Fu t u re Re p o rt

D e m o graphic ch a n ge

J o chen Pa ck

H a rtmut Buck

E rn st Kist l e r

Hans Gerhard Mendius

M a rtina Mors ch h ä u s e r

Heimfrid Wo l ff

I n n ovation ability in an ageing society

Fu t u re Re p o rt Demographic ch a n ge

I n n ovation ability

in an ageing society

The project upon which this publi-

cation is based was funded by

the Fe d e ral Minister of Education and

Re s e a rch under Project Number 01

HH 9619 / 9 .

The auth o rs of this publication are

responsible for its contents.

Pa ck, Jochen: Zukunft s re p o rt

D e m o gra p h i s cher Wa n d e l .

I n n ova t i o n s f ä h i g keit in einer alte rn d e n

G e s e l l s ch a ft /All auth o rs

Bonn, 19 9 9

(Publication from the re s e a rch

p ro gramme “Demographic Change”)

P roduction: ON! Ko m m u n i ka t i o n

& Neue Medien GmbH, Cologne

Printing: DCM Mecke n h e i m

I n fo rmation on the re s e a rch

p ro gramme can be obtained from:

D L R- P T, Südst raße 125, 53175 Bonn

C o n te n t s

0 Fo rewo rd 6

1 What is demographic ch a n ge ? 8

2 Age as a shortcoming – a management pre j u d i c e 14

3 C h a n ges in comp a ny age st ru c t u re s 18

4 I n n ovation ability and ageing wo r k fo rc e s 2 6

5 Solutions in pra c t i c e 3 2

5 . 1 Age - re l a ted shaping of work and orga n i s a t i o n 3 3

5 . 2 Team work in mixed age gro u p s 3 6

5 . 3 Shaping of career path s 3 9

5 . 4 Pe rsonnel policy across ge n e ration bord e rs 4 4

5 . 5 Sta ff pools and self-emp l oyment as an opportunity for older pers o n s ? 4 9

5 . 6 New emp l oyment possibilities for older persons too –

A p p ro a ches in the cra ft trade secto r 5 0

6 Responsibility of organisations in economy and society 5 4

7 Conclusions and re c o m m e n d a t i o n s 5 7

0

6

Fo rewo rd

Declining birth ra tes and a continuing rise in life expectancy are leading to a

c o n s i d e rable ch a n ge in age st ru c t u res in Europe and other industrialised nations

in the medium and long te rm. Fo re c a sts anticipate a decrease in population

a c c o mpanied by a drop in the number of yo u n ger people of working age. Aga i n st

this background, bottlenecks can be expected in the re c ruitment of new yo u n g

sta ff and a higher age amongst wo r k fo rces. Wrong comp a ny st ra tegies, short -

s i g h ted personnel policies, para m e te rs which favour the early re t i rement of older

e mp l oyees and a fashioning of work which does not respect the ageing pro c e s s

i n tensify this trend. The qu e stion is posed whether the innovation ability of ente r-

prises is endange red by this deve l o p m e n t .

The qu e stion of the consequences of demographic ch a n ge for enterprises and

the world of work led the Fe d e ral Minist ry of Education and Re s e a rch (Germ a ny )

as early as 1994 to initiate a re s e a rch pro gramme on the topic of “Demogra p h i c

C h a n ge and the Fu t u re of Gainful Emp l oyment in Germ a ny”. Re s e a rch work wa s

commissioned in the fo l l owing are a s :

❯ Changing work and innovation potential

❯ Viable demands and st ra tegies for the future in the cra ft trade secto r

❯ L i m i ted occupational lifetime and new models for working hours fo r

older pers o n s

❯ I n n ovation in changing age st ru c t u re s

❯ I n n ovation, wo r k fo rce st ru c t u res and ageing in ente r p r i s e s

Since the need for a new way of thinking amongst enterprises, emp l oyees and in-

te rmediaries ta kes time, just as does the imp l e m e n tation of counte rm e a s u res, it

is already imp o rtant to d ay to pre p a re for the situation which can be expected in

a few ye a rs. Explaining these coming ch a n ges and the re qu i red counte rm e a s u re s

is however also necessary since apart from the hidden ageing process sneaking

up amongst population and wo r k fo rces, a prejudice will have to be fought cen-

t ra l ly which is th re a tening to assert itself: Older persons, so the common ste re o t y-

pe, are less efficient and less capable of innovation. By contra st, the re s e a rch

results available reveal qu i te cate g o r i c a l ly that efficiency and innovation ability

h ave less to do with biological age(ing) than with the conducive or re st r i c t i ve

conditions to which people are subjected in their individual working, pro fe s s i o n a l

and priva te live s .

7

The results of the individual re s e a rch projects re flect a wide spectrum of pro-

blems. They however demonst ra te above all a broad dive rsity of potential soluti-

ons which must be adopted in order to counter any possible dange rs from demo-

graphic ch a n ge for the innovation ability of the economy. This bro ch u re pre s e n t s

a synopsis of the most imp o rtant results of these re s e a rch pro j e c t s .

In order to examine whether and to what extent these potential solutions are

p racticable, the project “Demographic Change: Public Relations and Marke t i n g

St ra tegy” was sta rted in the autumn of 1999 by the Fe d e ral Minist ry of Education

and Re s e a rch”. The objective of this tra n s fer project is to develop and dissemina-

te solutions on the basis of awa reness, advice and creativity to ge ther with and

for the working population, enterprises and associations in order to cope with th e

c o n s e quences of socio-demographic ch a n ge .

The Au th o rs .

1

8

What is d e m o graphic ch a n ge ?

D e m o graphic ch a n ge – the ch a n ge in the composition of age groups in a society

– as a result, for exa mple, of natural cata st rophes, wa rs, ch a n ges in the birth ra te

and continuous imp rovement in health c a re – is in principle a normal occurre n c e

and – seen in isolation – to be deemed neither as positive or nega t i ve. Demo-

graphic ch a n ge can lead to comp l e te ly opposing re s u l t s :

❯ A high birth ra te and decreasing mortality lead to a yo u n ger population and

population grow th. The result is a compact age py ramid.

❯ A declining or consiste n t ly low birth ra te and rising life expectancy lead to

an ageing of the population and to a decrease in population. The results is an

unbalanced age st ru c t u re .

Discussions about demographic ch a n ge have concentra ted in the past primarily

on the fo reseeable decrease in the population from which is derived a drop in

national and economic influence.One of the prime reasons for this decline in

population (re ga rded as a net fi g u re and without taking any increase from

i m m i gration into consideration) already sta rted to make its impact in Europe at

the end of the 19 th century. Fo l l owing the transition from a pre d o m i n a n t ly agr i-

c u l t u ral to an industrial society, th e re was a so-called “demographic leap” in

E u rope – later too in Japan – to ge ther with periodic shifts between the countries,

that is a permanent ch a n ge in ge n e ra t i ve behaviour which re s u l ted in a consider-

able drop in the birth ra te. This is a st ru c t u ral problem to be found in all indus-

trial societies and one which is in principle irreve rsible. As a result of immigra t i o n

and above all of a continuously rising life expectancy the fe a red decline in

population was however pushed into the future .

A combination of both fa c to rs, on the one hand a declining birth ra te and on

the other hand continuously rising life expecta n c y, is leading in the medium

and long te rm to a major ch a n ge in age st ru c t u res in Europe and Japan. What is

n ow primarily being debated is the correlation between an ageing society and

h ow to finance pensions and health services.

The fo l l owing qu e stions on the other hand are negl e c te d :

❯ To what extent does a rising ave ra ge age of the ove rall population make an

i mpact on the age st ru c t u re of the potential working population (15–64 ye a rs

of age ) ?

❯ What are the consequences of this development for enterprises and the wo r k i n g

p o p u l a t i o n ?

❯ H ow is the age st ru c t u re of wo r k fo rces in enterprises deve l o p i n g ?

9

❯ What impact do ageing wo r k fo rces make on enterprises’ innovation ability and

p e rfo rmance pote n t i a l ?

D e m o graphic ch a n ge: The re s e a rch pro gra m m e

Aga i n st this background of massive shifts in population st ru c t u re and in the anti-

cipation of the bottlenecks caused by them with re ga rd to supply of new yo u n g

human capital and future - o r i e n ted qu a l i fications, in 1994 the Fe d e ral Minist ry

of Education and Re s e a rch publicised its re s e a rch pro gramme on the topic of

“ D e m o graphic Change and the Fu t u re of Gainful Emp l oyment in Germ a ny ” .

Ac c o mpanied by an advisory committee, in 19 9 5 / 1996 re s e a rch work was com-

missioned which led to a to tal of fi ve joint projects on the fo l l owing key to p i c s :

G roup project I: Changing work and innovation pote n t i a l

What ch a n ges in the work available and in the demand for human capital can

be identified and what are the consequences for work and innovation pote n t i a l ?

What opportunities are th e re for ageing emp l oyees under these new circ u m-

stances? The fo l l owing inst i t u tes we re invo lved: INIFES – Sta d t b e rgen, ISF

M u n i ch and SÖST RA – Berlin.

G roup project II: Viable demands and st ra tegies for the future in the cra ft trade secto r

H ow can the cra ft trade sector cope with demographic ch a n ges? Is this area of

the economy part i c u l a r ly suitable for imp roving the emp l oyment situation of

older persons by creating additional jobs? What prospects are th e re for pers o n n e l

d evelopment and the potential for systematic preve n t i ve health c a re in the cra ft

t rade sector? The fo l l owing inst i t u tes we re invo lved: The “Fu t u re Fa c to ry” of th e

H a m b u rg Chamber of Cra ft Trades, Lower Rhine Po ly te chnic – Mönch e n gl a d b a ch

and ISF Munich .

G roup project III: Limited occupational lifetime and new models for working hours fo r

older pers o n s

What lies behind the phenomenon of a limited occupational lifetime? What

c o n s e quences result from demographic ch a n ge for enterprises? What possible

actions can th ey ta ke to pre p a re th e m s e lves for this by means of appro p r i a te

o rganisation and fashioning of work and working hours? The fo l l owing inst i t u te s

we re invo lved: ISO – Saarbrücken, ISIS – Fra n k f u rt, Gero n tology Re s e a rch Society

– Dortmund and Centre for Social Policy – Bre m e n .

G roup project IV: Innovation in changing age st ru c t u re s

Under which circ u m stances can the innovation ability in the manufacturing

s e c tor as well as in the service sector be secured under changing age st ru c t u res as

well? What future opportunities do ageing emp l oyees have in high-te ch, innova-

t i ve and yo u th - o r i e n ted secto rs, such, for exa mple, as non-sta n d a rdised soft wa re

d evelopment? The fo l l owing inst i t u tes we re invo lved: FhG-IAO – St u t t ga rt, TU

Chemnitz and BTU Cottbus.

1 0

G roup project V: Innovation, wo r k fo rce st ru c t u res and ageing in ente r p r i s e s

H ow can enterprises with diffe rent types of age st ru c t u res organise their know-

l e d ge, innovation and perfo rmance potential under consideration of the age i n g

of their wo r k fo rces so that their business and innovation activities are secure d

b o th in the present and the future? The fo l l owing inst i t u tes we re invo lved: GfAH

– Dortmund, ISO – Saarbrücken, VDI/VDE IT – Te l tow, TU Hamburg - H a r b u rg,

FH Ne u - B ra n d e n b u rg, a&o re s e a rch – Berlin, HDZ – Aa ch e n .

The results pre s e n ted in this bro ch u re are based on the work perfo rmed with i n

these group pro j e c t s .

In future: More older and less yo u n ger potential wo r ke rs

Fo re c a sts on the development of the population in Germ a ny and Europe assume

a decline in the ove rall population accompanied by a drop in the size of the

p o tential working population. As the results of Group 1 show, from the year 2000

o n wa rds until 2040 the working population will decrease continuously by about

one fi fth in to tal, assuming that th e re is no substantial increase in the birth ra te

or in immigration. Fo re c a sts and expectations for the labour market, which

conclude from this that th e re will be a ge n e ral shorta ge in human capital in th e

fo reseeable future as a result, are scarc e ly like ly to apply. This is re fl e c ted in th e

findings of Group 1 which indicate the fo l l owing opposite effe c t s :

❯ I n c reases in pro d u c t i v i t y

❯ G re a ter use of working population potential, for exa mple, of part-time sta ff, wo m e n

❯ A possible drop in domestic demand

❯ I n c reases as a result of migra t i o n

❯ Fu rther decreases in emp l oyment in wide areas of the secondary but also in th e

t raditional areas of the te rt i a ry secto r.

