AGING WORKFORCE

Management in Aging Workforce

Management in Aging Workforce

Introduction

A survey of the aging workforce literature identified three key issues related to training older workers: access to training; adjustment of training methods and the learning environment to meet the needs, preferences, and learning styles of older employees; and manager awareness training. There is substantial evidence that older workers are denied access to training (Barth et al., 1993; Farr et al., 1998; Mirvis and Hall, 1996; Rix, 1996; Sterns and Miklos, 1995). In a review of the literature on older employees, O'Reilly and Caro (1994) concluded that work-related training is limited and often non-existent for older employees. There is a need to design and implement HR policies and practices that provide training opportunities for older employees and encourage them to participate in such programs (Casey et al., 1993; Lefkovich, 1992).

Farr et al. (1998) argued that even if older workers are provided with training, inappropriate training methods are often used. Several researchers (Allen and Hart, 1998; Barth et al., 1993, 1996; Casey et al., 1993; Griffiths, 1997; Mirvis and Hall, 1996; Rix, 1996; Sterns, 1986; Sterns and Miklos, 1995) have pointed out that even when training opportunities are available to older employees, there is a need to tailor the training design and methods to allow for the learning styles and experience of older employees. To date, there has been little attention paid to whether employers are making an attempt to adopt the training design and methods to suit older employees.

In addition to access and adaptation is the issue of the training of managers of older employees. Elliott (1995) noted the importance of age awareness training for managers and the need to educate managers on the effective utilisation of older employees. Griffiths (1997) argued that changing managers' attitudes towards aging workers through age awareness programs is important. In a study of 400 US organizations, only 25 percent reported that they were educating managers about ways to utilise older employees (American Association of Retired Persons, 2000). Except for the AARP study, we are not aware of any other studies that have examined whether employers are providing training specifically targeting managers of older employees.

According to Rob Anderson, research manager with the Foundation, this sense of crisis does not reflect the range of options available for supporting the older people and their carers.

"I feel that the debate could be moved on. We carried out a study, Who Will Care - Future Prospects for Family Care of Older People to identify key influences in the future demand for, and supply of, care. The study presented four main options to be considered: preventing dependency e.g. through health promotion; providing support to the family carers through work place initiatives; the development of more imaginative community care and the promotion of better residential arrangements for institutional care."

In the last few years the focus of the Foundation's work has moved to employment prospects of an ageing workforce which has become a growing issue in European social policy and is reflected in the ...