Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

“The movements within the firm – upwards or to new jobs – are concentrated in one decade. [=30-
40 years] (…) The general philosophy in this country rubs off on us even more, as a company which
is subject to operating pressure. We praise the young ones, who are always laughing, who are
always friendly, the winners, the ones who push their way to the front. Due to this, one is used to
step aside almost automatically as one ages. (…) As at some point, they notice without saying ´I am
not needed any more, I am not asked any more´.” (1_Firm DE-7_HRM)
Another firm-related reason of low learning motivation may be the disuse effect –
workers whose ability to learn new things was not used for a long time, e.g. because of
narrow specialisation or monotonous tasks, lose that competence (Frerichs 2007: 73-4). A
vivid demonstration of that effect is the metal-manufacturing company Firm DE-3, where
the personnel manager wanted to train older workers to assume dual careers during their
work life. He met with resistance from older workers who had performed monotonous tasks
for decades:
“That is hard graft where you can do anything but think. (laughs) They have done that job for 30
years and have given up thinking. They have to be met there and systematically, slowly accustomed
to other things.” (2_Firm DE-3_HRM)
Pull factors like the availability of early retirement options are also a barrier to higher
training quotas of older persons, as they influence their own considerations of the usefulness
of training. E.g., in a utility company, the rejection of further training already by persons as
young as 45 was motivated by the proximity of retirement:
“As one exits anyway on average at 60, 62 or something like that, therefore it´s not worth it to do
something about qualification if he is (…) 55… It´s not worth it. That argument isn´t valid anymore
if I work until 65 or even 67 instead of 55. (…) My subjective assessment in this company is that that
is still wide-spread. That saying `I don´t have to do it anymore, the young ones will do it´.” (Firm
DE-13_former HRM interviewed in 2006)
Those findings suggest the conclusion that the lower attendance of training by older
workers which is reported at aggregated, Germany-wide level (BmFSFJ 2005: 135) could
be the result of a mixture of causes rather than direct ageism.
On the basis of those findings, hypothesis 2B (see section 2.2.) is accepted with regard
to further training. Hypothesis 2A (ibid) is not supported as my case studies have shown
that the lacking inclusion of older workers in further training in some cases is linked to the
experience that those workers are not willing to undergo training (notwithstanding the
underlying reasons for that unwillingness). The training policy in most firms can be
assessed as internalising (see the explanation of that concept in section 4.1.1.), giving equal
access to workers of all ages. Special measures for older workers in the field of training
were planned only in a minority of firms. As that makes for an insufficient basis to speak of
´age management´ in the field of further training, hypothesis 3 can be assessed solely under
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