Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

year, for the duration of ten years, in order to be able to retire one year earlier. Unsolved
questions are so long the transferability of accumulated hours to other firms and
performance assessment.
Another type of ´negative reaction´ was the idea upheld by some firm representatives to
prolong the early retirement scheme at establishment level. Employers can in those cases
still profit from partial tax exemption of the ATZ income (Hanau/Rolfs 2008: 19). Another
idea is to use occupational pensions in order to exit 2-3 years earlier.
The phasing in of the standard retirement age of 67 is insufficiently reflected at firm
level, with ´no reactions´ dominating company agency. Some interviewees even voiced
disbelief in the interview in 2006 as to whether the respective law would be passed at all. A
typical example of ´no reaction´ (also visible with regard to the termination of ATZ) was the
postponement of the debate into the future and waiting for new legislative solutions.
Another form of ´no reaction´ was the lack of endeavours to improve working conditions,
the workflows and overall personnel policy, which I regard as ´muddling through´. To give
one telling example: “Thank God, we do not have to shape that [=the integration of older
workers] actively, as… I do not know of a single case when someone said ´I want to leave
at 55´” (1_Firm DE-6_HRM).
A small number of firms changed the automatic termination of the work contract
codified in collective agreements so that “employment ends upon reaching the 67 th year”.
However, the assessment of this change as ´positive reaction´ is unwarranted as it still
disagrees with anti-discrimination rulings. With regard to other ´negative reactions´ and
´positive reactions´, readers are referred to the previous paragraphs on the termination of
the early retirement scheme (ATZ) and raised retirement ages, as adaptation patterns are
similar.
After having presented evidence on the adaptation of German firms to institutional
changes, I will assess hypothesis 1 and hypothesis 6, starting with the latter. Hypothesis 6
(see section 2.1.) is herewith supported with regard to Germany, as the number of ´negative
reactions´ and ´no reactions´ to legislative changes outweigh ´positive reactions´. Thus, a
general commitment of German firms to the prolongation of working life is missing. 51 Most
German firms perpetuate their current policies, or most of those policies with regard to
51 That was assessed by counting ´positive reactions´, ´negative reactions´ and ´no reactions´ to each singular
reform firm by firm with the help of MAXqda software for qualitative analysis.
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