Thus, for exa mple, it is hard ly to be expected that th e re will be a shorta ge of

human capital below the level of skilled wo r ker or amongst wo r ke rs without

common labour market qu a l i fications. However it is pre c i s e ly in this segment

w h i ch many potential wo r ke rs stemming from increases in immigration have in

the past been categorised and will in future also be categorised. For other gro u p s

h owever the labour market will ease up and an increased demand can be expec-

ted. Depending on the situation in the individual secto rs (grow th, stagnation or

recession), this demand will present itself in a highly diffe re n t i a ted manner

a c c o rding to regional st ru c t u re and attra c t i veness as well as according to specifi c

qu a l i fi c a t i o n s .

Far more dramatic than the drop in the absolute size of the potential working

population is however the ch a n ge in the composition of its age groups, since th e

1 1

number of new young human capital is slow ly but continuously decreasing and

the group of older potential wo r ke rs will rise consta n t ly up until 2020.

Thus the perc e n ta ge of the age group of 15-24 ye a r-olds has consta n t ly shrunk in

recent ye a rs, the age group of 25-34 ye a r-olds will decrease noticeably in coming

ye a rs. These are the groups used by enterprises as a re s e r voir of new young blood

and which th ey consider to be part i c u l a r ly efficient and capable. Thus it is pro b a-

ble that in 2030 th e re will be more than a qu a rter less and in 2040 about a th i rd

(7 million) less potential wo r ke rs available on the labour market in these age

groups. This development will make its impact with delayed effect from 2010

o n wa rds on the inte rm e d i a te age group of 35 to 44 ye a r-olds too which will also

d e c rease by about a qu a rter (3.8 million) up until 2040. The group of older

p o tential wo r ke rs on the other hand will increase up until 2020 by up to about a

qu a rter (4.7 million).

In future th e re will be less and less potential wo r ke rs under 45 ye a rs of age

(- 10.1 million) in comparison to more and more older ones (by 2020 4.7 million).

This will lead to ageing wo r k fo rces. If th e re is no ch a n ge to the already decided

rise in the official re t i rement age to 65 and the incre a s i n gly unattra c t i ve possibi-

lities for early re t i rement and more difficult access to a status of being unable

to work and with a reduced pension, then it is to be expected that a large number

of emp l oyees over 60 will remain at work longe r. (Fig. 1)

Fig.1: Development of the poulation according to age groups (Source: Group 1)

19 6 0 19 8 0 19 9 6 2 0 0 0 2 010 2 0 2 0 2 0 3 0 2 0 4 0

10 0 %

8 0 %

6 0 %

4 0 %

2 0 %

0 %

over 60

ye a rs of

a ge

5 5 – 6 4

4 5 – 5 4

3 5 – 4 4

2 5 – 3 4

15 – 2 4

bis 14

1 2

In view of the demographic shifts and those resulting from st ru c t u ral ch a n ge, it

is pre c i s e ly those potential wo r ke rs which are becoming the focus of atte n t i o n

w h i ch to date have either not been emp l oyed or have been under- e mp l oyed,

e i ther because th ey we re re g i ste red as unemp l oyed or in various fo rms of hidden

re s e r ves: Young people still in training and in the waiting line, women waiting to

re t u rn to work after having their ch i l d ren, persons invo l u n ta r i ly in part-time

e mp l oyment or in early re t i rement as well as persons emp l oyed at levels below

their actual qu a l i fications. Demographic ch a n ge could make a contribution to

the gre a ter appreciation, care and development of the human capital of th e s e

people, which to date has been devalued incre a s i n gly ra p i d ly due to non-use.

Un d o u b te d ly the trend towa rds working women which has already increased and

will in all probability rise further will have particular significance. Measure s

w h i ch respect the ageing process and demographic developments and measure s

w h i ch support women and imp rove the compatibility of fa m i ly and pro fession by

no means contradict each other but ra ther are congruent in many respects in

te rms of their content. To ta ke this into consideration and give it support wo u l d

not only be an appro p r i a te st ra tegy in te rms of national economics and labour

m a r ket policy – and also a contribution aga i n st discrimination – but is also more

a p p ro p r i a te in the context of a longer te rm demographic pers p e c t i ve than an

a t te mpt – which would in any case scarc e ly be more successful – to suppress th e

rising trend towa rds emp l oy m e n t .

Un c o n t rolled immigration as in the past would, even if an above pro p o rt i o n a l ly

l a rge number of yo u n ger people we re to arr i ve, tend ra ther to enlarge the gro u p

of less qu a l i fied potential wo r ke rs. Wi thout training measures, this group can

to d ay scarc e ly be deployed in any enterprise since it cannot fulfil even the mini-

mum re qu i rements. Even more so than the qu e stion of the decrease in the num-

ber alone of yo u n ger persons is the qu e stion at the same time of the decrease in

skilled sta ff with inte rm e d i a te and higher qu a l i fications, for exa mple, amongst

skilled cra ftsmen, skilled wo r ke rs, engineers and comp u ter experts. The sub-

s e quent gaps in the wo r k fo rces of many enterprises in the manufacturing secto r

and fi rms offering high-te ch, R&D or te chnical services aggrava te the problem

to ta l ly. Most German enterprises are comp l e te ly unp re p a red for this situation,

th ey still fail to see the problem or else ignore it.

This is not part i c u l a r ly surprising in so far that in recent ye a rs and in conjunction

w i th dra stic cutbacks in personnel, a gradual personnel re st ructuring process has

ta ken place in many enterprises. As results from work perfo rmed by Group 1 have

revealed (but also from other surveys), these personnel cutbacks took place and

still ta ke place to a considerable degree on the basis of age, i.e. older emp l oye e s

we re and still are affe c ted to an above ave ra ge level. As a result, the problem –

and the pre s s u re on an enterprise to ta ke action – which could have occurred due

to an ageing wo r k fo rce was for a short time defused. This has defi n i te ly contri-

1 3

b u ted to the indiffe rence often diagnosed amongst these companies towa rds th i s

( p o tential) problem. These “exte rnalisation measures” we re possible on the one

hand because enterprises we re in a position to shift most of the re l a ted costs

e l s ew h e re, i.e. primarily to unload them onto the social security services. Wi th re-

ga rd to the future, the qu e stion must be posed whether such st ra tegies – in view

of the limited financial re s o u rces of pension funds and the ch a n ge in the legal

situation but also in view of the growing awa reness that valuable know- h ow

l e aves an enterprise when older emp l oyees depart – will still be fe a s i b l e .

2 Age as a shortcoming – a management pre j u d i c e

The prejudice st u b b o rn ly prevails in the heads of many comp a ny manage rs th a t

older emp l oyees are ge n e ra l ly less innova t i ve, efficient, cre a t i ve and re s i l i e n t

than yo u n ger sta ff. Apart from lesser adaptability and a gre a ter tendency to fa l l

ill, a large number of positive and nega t i ve ste reotypes are attributed to older

p e rsons. In the fo l l owing table, such common ste reotypes towa rds older pers o n s

a re pre s e n ted. (Fi g . 2 )

1 4

P hys i o l o g i c a l P s ych o l o g i c a l Q u a l i fi c a t i o n

p e rfo rm a n c e p e rfo rm a n c e

supposed adva n ta ge s

+ P ractised in moto- Sense of P ractical sense

ric pro c e d u re s re s p o n s i b i l i t y of judge m e n t

+ M a t u r i t y O rganisational ta l e n t

+ C o mp o s u re E x p e r i e n c e

+ L oya l i t y Re l i a b i l i t y

+ Ac c u ra c y

e x p e c ted handicaps

– L i m i ted Resignation, fru st ra t i o n A n t i qu a ted

p e rc e p t i o n k n ow- h ow

– Reduced ability C o n s e r va t i ve L a ck of furth e r

to re a c t th i n k i n g t ra i n i n g

– L ow perfo rmance St u b b o rn n e s s I n s u fficient moti-

re s e r ve s vation to learn

– D rop in st re n g th L ow mental Un d e rd eveloped

and agility resilience ability fot te a m wo r k

– P hysical dete r i o ra t i o n Poor memory

– S l ow

p e rc e p t i o n

Fig. 2: Prejudices towa rds older emp l oyees (Source: Groug 4)

1 5

P re m a t u re wear and te a r, and not age, is the main pro b l e m

An emp l oyee’s age as such is not, in the fi rst instance, a problem which wo u l d

p revent carrying out a pro fession or render this more difficult. Ageing in pro fe s-

sional life most ly then becomes a problem when emp l oyees remain for a long

time in highly st ressful jobs and when the specific resilience demanded th e re is

used up to such a degree that the individual’s perfo rmance ability is less and less

able to satisfy the demands of the job. This applies not just to pro fessions where

c o n s i d e rable physical effo rt is re qu i red, but also to occupations where certain

types of mental st ress pre d o m i n a te. If an emp l oyee, who according to his or her

calendar age of 40, 50 or 60 is actually “in the prime of life”, shows signs of age

and decreasing efficiency at the same time, then this is obviously linked to th e

c u m u l a ted effects of st ress and st rain from the occupational activity carried out

to date. Neve rtheless the fact that older emp l oyees in highly st ressful jobs are

o ften less efficient is re p e a te d ly attributed to “nature” or to their age as such .

The reduced efficiency of older persons becomes a ste reotype, a ge n e ral no lon-

ger rev i ewed sta tement. But the reason behind it is hidden as a result, just as are

individual diffe re n c e s .

Ageing in working life only then becomes a problem when the relationship

b e t ween occupational demands on the one hand and individual perfo rm a n c e

ability on the other hand no longer corre l a te. Pa rt of the cause of physical we a r

and teat and the so-called burn-out syndrome, of reduced mental flexibility and

of subsequ e n t ly being unused to learning are the duration of a one-sided phys i-

cal and mental work load and too low demands being placed on an emp l oye e ’ s

qu a l i fications in badly designed work systems. Thus, for exa mple, insuffi c i e n t

p hysical demand from one-sided body positions, such as permanent sitting dow n

at work, leads to a reduction in physical efficiency and ultimate ly to the same

result as ove r- e xe rtion, i.e. to back ailments. Now as befo re, sick n e s s - re l a ted we a r

and tear amongst emp l oyees is fre qu e n t ly closely linked to the occupation or th e

conditions under which the occupation is carried out and has been carried out in

the past. The sta te of health of an emp l oyee is th e re fo re not primarily dete rm i n e d

by his or her calendar age but ra ther much more the result of working conditions

in the past .

L i m i ted efficiency amongst older emp l oyees is th e re fo re not ge n e ra l ly applicable

– it is always re l a ted to qu i te specific activities and work demands and is th e re-

fo re re l a t i ve. For exa mple, freight wo r ke rs with back ailments may no longer be

able to handle freight but would be highly efficient in the office or in documen-

ting the freight. A 30 ye a r-old sportsman can already be considered as “ve ry old”

– as national trainer he would be extre m e ly young. In the same way emp l oye e s

a re never ge n e ra l ly qu a l i fied or unqu a l i fied but instead always in relation to

qu i te specific demands.

One of the key areas of psychological and ge ro n tological re s e a rch is focussed on

the development of mental perfo rmance ch a ra c te r i stics and personality ch a n ge s

in old age. Pe rsonality fe a t u res, such, for exa mple, as how thinking, feeling and

action are dire c ted outwa rd s / i n wa rds, emotional sta b i l i t y, how a person sees

himself or control convictions most ly remain, as many surveys have agreed, sta b l e

in old age as well. In a highly simp l i fied manner, the fo l l owing sta tements can be

d e r i ved from such empirical inve st i gations on mental perfo rm a n c e :

❯ A reduction in the speed of reaction and in perception and a slowing down in

m e n tal processes can fre qu e n t ly be observed amongst older people. These perfo r-

mance deficits can, should th ey occur at all and play any role in the work pro c e s s ,

be offset by taking suitable measures when designing and planning work syste m s .

