Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

older workers, and to preserve their workability 1 in health and qualificatory terms. And
thirdly, early exit alienates older persons from the labour market and from productive life,
thus placing constraints on ´active ageing´ understood as “the capacity of people, as they
grow older, to lead productive lives in the society and the economy” (OECD 1998: 84).
For those reasons, the European Council addressed the activation of older workers at the
Stockholm and Barcelona Summits in the years 2001 and 2002 and set targets that should be
reached by EU member states by 2010 (EC 2004b). According to those targets, the
employment rates of the 55-64-year-olds shall reach 50 per cent (Stockholm target) and the
age of exit from the labour market shall climb by five years (Barcelona target).
In the study, I shall concentrate on the effects of social policy reforms in Germany and
Poland on the labour market attachment of older workers. The study will deal with the
chances and barriers for a prolonged working life in Poland and Germany. I understand the
concept of ´prolongation of working life´ in line with the Stockholm and Barcelona targets
as continuation of employment until reaching the standard retirement age valid in the given
country. Prolonged employment of workers past standard retirement age, however seldom a
phenomenon that is in Germany in Poland, would also classify as ´prolongation of working
life´. 2 I will inquire which factors have brought about the drop in activity and employment
rates of persons aged 50 years and more starting from early till mid-1970s, a period when
the first options for early retirement were introduced in Germany and Poland. The analysed
determinants will be pension and labour market policies of state actors, labour market
development, structural and sectoral changes in the economy, education system and
educational attainment, demographic developments, health status, individual retirement
preferences and collective bargaining. The main focus will be on state policies in the field of
labour market and pensions, on policies of social partners, and on individual retirement
preferences.
Prolongation of working life does not solely depend on the institutional framework, the
policies of the state and social actors, the situation on the labour market and on retirement
preferences. The decision whether to hire or to fire an older worker is made at workplace
level. The core part of my work will thus deal with the ´black box´ of company policies –
how the decisions on recruitment are made; whether the working conditions are in line with
1 A term invented by Ilmarinen (also written ´work ability´) which denotes the ability of workers to perform
their work. It describes the interdependence between the cognitive, emotional and health resources held by the
worker and the working conditions (Ilmarinen 2005).
2 Another meaning of ´prolongation of working life´ is connected to an earlier entry age on the labour market.
However, this will not be the topic of this work.
2