recovering from cancer and other disabilities.

Aposentados que trabalham: fatores relacionados a permanência no mercado de trabalho / Retired workers: factors related to permanence in the labor market

A aposentadoria é comumente vista como o período de desvinculação do mundo do trabalho, contudo atualmente vem ocorrendo mudanças no paradigma da aposentadoria no Brasil. Por essa razão o presente estudo teve como objetivo conhecer os fatores intrínsecos e extrínsecos relacionados a permanência dos aposentados no mercado de trabalho e enfatizar a perspectiva da Terapia Ocupacional diante dessa realidade. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório de abordagem qualitativa, aplicando a técnica metodológica Bola de Neve com a participação de dez indivíduos. Foi utilizado uma entrevista semiestruturada sobre possíveis fatores que poderiam influenciar o aposentado a se manter ou voltar ao mercado de trabalho. Aplicou-se a análise de conteúdo para exploração dos resultados, onde se observou que os aposentados foram mais influenciados por fatores intrínsecos relacionados a produtividade, realização pessoal e a necessidade de convivência com outras pessoas. Os investigados permaneceram trabalhando porque, primeiramente, queriam se sentir produtivos e realizados, revelando um aspecto mais subjetivo do trabalho e apesar de apontarem os fatores extrínsecos de natureza econômica ou financeira como importantes, estes não foram considerados como fatores decisivos para continuarem no mercado de trabalho. AbstractRetirement is commonly seen as the period of disconnection from the world of work, however, currently there are changes in the retirement paradigm in Brazil. For this reason, the present study aimed to understand the intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to the permanence of retirees in the labor market and to emphasize the perspective of Occupational Therapy in face of this reality. This is an exploratory study with a qualitative approach, applying the Snowball methodological technique with the participation of ten individuals. A semi-structured interview was used on possible factors that could influence the retiree to stay or return to the job market. Content analysis was applied to explore the results, where it was observed that retirees were more influenced by intrinsic factors related to productivity, personal fulfillment and the need to live with other people. The investigated remained working because, first, they wanted to feel productive and fulfilled, revealing a more subjective aspect of the work and despite pointing out the extrinsic factors of an economic or financial nature as important, these were not considered as decisive factors to remain in the labor market.Keywords: Retirement; Work; Occupational Therapy; Job Market. ResumenLa jubilación se considera comúnmente como el período de desconexión del mundo del trabajo, sin embargo, actualmente hay cambios en el paradigma de la jubilación en Brasil. Por esta razón, el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo comprender los factores intrínsecos y extrínsecos relacionados con la permanencia de jubilados en el mercado laboral y enfatizar la perspectiva de la Terapia Ocupacional frente a esta realidad. Es un estudio exploratorio con enfoque cualitativo, que aplica la técnica metodológica Bola de Nieve con la participación de diez individuos. Se utilizó una entrevista semiestructurada sobre posibles factores que podrían influir en el jubilado para quedarse o regresar al mercado laboral. El análisis de contenido se aplicó para explorar los resultados, donde se observó que los jubilados estaban más influenciados por factores intrínsecos relacionados con la productividad, la realización personal y la necesidad de vivir con otras personas. Los investigados siguieron trabajando porque, primero, querían sentirse productivos y realizados, revelando un aspecto más subjetivo del trabajo y, a pesar de señalar que los factores extrínsecos de naturaleza económica o financiera eran importantes, estos no fueron considerados como factores decisivos para permanecer en el mercado laboral.Palabras clave: Jubilación; Trabajo; Terapia Ocupacional; Mercado de Trabajo

Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility under the Background of Sustainable Development Goals: A Proposal to Corporate Volunteering

The research into corporate volunteering (CV) has been prolific, although few studies have focused their approach on senior and retired workers under the framework of the corporate social responsibility (CSR). The social participation of retirees in CV activities contributes to the businesses’ socially responsible performance and can be intimately connected with the global commitment pursued by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030. This article aims to explore the key issues that might have influence the effective implementation of CV programs to integrate retired and pre-retired workers, promoting a participatory and healthy aging. Based on the interface of internal and external corporate social responsibility, we discuss how CV can achieve social legitimacy, influencing the health and well-being of workers beyond the employment relationship. The main contribution of this article to the state of art is to extend the literature on CSR and CV by elaborating a theoretical model that integrates both perspectives with the focus on the SDGs. The results suggest that SDGs represent an opportunity and a frame of reference for CSR strategies. Companies engaged in senior CV activities could enhance their corporate and social images within the strategic action of social responsibility, indisputably improving people’s health and well-being.