❯ The pre re qu i s i tes for efficient perfo rmance, such as memory, cre a t i v i t y, pro b l e m -

s o lving ability, inte l l i gence, social skills or the ability to cope with st ress depend

to a major degree on the stimuli to which an individual is exposed in the cours e

of his working life. By means of ta rge ted encoura gement th ey can be sustained

or further deve l o p e d .

Nu m e rous surveys show that the ability of older persons to learn something new

is gre a t ly dependent on the level and extent of learning demands placed on th e m

p rev i o u s ly in their working life. Undemanding monotone occupations with to o

high a degree of routine lead to pre m a t u re physical wear and te a r, dequ a l i fi c a-

tion, demotivation, loss of ability to learn and declining mental fl e x i b i l i t y. Thus it

is by no means correct to speak in an undiffe re n t i a ted way about the perfo r-

mance and innovation ability of an age gro u p .

Ac c o rding to available findings, older persons ge n e ra l ly tend to perfo rm ta s ks

b e t ter which

❯ a re familiar and learn t ,

❯ can be carried out auto n o m o u s ly, i.e. work qu o ta, rhy thm and pro c e d u re can be

d e te rmined to a certain degree independently,

❯ e n c o mpass complex working pro c e d u res where experience plays an imp o rta n t

role in mastering th e m ,

❯ re qu i re social skills,

❯ and which re qu i re know l e d ge about inte rnal comp a ny pro c e d u res and info rm a l

relationships in order to be fulfilled.

Older persons tend to find it harder to cope with ta s ks invo lv i n g

❯ e x t reme ambient influences such as heat, cold and high air humidity,

❯ h e avy physical wo r k ,

1 6

1 7

❯ situations where th e re is time pre s s u res and pre s s u re to perfo rm ,

❯ work speeds dete rmined by someone else,

❯ i n s u fficient opportunities for re st ,

❯ and diffe re n t i a ted demands on sight and hearing.

3

1 8

C h a n ges in c o mp a ny age st ru c t u re s

Ageing processes in enterprises

A pronounced ch a n ge in age st ru c t u re is already taking place to d ay within many

e n terprises. This is not however due to the demographic ch a n ge in the population

but instead to a decline in emp l oyment amongst yo u n ger emp l oyees, for exa mp l e

as a result of job cutbacks and a drop in the re c ruitment of young sta ff. In addi-

tion, because of the unfavo u rable situation in the labour market, the middle age

groups, which are to d ay st ro n gly re p re s e n ted in certain enterprises in te rms of

their number, are growing old “en bloc”. Thus th e re is an ever smaller number of

yo u n ger emp l oyees comp a red to an ever growing perc e n ta ge of older ones. The

ch a n ge in age st ru c t u re in enterprises, resulting in a collective ageing in the futu-

re of their wo r k fo rces, has occurred to a part i c u l a r ly dramatic extent in easte rn

G e rm a ny. A typical exa mple is given below for easte rn German companies in th e

m e chanical engineering secto r. (Fig. 3)

Fig. 3: Age distribution in an easter German mechanical fi rm (Source: Group 4)

under 20

ye a rs of age

20–3 0 3 0–4 0 40–5 0 50–6 0 60–7 0

4 0 %

3 5 %

3 0 %

2 5 %

2 0 %

15%

10 %

5%

0 %

2 , 5%

1, 6%

3 3 , 6%

3 6 , 9%

2 2 , 6%

0 , 8%

Due to a decline in business after Germ a ny unification, an easte rn Germ a ny

m e chanical engineering fi rm sent its older emp l oyees into early re t i rement and

at the same time imp l e m e n ted massive cutbacks amongst its yo u n ger sta ff in

a c c o rdance with social plan criteria. At the same time it was and is not possible

to re c ruit or ta ke on sufficient young wo r ke rs, in particular apprentices. Neve r-

theless the number of older emp l oyees does not curre n t ly present a problem,

on the contra ry, the fi rm can only remain comp e t i t i ve and innova t i ve because it

has the experience and know- h ow of the older emp l oyees at its disposal.

1 9

This comp a ny’s main problem now lies in the fact that in the next 10 to 15 ye a rs

about half the wo r k fo rce – including the most experienced sta ff – will re t i re. How

can this half of the wo r k fo rce be replaced successfully and as smooth ly as

possible with qu a l i fied young emp l oyees? How can the considerable loss in expe-

rienced sta ff be counterbalanced and the re qu i red experience tra n s fe rred to

yo u n ger emp l oye e s ?

M a ny we ste rn German mechanical engineering companies are faced with a

similar problem, as the fo l l owing exa mple shows. (Fig. 4)

Fig. 4: Development of the age st ru c t u re in a mechanical engineering fi rm

( S o u rce: Group 3)

< 21

ye a rs

21

–2 5

2 6

–3 0

31

–3 5

3 6

–4 0

41

–4 5

4 6

–5 0

51

–5 5

5 6

–6 0

> 60

In recent ye a rs, massive sta ff cutbacks have been imp l e m e n ted in a we ste rn

G e rman mechanical engineering fi rm. The wo r k fo rce shrank from 10 41 people

in 1990 to 741 in 1996. In order to reduce the wo r k fo rce in a manner as social-

ly acceptable as possible, emp l oyees aged 55 and over we re offe red attra c t i ve

o p p o rtunities for early re t i rement; as a result the number of the emp l oye e s

a ged over 55 dropped in the period mentioned from 52 to th ree (!). The ave r-

a ge age of wo r k fo rce has neve rtheless risen since at the same time scarc e ly

a ny new youg wo r ke rs we re re c ru i ted and those age groups gre a te st in number

h ave moved up a gro u p .

2 5 %

0 %

– 2 5 %< 31ye a rs

31–5 0 > 50

4 0 %

3 5 %

3 0 %

2 5 %

2 0 %

15%

10 %

5%

0 %

19 9 0

19 9 6

Pe rc e n ta ge ch a n ge

( sta ff ove rall: –29%)

2 0

This trend of ageing wo r k fo rces is pre s u m a b ly typical for the entire mech a n i c a l

engineering sector in we ste rn Germ a ny: The perc e n ta ge of emp l oyees aged under

30 has decreased in this sector from 33.1 percent in 19 91 to 22.7 percent in

1997; the large st number of persons is no longer to be found in the age group of

25 to 29 ye a r-olds but amongst the 30 to 34 ye a r-olds. Whilst in 19 91 still half of

all emp l oyees in the mechanical engineering sector we re under 36.8 ye a rs of age ,

this fi g u re (median) had risen by 1997 to 38.8 ye a rs. The basic problem is similar

to that in easte rn Germ a ny, if somewhat delayed. When a re l a t i ve ly large part of

the wo r k fo rce goes into re t i rement in 20 to 30 ye a rs time and must be re p l a c e d ,

yo u n ger qu a l i fied new sta ff will ge n e ra l ly have become more scarce. Then th e

m e chanical engineering fi rms, which are most ly small or medium-sized (with

regional variations), will enter into competition with large companies which can,

for exa mple, pay far more attra c t i ve salaries. Wi th regional diffe rences, this

situation already occurs to d ay, thus for exa mple SMEs in Baden-W ü rt te m b e rg

c o mplain of a shorta ge of skilled CNC opera to rs .

C o mpanies with a similarly imbalanced age st ru c t u re as in the mechanical

engineering sector can be found in many other secto rs. As a result of:

❯ a decrease in market vo l u m e

❯ sta g n a t i o n

❯ i n c reases in productivity and rationalisation

th ey have a shrinking or unchanging wo r k fo rce and have hard ly re c ru i ted any

n ew sta ff. This can fre qu e n t ly be observed amongst commercial vehicle manu-

fa c t u re rs (busses and lorries) with their sub-contra c to rs, amongst food manu-

fa c t u re rs and manufa c t u re rs of small and large electrical goods. But not just in

these enterprises is th e re the th reat of a collective ageing of the wo r k fo rce. There

a re also entire trades which are th re a tened – not least in the cra ft trade secto r.

A sector which will be part i c u l a r ly affe c ted in the near future is the ro o fing tra d e .

( Fig. 5)

In order to avoid these possible consequences, the reasons behind the massive

m i gration of the over 35 ye a r-olds need to be identified and if possible elimina-

ted. The results from Group 2 clearly demonst ra te that the reasons lie pre d o m i-

n a n t ly in the fact that the occupation as ro o fe r, under current working and

o rganisational conditions, can only be carried out for a limited duration. Un d e r

c u rrent conditions, for many wo r ke rs it cannot be practised for more than 20 to

30 ye a rs because of physical wear and te a r. This is also where an appro a ch fo r

p reve n t i ve and corre c t i ve measures in the area of work and organisational plan-

ning is to be sought which are to d ay already urge n t ly in need of imp l e m e n ta t i o n .

2 1

Age - re l a ted wo r k fo rce segmenta t i o n

In enterprises with a high level of distribution of labour and specialisation, e.g.

in series assembly and soft wa re development in banks and insurance comp a n i e s ,

it was possible to identify defi n i te patte rns with re ga rd to reactions to pro b l e m s

w i th age and qu a l i fication st ru c t u re which are ve ry similar to each oth e r, despite

c o n s i d e rable diffe rences in the spectrum of re qu i rements, products, pro c e s s e s

and organisation. (Fig. 6)

Thus, for exa mple, in the series manufacturing of electrical equipment, amongst

a u tomobile subcontra c to rs, electrical household appliances, chemicals, auto-

mobile chassis, etc. and in companies with larger soft wa re departments (banks ,

i n s u rance companies) it could be observed that with re ga rd to product and

p rocess innovation, an age - re l a ted assignment of personnel and products and/

or processes took place. Age - re l a ted segmentation means that old products are

Fig. 5: Age st ru c t u re ot ro o fe rs (Regions: Aa chen, Essen, Cologne, Mülheim-

Oberhausen. 1993-95 mean values, Basis 13.490 emp l oyees) Source: Group 2

≤ 24ye a rs

2 5–3 4 3 5–4 4 4 5–5 4 ≥ 55

4 0 %

3 5 %

3 0 %

2 5 %

2 0 %

15 %

10 %

5 %

0 %2 4%

3 8%

2 0%

12%

6%

When examining the age st ru c t u re amongst the ro o fing fi rms inve st i ga ted, it

is conspicuous that almost two th i rd of the emp l oyees are under 35 ye a rs of

a ge whilst the age groups over 35 are far more we a k ly re p re s e n ted. Wi th 38%,

the age group of 25 to 34 ye a r-olds is part i c u l a r ly dominant. Assuming th a t

the migration of the over 35 ye a r-olds continues to the same degree over th e

next 10 ye a rs, then a massive shorta ge of new young wo r ke rs in this trade and

c o n s e qu e n t ly possible closure of some fi rms can be expected, if the pote n t i a l

of new young wo r ke rs continues to dro p .

2 2

m a n u fa c t u red with old production processes in the traditional manner of work

o rganisation by older emp l oyees or emp l oyees who have wo r ked for a longer

time in the comp a ny. Either already available yo u n ger qu a l i fied emp l oyees are

assigned to the new products with the new production processes and possibly

n ew type of work organisation or else new sta ff is re c ru i ted – above all in th e

a rea of soft wa re development. This appro a ch remains unp roblematic as long

as the perc e n ta ge of new and old products remains stable and matches the same

p e rc e n ta ges of yo u n ger and older emp l oyees in the wo r k fo rce. The short - te rm ra-

tionality of companies’ “age - re l a ted segmentation” patte rn of reacting and th e

l o n g - te rm consequences for the enterprise can be illust ra ted by way of exa mp l e

w i th a case study from an assembly fi rm.

In the exa mple fi rm, small electrical appliances of similar types have in the past

been manufa c t u red in mass or large series production. A large perc e n ta ge (about

2/3) of trained older emp l oyees (over 40 ye a rs old) who have been emp l oyed

in the fi rm for a long time (25 ye a rs and more) wo r ks in this area. The comp a ny

re a c ted to the gradual ch a n ges in market demands in the fo l l owing way: Those

yo u n ger and in its opinion more highly motiva ted, better qu a l i fied emp l oye e s

who we re also more ready to learn we re deployed on new, highly flexible assem-

b ly lines for products with a wide variety of types and varieties. As a result of th i s

selection on the basis of qu a l i fication, an age - re l a ted segmentation took place

at the same time.

