Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University
Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University
4. Prolongation of Working Life at Establishment Level In the following chapters, I will present the results of qualitative analyses in German and Polish companies. Beforehand, I will give a literature overview focusing on selected aspects of HRM 43 . with regard to older workers. The overview will present several explanatory variables in the field of personnel policy and show which factors are beneficial and which are detrimental to the integration of older workers on the job. A second function of the overview will be to shed light on the general shape of personnel policy and age management in German and Polish firms in the light of representative surveys. That will serve as a basis for detailed analyses in sections 4.2. and 4.3. based on my firm case studies. In the literature review, I will first show general aspects of HRM and introduce the concepts of ´internalisation´ and ´externalisation´ of older workers. Afterwards, I will focus on the personnel policy field recruitment, further training, health management and employee exit as those constitute in my view the basic levers which decide whether older workers have a chance to enter employment and to be retained. A similar focus is followed by practice-orientated literature on age management (Länge/Menke 2007; Bertelsmann Stiftung/BDA 2003, Morschhäuser 2002, 2005, a.o.). The focus on training and health policy stems from the fact that those two fields of action are core elements of workability (Kerschbaumer/Räder 2008: 38). 4.1. Literature Review 4.1.1. The Role of the Overall human resource management Strategy State policies and shop floor policies towards older workers can be clustered, following Naschold et al. (1994a: 453, 455) and Rosenow/Naschold (1994: 46), in two ideal types: 1) the demand-side orientated externalisation strategy, where “the government offers incentives to firms and workers to transfer the employment-linked risks of older workers to the welfare state system”; the related strategy of firms is to outsource personnel problems to the external labour market by sorting out older workers and/or the recruitment of younger ones; 43 Throughout the study, I will deploy the term ´human resource management´ as synonym to ´personnel policies´, denoting the broad array of tasks performed by the personnel department. As ´age management´, I understand ´personnel policy in view of an ageing workforce´ or ´arenas and measures addressing demographic change´ (Kistler et al. 2006). Those policies may also encompass early retirement. 103
2) the supply-side orientated internalisation strategy based on the ´work for everybody principle´, resulting in an integration of older workers. Firms following that strategy solve personnel adjustment problems on the internal labour market, by adjusting the qualificatory and health potential of the current workforce and securing workplaces. According to Naschold et al. (1994a), Germany follows a marked externalisation strategy where older workers are treated as a flexibilisation resource homogeneously across industrial sectors and production regimes. Firms respond in their policies to incentives set by state actors and social partners. Policies differ between small and large companies, the latter more frequently resorting to regular dismissals and high labour turnover (ibid: 466). Although this study is ten years old, only little has changed in German companies since then (comp. Brussig 2005: 14). The authors propose the following division of personnel policies by their externalising/internalising character (Table 14): Table 14: Firms´ basic employment/retirement strategies internalisation part-time jobs occupational pension partial pension redeployment within enterprise reemployment health and safety measures sheltered jobs anti-discrimination legislation further training/retraining career development age-ing friendly workplaces utilisation of active labour market measures short-time work as alternative to dismissals externalisation age-selective redundancies (possibly accompanied by social plans) active disincentives to older workers financial incentive programme no attempts made to humanise working conditions early retirement after a given number of insurance years retirement provisions linked to overall state or demand for labour retirement linked to health and performance level not filling vacancies after labour turnover disability pensions in case of health impairments Source: Naschold et al. (1994a: 473), Rosenow/Naschold (1994: 48); own modifications and additions. A sustainable personnel policy requires the inclusion of both alleviating measures for older workers with already limited work capabilities, and of preventive measures for workers of all ages (Köchling/Deimel 2006: 115ff), but that prescription is seldom followed in practice. The German IAB Establishment Panel found out that externalising measures like the early retirement scheme were offered most often by the surveyed firms (and more frequently by large firms with 500 and more workers), while internalising measures like further vocational training and age-mixed teams existed in less than the half of firms, and measures directed at older workers only (special equipment of workplaces, lower performance requirements) were offered by a very small faction (Bellmann et al. 2007: 4). 104
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2) the supply-side orientated internalisation strategy based on the ´work for everybody<br />
principle´, resulting in an integration of older workers. Firms following that strategy<br />
solve personnel adjustment problems on the internal labour market, by adjusting the<br />
qualificatory and health potential of the current workforce and securing workplaces.<br />
According to Naschold et al. (1994a), Germany follows a marked externalisation<br />
strategy where older workers are treated as a flexibilisation resource homogeneously across<br />
industrial sectors and production regimes. Firms respond in their policies to incentives set<br />
by state actors and social partners. Policies differ between small and large companies, the<br />
latter more frequently resorting to regular dismissals and high labour turnover (ibid: 466).<br />
Although this study is ten years old, only little has changed in German companies since then<br />
(comp. Brussig 2005: 14).<br />
The authors propose the following division of personnel policies by their<br />
externalising/internalising character (Table 14):<br />
Table 14: Firms´ basic employment/retirement strategies<br />
internalisation<br />
part-time jobs<br />
occupational pension<br />
partial pension<br />
redeployment within enterprise<br />
reemployment<br />
health and safety measures<br />
sheltered jobs<br />
anti-discrimination legislation<br />
further training/retraining<br />
career development<br />
age-ing friendly workplaces<br />
utilisation of active labour market measures<br />
short-time work as alternative to dismissals<br />
externalisation<br />
age-selective redundancies (possibly accompanied by social plans)<br />
active disincentives to older workers<br />
financial incentive programme<br />
no attempts made to humanise working conditions<br />
early retirement after a given number of insurance years<br />
retirement provisions linked to overall state or demand for labour<br />
retirement linked to health and performance level<br />
not filling vacancies after labour turnover<br />
disability pensions in case of health impairments<br />
Source: Naschold et al. (1994a: 473), Rosenow/Naschold (1994: 48); own modifications and additions.<br />
A sustainable personnel policy requires the inclusion of both alleviating measures for<br />
older workers with already limited work capabilities, and of preventive measures for<br />
workers of all ages (Köchling/Deimel 2006: 115ff), but that prescription is seldom followed<br />
in practice. The German IAB Establishment Panel found out that externalising measures<br />
like the early retirement scheme were offered most often by the surveyed firms (and more<br />
frequently by large firms with 500 and more workers), while internalising measures like<br />
further vocational training and age-mixed teams existed in less than the half of firms, and<br />
measures directed at older workers only (special equipment of workplaces, lower<br />
performance requirements) were offered by a very small faction (Bellmann et al. 2007: 4).<br />
104
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