Investigating the Impact of Social Security on Economic Growth: Ghana as a Case Study

In recent years, retired workers eligible for social security receive their emoluments from the appropriate regulatory agency and this provides more realistic evidence on the better living standard of the aged (retirees) under the scheme. Empirically, this paper examines the impact of social security on economic growth in Ghana using time series secondary (monthly) data ranging from 2000 – 2018. The author answers in two questions: 1) how significant are pensioners benefit payments dependent on economic growth and also, 2) how business environmental policy is contributing to economic performance as far as pensioners well-being are concerned. Using STATA analytical software, the findings show a positive significant relationship between social security and economic growth. The study concludes by outlining appropriate policy measures to help strengthen the current social security scheme in Ghana.

Tobacco smoking among chrysotile asbestos workers in Asbest in the Russian Federation

ObjectivesA historical cohort study of cancer mortality is being conducted among workers in a chrysotile mine and its enrichment factories in the town of Asbest, Russian Federation. Because individual-level information on tobacco use is not available for Asbest Chrysotile Cohort members, a cross-sectional survey of smoking behaviours was conducted among active and retired workers.MethodsSelf-administered questionnaires were completed by active workers during meetings organised by occupational safety personnel. Retired workers completed questionnaires during meetings of the Veterans Council or were interviewed via telephone or in person. Of the respondents, 46% could be linked to the Asbest Chrysotile Cohort. Among those, logistic regression models were used to assess associations between smoking and cumulative dust exposure.ResultsAmong men, smoking prevalence was high and relatively consistent across birth decades (average, 66%), and was similar in workers across all levels of cumulative dust exposure (p trend, 0.44). Among women, the prevalence increased from <10% in those born before 1960 to 30% in those born after 1980, and smoking was associated with exposure to dust versus not exposed to dust (p value, 0.006), but did not vary appreciably across workers in different cumulative dust exposure categories (p trend, 0.29).ConclusionsOur study suggests that cross-sectional surveys may be a useful tool for understanding the potential health impact from smoking in occupational cohorts, including possible confounding by smoking. This survey showed that adjustment at the age group level among women is needed to reduce residual confounding and account for smoking patterns, which have changed substantially over time.

Object Investigation of Industrial Heritage: The Forging and Metallurgy Shop in Taipei Railway Workshop

As a special plant for train maintenance in northern Taiwan, the Taipei Railway Workshop was founded in 1885 and moved in 2011, reflecting the changes in Taiwan’s history, transportation, and industrial technology. Now, it is planned to change the maintenance plant into a railway museum in the form of an in situ site. This study briefly introduces the historical background and present situation of the Taipei Railway Workshop and takes its forging workshop as the object for investigation and exhibition planning. According to the preservation and maintenance methods of the cultural heritage of the museum, the investigation process proposed includes four steps: Site exploration, object registration, object research, and exhibition planning. The work area in the plant is divided into shaping and forging areas, as based on the categories of the machines on the site of the forging workshop. In this study, a total of 85 industrial relics in the forging workshop are registered for systematic research. The working conditions, including machine parts for train maintenance, manufacturing processes of parts, and the relationship between in-line on-site machines and tools, of the forging workshop before closing are restored, as based on the principles of machine manufacturing, literature, and retired workers’ oral histories. Finally, an in situ exhibition plan of the forging workshop is put forward based on the results of the object research.

Crisis and retirement

The recent crisis in the tea industry has devastated the livelihood of the Dalit workforce in the South Indian state of Kerala. Retired workers were worst affected, since the plantation companies—under the disguise of the crisis—deferred their service payout. This article seeks to understand the severe alienation of the retirees as they struggle to regain lost respect, kinship network, and everyday sociality in the plantations and beyond. I argue that the alienation produced through their dispossession as wage laborers and the discrimination as Tamil-speaking Dalit must be understood as an interrelated process, whereas the source of alienation cannot be reduced to production or categorical relations alone.