In the sense of short - te rm optimisation, this was a ve ry rational reaction since

in this way changing market demands could be answe red without any major

c o sts for qu a l i fication measures and comp e t i t i veness also maintained. Due to

m a ny ye a rs of working in the short - c ycle tact of large series production, the older

e mp l oyees we re unused to learning, had lost part of their original qu a l i fi c a t i o n

A re a S e g m e n ta t i o n

Old pro d u c t s New pro d u c t s

A s s e m b ly older emp l oye e s yo u n ger emp l oye e s

t raditional fo rm of work n ew fo rm of wo r k

o rga n i s a t i o n on the basis o rga n i s a t i o n

of destribution of labour

S o ft wa re deve l o p m e n t older emp l oye e s yo u n ger emp l oye e s

older pro graming tools n ew pro gramming to o l s

Fig. 6: Age - l i n ked segmention (Source: Group 4)

2 3

and could not be deployed dire c t ly and without additional exte n s i ve qu a l i fi c a-

tion measures on the new systems. Howeve r, due to the depart u re of the yo u n ge r

sta ff, flexibility and qu a l i fication re s e r ves we re with d rawn from the area of large

series manufacturing. The result of this was that th e re we re considerable sta rt - u p

p roblems and quality deficits when the regular model ch a n ges took place.

In this enterprise too the management can already see that the product ra n ge

will gre a t ly increase and include far more variations and consequ e n t ly that th e

size of each series will considera b ly decrease. As a consequence, the area of large

series manufacturing with a high division of labour must be continuously subst i-

t u ted by small and more flexible systems which place higher demands on

e mp l oyees’ qu a l i fications. These systems must then be opera ted by the older

e mp l oyees who are unused to learning because th ey will remain in the fi rm due

to their long service re c o rd and cannot be replaced by new sta ff. The qu a l i fi c a-

tion measures re qu i red are th e re fo re only postponed and not annulled.

Similar segmentation patte rns as in the manufacturing sector we re also to be

found in the area of soft wa re development and are pre s e n ted below by means of

a typical exa mp l e .

In the EDP department of a comp a ny in the banking and insurance sector th e re

a re seve ral teams responsible for the further development and maintenance of

older soft wa re pro grammes. This work re qu i res older pro gramming language s

s u ch as Cobol. The teams, which primarily comprise older emp l oyees, adapt th e s e

p ro grammes to ch a n ges in business processes. The consequences of this task

l a sting many ye a rs are :

❯ a major degree of specialisation,

❯ an activity lasting many ye a rs with no ch a n ge in the demands placed on it,

❯ a high level of ro u t i n e ,

❯ little immanent motivation for learning, sta ff are unused to learn i n g ,

❯ d e c reasing flexibility towa rds new ta s ks ,

❯ i n te rnal isolation of these teams, scarc e ly any info rmal conta c t s .

When a decline in maintenance work occurs, those emp l oyees specialised in

m a i n taining older pro grammes cannot be dismissed due to their long service

re c o rd .

If th ey are tra n s fe rred to yo u n ger development teams with new products and

tools, th ey are not accepted without further ado because th ey :

2 4

❯ a re not dire c t ly deployable due to their antiqu a ted qu a l i fications,

❯ n eve rtheless earn more money because of their longer service re c o rd and

❯ a re accustomed to regular and planable working hours due to the high level of

routine of their work to date .

H ow can such specialisation traps be avoided? What is conceivable is the inte gra-

ted development of as well as responsibility for older and newer products with i n

a team. This however demands that yo u n ger and older soft wa re deve l o p e rs are

m i xed to ge ther from an early sta ge. Both age groups could in principle mutually

p ro fit from each other in that on the one hand the older emp l oyees adapt th e i r

qu a l i fications with the assistance of the yo u n ger sta ff in the work process and on

the other hand the yo u n ger emp l oyees are pro te c ted from exc e s s i ve demands in

te rms of time and mental pre s s u re. (Fig. 7)

The diffe rent qu a l i fications of yo u n ger and older emp l oyees can comp l e m e n t

e a ch other extre m e ly well. Successful innovations namely, as was shown by th e

case studies carried out, re qu i re a broad spectrum of qu a l i fications. They can just

as little do without the joy in experimenting more fre qu e n t ly to be found

a m o n g st yo u n ger sta ff as without the circumspection and quality awa re n e s s

m o re predominant amongst older emp l oyees. If an atte mpt is made to analys e

the diffe rent ta s ks invo lved in soft wa re production then it can be seen that

❯ for the analysis of the task and the design of the system, both the ideas of

yo u n ger sta ff as well as the circumspection and associative thinking of older

e mp l oyees are needed,

❯ for the design of individual modules, their encoding and te sting, yo u n ger em-

p l oyees are often better suited, especially if th ey can count on more experienced

colleagues if th e re is a pro b l e m ,

Possibilities to inte gra te Possibilities to inte gra te

experience via yo u n ger emp l oye e s experience via older emp l oye e s

New pro gramming language s Re a l i stic planning

of time and re s o u rc e s

New appro a ch e s Re a l i stic systems analys

High level of time commitment Social skills

w i th tendency towa rds self- Re s i stance towa rds

e x p l o i tation and ove rta x i n g u n re a l i stic deadlines

Fig. 7: Teams of mixed ages in soft wa re development (Source: Group 4)

2 5

❯ for indication and system te sting, older emp l oyees should in any case be invo lve d

a n d

❯ in the area of imp l e m e n tation as well above all as in afte r-sales service and

m a i n tenance it is a matter of experience and know l e d ge of customer pro b l e m s

w h i ch older emp l oyees possess more fre qu e n t ly than yo u n ger ones.

An age - re l a ted segmentation of products, processes or personnel, whether it

has been consciously invo ked or has crystallised uninte n t i o n a l ly, is thus only then

a p p ro p r i a te from a comp a ny’s point of view (not from the standpoint of occupa-

tional science) when the perc e n ta ges of old and new products remain stable ove r

the same period of time. In view of turbulent markets this is only like ly to apply in

the ra re st of cases. Thus an age - re l a ted segmentation of the wo r k fo rce can only

be re ga rded as an interim st ra tegy for an ente r p r i s e .

4

2 6

I n n ovation ability and ageing wo r k fo rc e s

” I n n ovation ability” encompasses a whole ra n ge of aspects. In the fo l l owing

section, the fo l l owing are examined more closely: Comp a ny innovation st ra te g i e s

and milieus, the conducive and re st r i c t i ve working conditions of innova t i ve core

groups, as well as the innovation ability of emp l oyees. Wi th re ga rd to age i n g

wo r k fo rces, above all the fo l l owing qu e stions arise:

❯ Can any correlation be identified between comp a ny innovation st ra tegies and

milieus and existing age st ru c t u res?

❯ H ow are innovation st ra tegies and milieus co-ord i n a ted with a comp a ny’s

p e rsonnel st ra te g i e s ?

❯ What status does the working environment have for the innovation ability of

yo u n ger and older emp l oye e s ?

❯ What role do the working conditions of innova t i ve core groups play ?

C e rtain innovation patte rns lead to age - s e l e c t i ve personnel st ra te g i e s

M a ny enterprises pursue a personnel policy which does not openly put older

e mp l oyees at a disadva n ta ge, yet st ra tegies can be recognised which have

p re c i s e ly this effect. Demands are derived from the comp a ny’s innovation policy

w h i ch give pre fe rence to certain individual age groups with re ga rd to re c ru i t-

ment, qu a l i fication and allocation of authority since specific ch a ra c te r i stics

a re attributed to specific age gro u p s .

❯ E n terprises with a highly dynamic innovation process focus their personnel policy

on yo u n ger sta ff from whom it is expected that th ey on the one hand can maste r

this dynamism and on the other hand offer less re s i stance towa rds heavy wo r k-

loads and we e kend working and at the same time are more flexible in te rms

of time and space. The pre fe rence towa rds yo u n ger emp l oyees as an imp o rtant

s o u rce of impetus in the innovation process is often accompanied by a lower

claim to perfection and qu a l i t y.

❯ The striving for continuity and the focus on gradual innovation lead to know- h ow

gained from experience in the areas of development and design and thus also

the higher age of those invo lved being valued positive ly. At the same time, older

e mp l oyees are sooner cre d i ted with being able to master complex processes

and to hold their ground in chaotic situations.

❯ An absence of development possibilities leads to older emp l oyees being shut out fro m

qu a l i fication measures. As a consequence th ey are unable to keep their know- h ow and

skills up-to - d a te so that th ey are excluded due to their “declining innovation ability”.

2 7

Age - s e l e c t i ve criteria already play a major role to d ay in decisions about re c ru i t-

ment, qu a l i fication and allocation of re s p o n s i b i l i t y. A clear and self-dete rm i n e d

i n n ovation st ra tegy and an unequ i vocal management appro a ch st re n g then th e

i n n ovation potential of an enterprise and of its emp l oyees. A comp a ny’s success

is dependent on an intact social climate which ta kes into consideration the needs

and idiosyncrasies of the various members of the wo r k fo rce, conveys a sure hand

when taking action (e.g. by to l e rating mista kes) and provides open communica-

tion st ru c t u res which permit the mediation of know l e d ge in a pro b l e m - o r i e n te d

and ta rge ted manner within the concre te work situation. Howeve r, the divul-

gence of know- h ow based on experience which ensures the individual emp l oyee

a know l e d ge monopoly and a position of power is always risky for the person

c o n c e rned, since he then loses his “indispensability”.

The subord i n a ted role of personnel management in the innovation pro c e s s

Pe rsonnel management as an exe c u t i ve organ of comp a ny management is

ge n e ra l ly entru sted with the organisational imp l e m e n tation of personnel re qu i re-

ments and qu a l i fication measures, itself however possesses only a limited scope

for action. The fra m ework for its personnel re c ruitment activities is sta ked out on

the one hand by fo rmal re qu i rements and on the other hand by unspecific social

ch a ra c te r i stics. The fact is emphasised again and again that new emp l oyees must

“ fit in” with the enterprise and the candidates should bring with them the

readiness to anticipate the existing comp a ny and innovation culture. Thus in

p a rticular social and communicative skills play a predominant role aside fro m

p ro fessional abilities. At the same time the positive fe a t u res of teams of mixe d

a ge groups are emphasised yet without the majority of enterprises drawing th e

n e c e s s a ry consequences from this when fashioning pro c e d u res and fo rm i n g

teams. Problems of ageing in companies’ wo r k fo rces which are especially con-

c e rned with the qu a l i ta t i ve adjustment of personnel do not re p resent an indepen-

dent personnel topic in enterprises but ra ther one which runs alongside and

w h i ch is explicitly or imp l i c i t ly closely linked to other personnel matte rs such as

“ group work”, for exa mple, or “know- h ow tra n s fe r ” .

A direct exclusion of those older applicants sometimes ta kes place who appear to

be less “malleable”. In particular ve ry dynamic enterprises indulge in a comp l e te-

ly unconcealed manner in the yo u th credo that the “inexperienced” can be more

e a s i ly inte gra ted into the existing environment. Pe rsonnel development measure s

a re in ge n e ral not imp l e m e n ted for emp l oyees over 40 ye a rs old. Enterprises

to d ay still ra re ly pursue new personnel and qu a l i fication st ra tegies which are

m o re closely dire c ted at the positive inte raction of the ge n e rations.

2 8

Older emp l oyees: An obstacle to innovation or an asset?

Older emp l oyees are not an obstacle to innovation, on the contra ry: In many

e n terprises th ey are an asset to the innovation process. In order for emp l oyees’

i n n ovation ability to come commensura te ly to fruition, enterprises need a

s u i table innovation policy where by deciding fa c to rs are their market activities,

the personality of the entre p reneur and the organisation of the innovation

p rocess which to ge ther fall under the te rm “innovation milieu” (Group 5).

T h e re is absolute ly no evidence of the fact that the ability to part i c i p a te

p ro d u c t i ve ly in innovation processes declines with increasing age. The fact th a t

groups within the wo r k fo rce concerned with innovation tend to be older

than the wo r k fo rce ove rall, that older emp l oyees not only contribute to the in-

n ovation process their experience and skills in the area of practical realisation

but are – much more so than their yo u n ger colleagues – the ones with the ideas,

that only ve ry ra re ly are adjustment problems amongst older emp l oyees in view

of new innovation te chnologies re p o rted, underlines that neither for product

nor for process innovation is age of any major significance. This applies for

all innovation patte rns with the exception of explicitly anti-age models which

wa ger on acceleration, yo u th and the unloading of innovation risks onto the

e mp l oye e s .

C o n d u c i ve and re st r i c t i ve working conditions for innovation core gro u p s

Skilled wo r ke rs, the mid-field between commerc i a l / te chnical inte l l i gentsia and

e n g i n e e rs, count amongst the innova t i ve core groups. Imp roved co-operation

b e t ween various departments, hiera rchical levels and individuals is incre a s i n gly

re ga rded, in particular in large enterprises, as a pre-condition for the imp ro-

vement of innovation ability. By contra st, sudden ch a n ges to specifications at

a late sta ge in a project and the large number of projects to be carried out at

the same time – combined with time pre s s u re and the associated deadlines –

come to the fo re f ront as re stricting barr i e rs. By means of invo lving seve ral or-

ganisational units in larger enterprises, product development, for exa mple,

and other projects always bring with them a high level of complexity of re s o u rc e s

to be co-ord i n a ted. Due to the distribution of responsibilities, the result is th e n

c o n flict between project and line activities. A further critical fa c tor which is

o ften a central topic in product development is market re l evance and custo m e r

n e a rness.

These obstacles to innovation are however we i g h ted diffe re n t ly by yo u n ger and

older innova to rs: Whilst an absence of st ra tegic info rmation and insufficient

f u rther training opportunities (for reasons of cost or time) are put at the fo re f ro n t

by both age groups, older emp l oyees place more emphasis on inadequ a te per-

sonnel capacity, lack of customer orientation (including insufficient info rm a t i o n

2 9

f rom custo m e rs) and the absence of any appreciation of their own work. For

yo u n ger emp l oyees, decisions fo rced on them by oth e rs and too little scope for

independent action re p resent a gre a ter hindra n c e .

Small and medium-sized enterprises differ marke d ly from the innovation patte rn

to be found in large companies. Their innovation process is ra ther more “under-

st ru c t u red” but at the same time far more compelling than that in a large ente r-

prise. The R&D function and nurturing of the te chnology in qu e stion fre qu e n t ly

re p resents the essential lifeblood in small and medium-sized industrial ente r-

prises. That is why it is often not even embodied in a separa te department but is

the ve ry heart of entre p reneurial activity. The lines of diffe rentiation between

d evelopment and manufacturing, between product and process development and

b e t ween market and innovation policy are only we a k ly defined, in principle th e

e n t i re small or medium-sized enterprise is an innovation network. In many

i n stances innovation is still “the boss’s business”. The most ly older entre p re n e u rs

or manage rs are the inspiration and impetus behind the innovation process who

keep their wo r k fo rces on the go with new ideas and often not qu i te ripe sugge s-

tions for pro j e c t s .

This type of innovation management cre a tes an innovation milieu which is

ch a ra c terised by the fact that the innovation process is not locked up in depart-

ments but is the responsibility of a broad team of emp l oyees. Innovation is th e n

not understood as a special activity of selected emp l oyees but ra ther as a pro c e s s

w h i ch is const i t u ted via social exch a n ge beyond depart m e n tal and comp a ny

boundaries and via mutual learning from each oth e r. The pre-condition for

successful “cro s s - fe rtilisation” is the entre p reneur’s or management’s tru st in th e

d i ffe rent innovation potential of all emp l oyees, of the yo u n ge r, the middle-age d

and of the older.

E mp l oyees’ innovation ability: Not a qu e stion of age

E mp l oyees’ innovation ability results from the re c i p rocal relationship between

individual pre re qu i s i tes (cre a t i v i t y, experience) and conducive or re st r i c t i ve

c i rc u m stances. This has considerable consequences for a comp a ny’s orga n i s a-

tional and personnel development, leadership and innovation manage m e n t .

D i ffe rences in the innova t i ve behaviour between older and yo u n ger emp l oye e s

a re however not a qu e stion of biological age(ing), th ey are ro o ted far more in

❯ the differing experience (in particular from innovation processes) and diffe re n t

k n ow- h ow (gained from experience), as well as

❯ the diffe rent and va r i o u s ly long impact made by comp a ny st ru c t u res and pro c e s-

ses and in the social status ach i eved and to be defended.

The experience with innovation ga th e red by older emp l oyees in the course of

3 0

their career biogra p hy has a major influence on their innovation ability. The more

n e ga t i ve the experience is, the more re s e r vations people have about part i c i p a t i n g

in further processes of ch a n ge. The incre a s i n gly rapid re n ewal of products and

the associated st ru c t u ral ch a n ges have however also re s u l ted in th e re being less

demand for know- h ow gained from experience than in the past and for this know-

h ow thus remaining unused. Older emp l oyees experience this as a devaluation of

their qu a l i fi c a t i o n .

Older emp l oyees are additionally awa re that the innovations of to d ay are to m o r-

row antiqu a ted. For this reason too th ey are part ly more hesitant and enqu i r i n g ,

h ave a keener – in the opinion of oth e rs complicating – eye for problems. Afte r

all, with each innovation old values and one’s own working and personal perfo r-

mance are put into qu e stion and revalued. Older emp l oyees have also most ly

experienced failed innovations and could contribute to drawing the necessary

conclusion from this. Yo u n ger emp l oyees are ge n e ra l ly equipped with the ve ry

l a te st know- h ow and in this respect areat an adva n ta ge comp a red to their older

colleagues – part i c u l a r ly when the further training opportunities of the latte r

group we re or are re st r i c ted. As a consequence, in certain high-te ch areas older

e mp l oyees as innova to rs are scarc e ly re p re s e n ted. No n theless, the know- h ow

gained from experience would defi n i te ly be imp o rta n t :

❯ K n ow- h ow gained from experience about processes and about the comp a ny

( i mp o rtant for process safety) is part i c u l a r ly useful and cannot be ach i eved by

yo u n ger emp l oyees on the same scale or in as much deta i l .

❯ K n ow- h ow gained from experience is especially then in demand when sch o l a st i c

and th e o retical know l e d ge or an analytical appro a ch no longer helps and “com-

plex know l e d ge and ability” are re qu i re d .

❯ K n ow- h ow gained from experience assists in the search for problem solutions and

in choosing the right path to ta ke .

I n n ova t i ve enterprises fo l l ow various ways of combining the diffe rent know- h ow

of yo u n ger and older emp l oyees and of mobilising an exch a n ge between the

ge n e rations. But in addition the “functioning in we l l - t rodden paths” or a “blind-

ness to eve ry thing outside the comp a ny” are not the inev i table consequence of

social ageing in an enterprise. In so far as new learning and learning by means of

ch a n ge is practised in the organisation concerned, older emp l oyees can active ly

shape organisational ch a n ge in the same way as all other groups in a wo r k fo rc e .

The role of the working enviro n m e n t

T h e re is no exact arsenal of “conditions” in an enterprise needed to guara n te e

the innovation ability of the emp l oyees. But a working environment which

d i s p l ays the ch a ra c te r i stics named below is conducive to innova t i ve behav i o u r :

3 1

❯ Working environments in which know l e d ge can grow and new appro a ches

d evelop

❯ Working environments where a linking of “old” know- h ow and new is possible

❯ D i ve rs i fied and challenging wo r k

❯ C o - o p e ra t i ve leadership and invo lve m e n t

❯ Independence and free scope (areas in which to experiment)

❯ A working environment which fo rg i ves mista kes

❯ A culture of tru st towa rds emp l oye e s

❯ Tra n s p a rent inte rnal pro c e d u re s

❯ A stimulating and open climate (stimuli from outside as well as with i n )

❯ Ta rge ted exch a n ge between the ge n e rations in the ente r p r i s e

❯ Purpose of the ta rge ted innovation is comp re h e n s i b l e

❯ O p p o rtunity for and encoura gement of permanent tra i n i n g

Access to individual “innova t i ve potential” can be re n d e red difficult or even

p reve n ted by inte rnalised social and comp a ny ste reotypes of yo u n ger and older

(e.g. yo u n ger = innova to rs, older = experienced). The future belongs to those

e n terprises which, aside from innovation in the areas of te chnology and info rm a-

tion, at the same time nurt u re and develop their human potential. These are so

far however in the minority.

5

3 2

Solutions in pra c t i c e

H ow does management in enterprises in which evident ageing processes have

ta ken place or are becoming apparent for the future react to this development?

It often fails to perc e i ve the st ru c t u ral ch a n ge in the ages or to turn it into a con-

c re te issue, instead it is ignored. Early re t i rement on a large scale in recent ye a rs

has even enticed management in many cases to assume that their enterprise has

been re j u ve n a ted. If one observes the development of the age st ru c t u re in th e

e n terprise as a whole, then this opinion proves in many instances to be a mis-

a p p rehension, as the fo l l owing exa mple shows :

A s ked about the development in age st ru c t u re in their enterprise, personnel

m a n a ge rs pro u d ly pointed out the re j u venation of the wo r k fo rce th a n ks to a skil-

led use of early re t i rement and part-time work for older sta ff. They we re ge n e ra l ly

u n familiar with current comp a ny fi g u res. Thus th ey we re all the more surprised

when the personnel data was eva l u a ted. This revealed that the ave ra ge age in

the enterprise had risen by 1.5 ye a rs over the last two ye a rs alone and – under

c o n s i d e ration of pro tection from dismissal and length of service – would rise at a

c o mp a rable ra te in the next 5 to 10 ye a rs .

H ow in future to manage emp l oyees’ transition into re t i rement – from what age

o n wa rds and in what fo rm – is the only qu e stion curre n t ly discussed and nego-

t i a ted in enterprises in any depth. Wi th the new legal regulations which have

applied since 1996 (e.g. part-time work for older emp l oyees), the early re t i re m e n t

policy widely practised up until then by large enterprises, where entire age

groups went into re t i rement from a certain age (fre qu e n t ly at 57), has re a ched its

limit. Since then early re t i rement is linked to major financial losses for the

e mp l oyee. In the fra m ework of the new laws, in particular the law on part - t i m e

e mp l oyment for older persons, new ways are now being sought where emp l oye e s

can continue to go into re t i rement long befo re th ey re a ch the official re t i re m e n t

a ge. At the fo re f ront of the discussion are political objectives with re ga rd to em-

p l oyment. It is primarily a matter of cutting back sta ff in a way which is “socially

a c c e p table”, of re c ruiting new young emp l oyees or of taking on apprentices and

t ra i n e e s .

One reason why demographic ch a n ge is scarc e ly a matter for discussion even in

l a rge enterprises lies in the fact that companies’ personnel planning is ge n e ra l ly

ch a ra c terised by a time horizon of a maximum th ree ye a rs. A reaction can only

then be expected when the “problem is acute”, in our context that means when

older emp l oyees do not fulfil (any m o re) the demands placed upon them. The

5. 1

3 3

reason for this can be, for exa mple, that the know- h ow of the persons concern e d

is no longer up-to - d a te or that th ey are unused to learning, that their health is

i mp a i red or th ey are not fit and motiva ted enough to keep up with rising perfo r-

mance re qu i rements. At this point in time it is then often too late to ta ke any

a p p ro p r i a te counte ra c t i o n .

T h e re is no sta n d a rd recipe for shaping work – ta s ks, personnel deployment and

working hours – in a way which does justice to the ageing process, but th e re is a

l a rge number of diffe rent appro a ches and measures. Which path is the “right”

and practicable one for an enterprise depends on the initial concre te para m e te rs

in a comp a ny, the problems and the conditions for action. In view of constant

i n n ovations and increasing fl e x i b i l i t y, a gre a ter fundamental social awa reness

towa rds the topic of ageing would be imp o rtant on the basis of which aspects of

a geing are ta ken into consideration again and again in various contexts in th e

ongoing process of work planning and personnel deploy m e n t .

As long as comp a ny st ra tegies are ta rge ted exc l u s i ve ly at short - te rm increases

in re t u rn and at rationalisation, “age - re l a ted work planning” out of necessity

remains an illusion. Such st ra tegies however harm the enterprise itself in the long

te rm as exa mples of misunderstood “lean management” show: Problems with

i n a d e qu a te planning capacities and a shorta ge of qu a l i fied sta ff we re the re s u l t

of exc e s s i ve sta ff cutbacks. Successful exa mples in a whole number of ente r p r i s e s

c o n fi rm that despite all economic const raints, scope exists for age - re l a ted wo r k

and emp l oyment policies.

Age - re l a ted shaping of work and orga n i s a t i o n

What is imp o rtant is to act in a preve n t i ve and thus age - o r i e n ted manner befo re

“ a ge problems” arise. Ideally it is a matter of fashioning the work and emp l oy-

ment situation and of encouraging emp l oyees in such a way that their perfo r-

mance potential is shown to adva n ta ge th roughout the entire course of their

working life and is also sustained and further developed. This re qu i res – apart

f rom the appro p r i a te te chnical equipment – to an equal degree qu a l i fication and

h e a l th measures and social re c o g n i t i o n :

❯ Q u a l i fication and work deployment: The trend towa rds a know l e d ge society is un-

b ro ken, ta s ks and demands are changing ever fa ster as te chnical and economic

ch a n ge pro gresses – even to d ay know l e d ge is calculated in te rms of “half-live s ”

of at most fi ve to ten ye a rs. At the same time the demand for low- qu a l i fied sta ff

is dropping. Pe rmanent vocational training is th e re fo re necessary in order to se-

c u re deployment possibilities and emp l oyment opportunities for older emp l oye e s

3 4

th roughout their entire working biogra p hy. Howeve r, these measures should not

be exhausted with qu a l i fication measures. It is far more the case that emp l oye e s

should also be deployed in such a way that th ey can contribute and develop th e i r

skills and continuously familiarise th e m s e lves in their work itself with new deve-

lopments and methods. Age - o r i e n ted career concepts, ro tation models or types

of group and team work which support qu a l i fication are aimed in this dire c t i o n .

❯ P romoting good health: Whilst the ageing process as such does not have any

re l evant influence on a person’s occupational perfo rmance up until his 60’s,

( ch ronic) illnesses can lead to dra stic losses or even the comp l e te loss of wo r k i n g

a b i l i t y. Ab ove all the typical illnesses “muscle and ske l e tal complaints” and

“ h e a rt and circ u l a to ry diseases” fre qu e n t ly occur with increasing age. They cre e p

up over the ye a rs where by natural processes of wear and te a r, wo r k – re l a ted infl u-

ences and influences resulting from individual life style all add up. In order to les-

sen health risks in old age it is th e re fo re imp o rtant to encoura ge and to mainta i n

good health in yo u n ger ye a rs. Encoura gement of good health by enterprises can

e n c o mpass a wide ra n ge of measures, e.g. ergonomic workplaces and work

s ystems, reduction of st ress fa c to rs in the working environment, training in ways

of working which pro tect health or a planning of working hours which is less

b u rdensome and at the same time ta kes into consideration personal needs.

❯ Social recognition: It should not after all remain unmentioned that a lack of

social recognition, discoura gement or disappointed career expectations can lead

to crises about an individual’s purpose, inner resignation and limited deploy m e n t

❯ C a reer shaping

❯ Pe rsonal deploy m e n t

❯ Planning of working hours

❯ Pe rfo rmance and

re n u re ration policy

❯ work place economics

❯ s u p p o rt of health

❯ f u rther tra i n i n g

❯ Social Re c o g n i t i o n

Fig.8: Measures of fashion work which respect the ageing process

( S o u rce: Group 3)

P re s e r vation and

e n c o u ra gement of

❯ H e a l th

❯ Q u a l i fi c a t i o n

❯ M o t i va t i o n

❯ C a re e r}

3 5

possibilities for older emp l oyees, e.g. when emp l oyees “remain st u ck” over a long

period in a job which th ey find unsatisfying and can see for th e m s e lves no

o p p o rtunities for further development. Or when older emp l oyees are confro n te d

w i th the fact that th ey are attributed with lesser skills due to their age. Typical

e xa mples for this are when older customer service sta ff in the area of EDP are not

thought capable of being familiar with the late st developments or it is insinuate d

that older haird re s s e rs cannot do modern hairstyles. (Fig. 8)

What is necessary is that short - te rm optimisation st ra tegies in personnel policy

a re ove rcome and thus at the same time long-te rm cost / b e n e fit considera t i o n s

ta ken into account in comp a ny policy. The pre re qu i s i te for this continues to be

that the long-te rm pre s e r vation of the emp l oyability and emp l oyment opport u-

nities of emp l oyees as th ey grow older is also understood as an objective of entre-

p reneurial action. Demographic ch a n ge furth e rm o re means that it is a good idea

to commit other groups outside the enterprise (people in hidden re s e r ves, e.g.

during mate rnity leave) to the enterprise by means of suitable measure s .

An age - o r i e n ted way of shaping work is also a human-oriented way

A fa r- s i g h ted fashioning of work must be ta rge ted at encouraging the mental and

p hysical effiency of emp l oyees th roughout the course of their (working) life and

at exploiting the specific perfo rmance offe red by emp l oyees as th ey grow older to

a far gre a ter degree than to date. What must be observed here above all are :

❯ the mental and physiological perfo rmance pre re qu i s i te s ,

❯ the possibilities of a type of work and personnel deployment planning which

p re s e r ves and develops a person’s qu a l i fi c a t i o n s ,

❯ the potential of an early inte gration of planning principles in te rms of occupa-

tional science into the work system planning pro c e s s .

What must be ta ken into consideration in the process is the fact that each time

a job is perfo rmed, in the medium to long te rm and depending on what is deman-

ded, a person’s physical and mental efficiency ch a n ges as a result of tra i n i n g ,

l e a rning or however also as a result of dete r i o ration processes. Thus work should

be designed in such a way that both a wide dive rsity of alte rnating body positi-

ons and movements as well as a variety of changing mental demands are needed

to deal with the work task in qu e stion. Sta n d a rdised inst ruments for the design of

work systems in manufacturing which ta ke into account human needs do indeed

e x i st and are already being applied successfully in a short ve rsion suitable for use

in practice without exte rnal support.

In many instances atte mpts are made, by means of creating “comfo rtable” jobs or

s ystems, to permit the further deployment of older emp l oyees whose level of per-

fo rmance has alte red. In the area of manufacturing it is undoubte d ly appro p r i a te

5. 2

3 6

to adapt the physical demands to the perfo rmance ability of the emp l oyees de-

p l oyed by designing workplaces erg o n o m i c a l ly and equipping them with lift i n g

d evices. However it is fre qu e n t ly the case that too many of the physical demands

a re eliminated so that as a result of not using the potential which those emp l oy-

ees still have, further losses in perfo rmance are produced. Simp ly adapting wo r k

s ystems to already existing wear and tear can cement bad working conditions. As

an alte rn a t i ve, solutions must be developed which are gra d u a l ly more demanding.

Team work in m i xed age gro u p s

In the discussion about how to succeed in emp l oying personnel in manufa c t u r i n g

in old age too and how emp l oyees whose abilities have ch a n ged can be re - i n te-

gra ted, team or group work in groups of mixed ages as an organisational fo rm is

o ften re ga rded by scientists and comp a ny manage rs as the instant recipe. It is

assumed that the yo u n ger emp l oyees lessen the load for their older colleagues

w i th re ga rd to heavy physical labour whilst on the other hand the older sta ff

s u p p o rt the yo u n ger ones with their experience. Such an understanding of te a m

work in mixed age groups would have disast rous consequ e n c e s .

From experience, the danger exists in teams of mixed age groups that too high a

d e gree of distribution of labour and specialisation evo lves due to short - te rm

i n te rnal atte mpts at optimisation. This is not just the case in the area of manu-

facturing but can equ a l ly be found in project, re s e a rch and development gro u p s .

The trend towa rds such a type of distribution of labour – because of its adva n-

ta ges in the short te rm – can be found in many working groups, as the fo l l ow i n g

e xa mple shows. (Fig. 9)

In the components assembly department of an agr i c u l t u ral mach i n e ry manufa c-

t u re r, both yo u n ger and older emp l oyees are deployed. They organise their gro u p

work th e m s e lves, the distribution of labour is the responsibility of the gro u p .

A l though fo rm a l ly speaking the group has ach i eved a high level of qu a l i fi c a t i o n ,

e a ch member of the group perfo rms those sub-ta s ks which he maste rs most

qu i ck ly and effi c i e n t ly. The result is the fo l l owing distribution of labour: The

yo u n ger emp l oyees primarily carry out the assembly ta s ks, the older members of

the team are responsible for the more complex sub-ta s ks (te sting, adjusting,

re - working) because of their experience and because of “established rights”. Thus

in principle each member of the team is deployed so that he makes his optimum

contribution to ove rall group perfo rm a n c e .

Since the simpler ta s ks in the fi rst instance demand physical st re n g th, dexte r i t y

3 7

and speed from the yo u n ger emp l oyees, the physical pre re qu i s i tes are susta i n e d

or even broadened by means of a training effect. What is however not demanded

a re the existing specialist qu a l i fications of these emp l oyees. Because of the more

c o mplex ta s ks, it is to be assumed that amongst the group of older and more

experienced sta ff their existing qu a l i fications, experience and ability to learn can

be sustained or even developed furth e r. H oweve r, for the group as a whole and fo r

the work system, it is to be assumed that in the medium te rm th e re will be a more

i n te n s i fied polarisation of qu a l i fication, experience and learning ability towa rd s

the older emp l oyees and of physical capabilities, st re n g th and dexterity towa rd s

the yo u n ger sta ff. Vi ewed ove rall, the type of distribution of labour selected re-

sults in a low level of flexibility in te rms of personnel deployment. When emp l oy-

ees with a specialist qu a l i fication are absent, for exa mple on holiday or ill, th e

additional result is quality and productivity pro b l e m s .

Various st ra tegies are curre n t ly to be found in the area of manufacturing. There

a re companies which sta ke their bets on young “Oly mpic teams” and oth e rs

w h i ch are careful to see that their work groups contain a balanced age mix. As

p ractice shows, a few basic conditions must be fulfilled so that stable team wo r k

w i th mixed age groups is possible.

G roup logic

Q u a l i fi c a t i o n

d e m a n d s

I mp a c t s

Fig. 9: Team work in mixed group on manufacturing assembly line

( S o u rce: Group 4)

E a ch team member perfo rms the task

he maste rs fa ste st and best

Yo u n ger

s i mple sub-ta s ks

w i th high physical

d e m a n d s

❯ P re s e r vation or dete r i o-

ration of physical sta te

❯ No building up

of experience

❯ Decline in initial

qu a l i fi c a t i o n

❯ D rop in ability to learn

O l d e r

M o re complex sub-

ta s ks with demands

on experience

❯ D rop in physical

e ffi c i e n c y

❯ m e n tal ove r- e xe rt i o n

❯ P re s e r vation of exist i n g

qu a l i fications and

abilities to learn

3 8

❯ A team with mixed age groups must in principle ach i eve the same perfo rm a n c e

(units/time) as a team of young emp l oyees of homogenous age. If this is not th e

case, then the management will exe rt pre s s u re on the group which often trigge rs

i n te rnal conflicts between older and yo u n ger sta ff. Such conflicts are more like ly

to occur when variable re m u n e ration fa c to rs such as bonuses are based on gro u p

p e rfo rm a n c e .

❯ It must be possible to comp e n s a te for possible limitations in physical perfo rm a n-

ce with experience, pro b l e m - s o lving ability and planning skills. This means th e

group’s task may not be reduced to a simple carrying out of activities. Ac t i v i t i e s

w h i ch are primarily a simple “carrying out”, that is, which demand sequences of

m ovements learnt off by heart and menta l ly auto m a ted, are thus scarc e ly suita b l e

for team work in mixed age gro u p s .

The fo l l owing exa mple demonst ra tes how team work in mixed age groups is also

possible in tact work on assembly lines. (Fig. 10 )

The assembly system in a vehicle fa c to ry comprises an assembly line with ta c t

work and a pre - a s s e m b ly area with individual work stations separa te from th e

line. 70% of the work within this work system ta kes place on the line and 30% in

the pre - a s s e m b ly area. In order to allow for dive rsity in the physical and menta l

load, it is necessary that regular job ro tation ta kes place in the pre - a s s e m b ly wo r k

stations and in those planning activities independent of tact(e.g. materials

s u p p ly ) .

When group work was introduced, it was the management’s declared objective to

design a highly flexible work system which should be a match for future demands

on the increasing complexity and variety of components. Emp l oyees flexibility in

te rms of deployment should th e re fo re be so great that in principle each emp l oye e

should master eve ry activity within the group’s task. That is why the group was

g i ven a budget from the outset for basic and further training. In addition, a re m u-

n e ration scheme was developed to ge ther with the group which included a bonus

for proven regular ro tation as an incentive for ro tation th rough all the sub-ta s ks

in the group. This bonus was sta g ge red according to the perc e n ta ge ra te of th e

group task maste re d .

By means of regular ro tation th rough all the sub-ta s ks in the group and re c i p ro-

cal exch a n ge of experience within the work process, existing physical and menta l

p e rfo rmance pre re qu i s i tes can be sustained and even broadened for all members

in the group. Thus the emp l oyees can pre s e r ve their existing physical condition

and skills and also expand them by building up know- h ow from experience. Thus

when introducing team or group work, a budget should be made available for

5. 3

3 9

a p p ro p r i a te basic training. Only when time is available are an exch a n ge of

experience and learning within the work process possible. In order to ensure th a t

ro tation th roughout all group sub-ta s ks actually occurs, suitable incentives (e.g.

via re m u n e ration) are necessary.

Shaping c a reer path s

When shaping career paths it is a matter of allowing the demands, the incentive s

and the pre s s u re within a working life to fo l l ow each other in a specific order so

Fig 10: Team work in mixed age groups on manufacturing/ assembly line

( S o u rce: Group 4)

A s s e m b ly taem with dispositive ta s ks

S e p a ra te

p re - a s s e m b ly

A s s e m b ly

l i n e

❯ S ystematic ro ta t i o n

❯ E xch a n ge of experience

❯ S ystematic Qualifi c a t i o n

❯ D i s p o s i t i ve demands

❯ S u staining and broadering

of physical and mental

p e rfo rmance pre re qu i s i te s

❯ Pe rsonal fl e x i b i l i t y

❯ Work system with learning

and innovating ability

4 0

that pre m a t u re wear and tear to health is counte ra c ted and the motivation and

the perfo rmance potential of emp l oyees are encoura ged. Because traditional

c a reer and promotion paths are incre a s i n gly blocked due to flat hiera rchies and

a geing wo r k fo rces, new paths which allow a ch a n ge of jobs within an ente r p r i s e

m u st be planned and established in a ta rge ted way, where by the possibilities to

ch a n ge jobs on a horizontal dimension are coming more and more to the fo re-

f ront. The individual ta s ks in an enterprise are ge n e ra l ly accompanied by ve ry dif-

fe rent work loads and demands. Wi th respect to age, some of these are re ga rd e d

as critical, oth e rs ra ther as unp roblematic. The principle pre re qu i s i te for shaping

a career biogra p hy in a way which respects the ageing process would th e re fo re

o ften exist – when observed from the aspect of a comp a ny’s demand st ru c t u re .

In a mechanical engineering comp a ny observed here by way of exa mple, the

p roblem of ageing is already immediate ly acute: Large sections of the manufa c-

turing department such as assembly and the welding department are re ga rded

as critical in te rms of the age of the wo r ke rs, not just in view of the physical de-

mands of the work but also because of the accomp a nying high demands on per-

fo rmance: The piece-work and the dependency of jobs on each other mean that if

one person wo r ks more slow ly, then this immediate ly leads to lower pay for his

colleagues. In view of these work demands in manufacturing many emp l oye e s

a ged over 45 we re categorised by their superiors as “too old” or as “not effi c i e n t

enough”, where by it should be re m e m b e red that over 30 percent of all emp l oye e s

in indust ry aver 46 ye a rs old or ove r.

Since management was no longer able to solve the problems which arose with

the decline in perfo rmance of some of the older emp l oyees within the depart-

ment, the personnel department examined the perfo rmance potential of the

p e rsons invo lved and on the basis of this initiated the setting up of a new field of

business to which the older emp l oyees we re tra n s fe rred. This is a customer service

d e p a rtment for the servicing and maintenance of special equipment manufa c t u-

red by the fi rm. In this service department, which is closely linked to pro d u c t i o n ,

the older emp l oyees can contribute to adva n ta ge the pro fessional experience

gained from their manufacturing background. Since in the new department hour-

ly ra tes are paid and physical st ress does not play any role wo rth mentioning, th i s

type of ch a n ge of job can be re ga rded as one which respects the ageing pro c e s s .

In the case of this comp a ny, the ageing processes which have ta ken place and th e

p roblems caused as a result have trigge red a cre a t i ve search within the manage-

ment for possible ways to cope with these problems. New jobs we re cre a ted fo r

some of the older emp l oyees at least where th ey no longer count as being only

p a rt ly efficient but instead as being fully efficient. This type of personnel deve-

4 1

lopment planning – aside from the existing demand for the new services – is

h owever linked to a number of conditions which have perm i t ted or encoura ged

its imp l e m e n tation in practice: The older emp l oyees are moving in a group into

an area of work new ly cre a ted especially for them. As experienced and skilled

e mp l oyees th ey are for the most part bringing with them the qu a l i fications

needed for the new ta s ks. And their tra n s fer is not combined with any fi n a n c i a l

l o s s .

Women are qu i te often in a sta rting position comp l e te ly diffe rent to the one

described. Now as befo re th ey most ly carry out specific jobs (a labour market

s e gre ga ted according to sex). Their working lives, ch a ra c terised by more fre qu e n t

changing of jobs, inte rruptions to their care e rs due to fa m i ly reasons and part -

time work, ge n e ra l ly fo l l ow a diffe rent patte rn to those of men.

❯ M a ny typically female pro fessions are ch a ra c terised by an extre m e ly young age

st ru c t u re (haird re s s e rs, re c e p t i o n i sts, nurs e ry school te a ch e rs) in which women

at the same time most ly work for only a short period. These are often so-called

“dead end jobs”: Ac c o rding to a survey amongst emp l oyment bro ke rs, it is just as

d i fficult to find jobs for 40 ye a r-old haird re s s e rs as for men of the same age in

occupations which are part i c u l a r ly phys i c a l ly st renuous, such as in the building

t rade, for exa mp l e .

❯ C a reer inte rruptions and ch a n ges in occupation, e.g. after mate rnity leave, have

a l ways been widespread amongst women. Usual career patte rns, e.g. fi rst tra i-

ning and then work in a “female occupation”, then setting up a fa m i ly fo l l owe d

by semi-skilled emp l oyment in indust ry or an office job, are incre a s i n gly diffi c u l t

to ach i eve due to ch a n ges in the emp l oyment market situation and the re c ru i t-

ment attitude of ente r p r i s e s .

❯ At the same time women are invo lved to a far lesser degree than men in vo c a t i o-

nal and inte rnal comp a ny further training measures which could serve to qu a l i f y

them for new ta s ks .

E ffe c t i ve concepts for shaping care e rs do not sta rt just with older emp l oyees who

a re already affe c ted by perfo rmance limitations, but ra ther already begin at th e

sta rt of a career or even during training. Fo reseeable wear and tear in te rms of

qu a l i fication, health and motivation should be counte ra c ted as early as possible.

This also encompasses a new way of thinking amongst the emp l oyees and ente r-

prises th e m s e lves which should lead to fields of activity with optional positions

and jobs being the point of orientation and no longer the job itself or the job de-

scription or the pro fession or occupation. What also belongs to this learning pro-

cess is that a switching between various types of task should not be associate d

w i th the re s e r vation that this is linked to better re m u n e ration or pro m o t i o n .

A p p ro p r i a te mobility processes will however only materialise to the same degre e

as the necessary material security of the persons concerned is guara n te e d .

4 2

Deciding criteria should be that as a result of a ch a n ge between diffe rent wo r k

d e m a n d s :

❯ New know l e d ge is ga i n e d .

❯ Incipient fi xations on constellations of workload and st rain which are imp a i r i n g

to health are inte rru p ted.

❯ New social constellations (working groups, teams, process chains in working pro-

c e d u res, amongst oth e rs) are experienced and as a result new key qu a l i fi c a t i o n s

a re learnt in particular for increasing organisational/social skills and for coping

w i th st re s s .

❯ O ve rall individual readiness and ability to adjust to new work situations and to

adapt work demands is active ly supporte d .

S u ch types of mobility processes can st i m u l a te or encoura ge “lifelong learn i n g ”

and thus st re n g then the working ability of emp l oyees with a long service re c o rd

in the same enterprise. What is however also imp roved is the opportunity when

changing from comp a ny to comp a ny or from emp l oyment into unemp l oyment of

p reserving an individual’s emp l oya b i l i t y. The basic pre-condition for lifelong lear-

ning is however that th e re are incentives for learning at the place of work and in

the work process. This pre-condition is however ra re ly give n .

A ch a n ge in job can either ta ke place on a horizontal plane within an ente r p r i s e

or else between diffe rent enterprises by taking on a position located on the same

h i e ra rchical level. What is essential for the emp l oyees and the enterprise is th a t

the ch a n ge is linked to the opportunity to gain additional know l e d ge and “key

qu a l i fi c a t i o n s ” .

❯ M i xed commerc i a l / te chnical qu a l i fications, for exa mple, on the level of skilled

wo r ker or industrial manager lead to new bridge qu a l i fications. Indire c t ly pro d u c-

t i ve ta s ks (purchasing, distribution, logistics) and direct manufacturing ta s ks are

b rought to ge th e r. Bridge qu a l i fications are designed in such a way that th ey are

also ta rge ted at imp roving co-opera t i ve working between skilled wo r ke rs and

e n g i n e e rs as well as between the R&D department and manufacturing. The aim

is to cre a te new and mobile paths in the area of st ru c t u ral and pro c e d u ral orga n i-

sation. Such bridge qu a l i fications can be imp a rted both as an “extra” either

a l ready anch o red at the vocational training sta ge or else via further training

m e a s u res. In order for these bridge qu a l i fications to be used appro p r i a te ly, a

ch a n ge in the organisation of st ru c t u res and pro c e d u res is necessary.

❯ Training pro fessions, such as master cra ftsman, for exa mple, but also vehicle

service te chnicians in the cra ft trade secto r, are based on existing basic vo c a t i o-

nal qu a l i fications and a comp re h e n s i ve training course (e.g. inte rnal or exte rn a l

c o u rses, correspondence courses, supplementa ry courses at further education

i n stitutions). They assume that the support offe red by the comp a ny and the

e mp l oyee’s obligations can be co-ord i n a ted and that the agreement re a ched is

binding. Once the further training course has been successfully comp l e ted, th e

“ gra d u a te” and the enterprise should atte mpt to use as optimally as possible th e

n ew qu a l i fications, e.g. by ch a n ges to the position held to date or by tra n s fer to

a new ly cre a ted position, possibly even in another area of the ente r p r i s e .

S u ch a policy can be beneficial both to the emp l oyee as well as to the ente r p r i s e

(e.g. more flexible deployment). Wi th re ga rd to the emp l oyee, it is a matter of

setting the points in his working life as early as possible in order to be able to

c o u n te ract pro l o n ged one-sidedness in te rms of qu a l i fication and the accumula-

tion of health risks with a subsequent nega t i ve impact on efficiency and re s u l-

tant demotivation.

Since it is not a matter of changing between positions unequ i vo c a l ly defined by job

descriptions but ra ther of changing between areas of activity with optional positi-

ons which often must be defined anew, this is often too ove rtaxing for pers o n n e l

m a n a gement on its own. To ge ther with other specialised departments such as

d i stribution, purchasing, logistics, R&D and manufacturing, the demands like ly to

be placed in the future in te rms of know- h ow should be identified as far as possible

b e fo rehand in order to enrich basic training concepts within the comp a ny and to

be able to initiate specific further training measures as early as possible.

A working environment which encoura ges learning with permanent incentives

for self-training (learning on the job) is by no means sufficient. Individual encou-

ra gement of development potential in the fra m ework of more sophist i c a ted

p e rsonnel development concepts is a necessary but insufficient para m e te r. Whilst

optimised types and methods of learning, e.g. by using IT te ch n i ques, do indeed

i mp rove the objective pre re qu i s i tes, what is however ultimate ly the deciding

fa c tor is the ability to adjust to new ta s ks and to master new know- h ow. A sta rt

can be made both in the case of further training measures as well as of more

demanding training measures at any phase of emp l oyment within an ente r p r i s e

or of a working life. It is essential that this opportunity be open to all age gro u p s .

A n o ther imp o rtant point is that the measures are adapted to qu i te diffe rent

types of initial individual circ u m stances. For exa mple, to the situation of

❯ n ew trainees or young academics at the outset of their career who are curious

about all that work can offer th e m .

❯ yo u n ger new sta ff and experienced middle-aged emp l oyees seeking a new dire c t i o n .

❯ women who wish to re t u rn to work fo l l owing mate rnity leave .

❯ older persons where limitations in perfo rmance are sta rting to show or have

a l ready occurred.

4 3

5. 4

4 4

Pe rsonnel policy beyond ge n e ration boundaries

” O ve r- a geing” is neither re ga rded by management or emp l oyees as an indepen-

dent comp a ny problem to be solved as a matter of imp o rtance nor is any special

priority attributed to it. At comp a ny level, “ageing” has no independent sta t u s

but is tre a ted – if at all – in close conjunction with other problems and this under

p u rsuit of qu i te specific comp a ny inte re sts. The concept of inte rge n e ra t i ve per-

sonnel policy is pre s e n ted here by way of the exa mple of a large enterprise in th e

steel secto r. (Fig. 11 )

The comp a ny in qu e stion has about 3000 emp l oyees. It is assumed that no mea-

s u res in te rms of personnel policy are going to be imp l e m e n ted in the next 20

ye a rs (imaginary situation). A special fe a t u re which can be identified is an age

d i stribution curve with one pronounced peak with a large number of emp l oye e s

a ged between 30 and 50. By contra st, th e re are ve ry few young (up to 20 ye a rs

old) and scarc e ly any ve ry old emp l oyees (50 or over). This “compact occupation”

of the middle age group is on the one hand the result of failings in re c ru i t m e n t

and on the other hand the result of a wide-scale practice of early re t i rement. The

fo l l owing diagram shows how the age st ru c t u re in this enterprise would deve l o p

if no new re c ruitment and no fluctuation apart from emp l oyees going into re t i re-

ment we re to ta ke place over the next 20 ye a rs.

The yo u n ger groups in the wo r k fo rce are curre n t ly already gre a t ly underre p re s e n-

ted. The problem is inte n s i fied by the fact that th e re is an incre a s i n gly ra re supply

of human capital pre c i s e ly amongst the young and skilled te chnical wo r ke rs

needed by this industrial fi rm. Both in conjunction with new re c ruitment as we l l

as with early re t i rement by means of part-time work for older emp l oyees the

result is:

❯ c o n s i d e rable financial costs for the enterprise which under certain circ u m sta n c e s

can only be cove red by adjusting budgets for personnel and social costs. This also

c l e a r ly reveals the limitations of early re t i rement as a solution. A search for alte r-

n a t i ve solutions is on the agenda in particular since emp l oyees incre a s i n gly wa n t

to continue working until th ey are 65 because of lower pensions. Under conside-

ration of the cohort effect over the next 10 to 20 ye a rs, these problems in ente r-

prises with such age st ru c t u res are like ly to wo rs e n .

❯ p roblems of the tra n s fer of know- h ow and experience between the ge n e rations –

p rev i o u s ly handled ra ther on an info rmal and vo l u n ta ry level – on the one hand

as a guara n tee of a constant supply of new know l e d ge from new young sta ff and

on the other hand as a way of securing the tra n s fer of the know- h ow gained fro m

experience to yo u n ger emp l oyees. The latter is of particular significance for com-

4 5

p e t i t i veness since know- h ow gained from experience by its ve ry nature escapes

c o mp re h e n s i ve documentation. It ought to be examined whether such a wo rd - o f -

m o u th handing down of know- h ow on the basis of personal relationships of tru st

as a patte rn of behaviour can be part ly comp l e m e n ted or replaced by fo rm a l i s e d

and organised fo rms of tra n s fe r.

❯ p roblems of the limited working ability of older emp l oyees who continue wo r k i n g

until th ey are 65. Wi th re ga rd to the next two decades, this problem will become

m o re acute since the predominant group of middle-aged emp l oyees will re m a i n

in the comp a ny. In order to secure pro d u c t i v i t y, the re - e stablishment of wo r k i n g

ability (health, qu a l i fications, motivation) must be ta ken seriously, in part i c u l a r

in the case of those group and team concepts with multiple-task work and bonus

re m u n e ration. Corre c t i ve measures such as ergonomics “suited to older pers o n s ” ,

re st periods, ch a n ges in pre s s u re and workload and tra n s fer to jobs which are less

st ressful and demanding or to sta ff pools with “comfo rtable” jobs are often just

< 19 ye a rs 2 0–2 9 3 0–3 9 4 0–4 9 5 0–5 4 > 54

19 9 7 2 0 0 7 2 017

10 0 0

9 0 0

8 0 0

7 0 0

6 0 0

5 0 0

4 0 0

3 0 0

2 0 0

10 0

0

Fig. 11: Status quo extrapolation of the age st ru c t u re in a large ente r p r i s e

( S o u rce: Group 5)

Age of all emp l oye e s

4 6

e m e rgency solutions. The fre quent practice of balancing out st re n g ths and

weaknesses in groups of mixed ages (diffe rential personnel deployment) howeve r

assumes pre c i s e ly that availability of the entire spectrum of age groups which is

not guara n teed here .

All these measures are “short-winded”. An enterprise which wants to place its

c o mp e t i t i veness on a sound footing must install “safety buffe rs” in order to mini-

mise its risk and make a sta rt as early as the vocational training sta ge or at th e

beginning of emp l oyees’ care e rs where by the career biogra p hy fo rms a patte rn

for orientation. Not only for the longer te rm pre s e r vation of emp l oyees’ wo r k i n g

ability but also in conjunction with qu i te other problems, concepts have evo lve d

w h i ch accomp a ny a working life. Flexibility and mobility within the ente r p r i s e

should be imp roved by means of additional qu a l i fications and supply of know-

l e d ge in a fo re s i g h ted, offe n s i ve and planned manner. If such types of “alte rn a-

t i ve career paths” prove to be attra c t i ve to young skilled wo r ke rs and academics,

then an enterprise’s re c ruitment opportunities are at the same time incre a s e d .

The more such biogra p hy- o r i e n ted concepts assert th e m s e lves, the more success-

f u l ly fo reseeable limitations in perfo rmance will be preve n table by means of

fo re s i g h ted work planning.

Demands on the personnel policy of the future

The turn - a round from corre c t i ve to fo re s i g h ted work planning, from post - c a re fo r

older emp l oyees to preve n t i ve care for all age groups, places specific demands on

the personnel policy of the future which make a new way of thinking and new

l e a rning necessary amongst all the comp a ny pro ta g o n i sts invo lved (”ch a n ge in

p a radigms”). The demands placed on personnel management are outlined in th e

fo l l owing section. Fi rst ly, aspects of the ageing process should be inte gra ted as

p e rsonnel ta rgets in the fra m ework of a comp a ny’s objectives and imp l e m e n te d

as personnel st ra tegies. Secondly, a pro c e d u re and methodology which are appro-

p r i a te to the age issue are necessary when implementing personnel policy inst ru-

ments. Third ly, a special fra m ework of comp a ny culture must be cre a te d .

Upholding a tra n s fer of know l e d ge and experience over ge n e ration bord e rs as a

g u a ra n tee for comp e t i t i ve business processes and innovation ability demands

c o n stant sta ff additions and depart u res. At the same time the pre re qu i s i tes for

a wo r k fo rce st ru c t u re with mixed age groups is cre a ted. What must be asked is

w h e ther and to what extent “age-mixing” as a personnel policy objective should

a p p ly as a ge n e ral st ru c t u ral patte rn in all organisational units or whether just as

an “ave ra ge norm” for the enterprise as a whole. The realisation of such types of

i n te rge n e ra t i ve objectives will not ta ke place without conflicts and comp ro m i s e s .

For exa mple th e re is the qu e stion whether a continuous supply of new know- h ow

4 7

can only be ach i eved by re c ruiting new yo u n ger sta ff or however also by means of

planning further training measures for all age groups which run parallel to th e i r

working live s .

A personnel policy “with staying power” demands thinking and action in pers o n-

nel issues along seve ral planning horizons (short te rm: 1-2 ye a rs; medium te rm:

-5 ye a rs; long te rm: 10-20 ye a rs) in order to ta ke into account cohort effects such ,

for exa mple, as the “age peaks wandering th rough the ge n e rations”. When sear-

ching for solutions, what must be born in mind is a comp a ny’s changing re s o u rc e s

(e.g. re s o u rces available for putting into practice part-time work for older em-

p l oyees) and on the other hand the inte r-individual diffe rences in working ability

and re t i rement wishes. In addition, the learning processes of enterprises and

e mp l oyees must be ta ken into considera t i o n .

4 8

Pe rsonnel st ra te g i e s

...of the pre s e n t ...of the future

O b j e c t i ve s

❯ a ge st ru c t u re are of ❯ p e rmanent exch a n ge between the

no re l ava n c e ge n e rations and mixing of age

groups as inte gra ted objective s

St ra te g i e s

❯ c o n t ra d i c to ry sub-st ra te g i e s ❯ s u b - st ra tegies oriented at age

st ru c t u re objektives (revealing of

c o n flicts and conp romises)

❯ m u t u a l ly isolated personnel ❯ m u t u a l ly linked sub-st ra te g i e s

policy sub-st ra te g i e s( re c ruiting,

p e rsonnel development health

and safety at work...)

Pe rsonnel manage m e n t

❯ s h o rt - te rm planning horizons ❯ taking into account of cohort effects

over 10-20 ye a rs (short, medium and

l o n g - te rm planning)

❯ a solution for all ❯ b road scope for solutions with

options (individualisation and

d i ffe re n t l a t i o n

C o mp a ny culture

❯ “seniority principle” or “yo u th ❯ ge n e ration contract as balance

c u l t u re” as predominant b e t ween diffe rent types of demands

fe a t u re s on comp a ny appeal (“age culture”

s p e c i fic to various age gro u p

Fi g . 12: Fu t u re personnel st ra tegies (Source: Group 5)

5. 5

4 9

Sta ff pools and self-emp l oyment: An opportunity for older persons?

In “modern”, “lean”, cost and re t u rn oriented comp a ny and work st ru c t u res, a new

model is becoming incre a s i n gly established: A person emp l oyed here should be

willing and able to cope with flexible fo rms of emp l oyment and working hours ,

stand up to high demands on perfo rmance and phys i c a l / m e n tal st rain, keep his

qu a l i fications up to date and additionally place himself without re s e r vation at

the service of the enterprise. In its “yo u th fi xation”, this new model ev i d e n t ly

n a rrows to a major degree the opportunities for deployment and emp l oyment of

older – in addition ge n e ra l ly more expensive – emp l oyees: The favo u r i te victim

of age - s e l e c t i ve sta ff cutbacks in an enterprise, the chances of finding adequ a te

a l te rn a t i ve emp l oyment on the exte rnal labour market are also minimal.

H oweve r, enterprises are incre a s i n gly complaining that when older emp l oyees

d e p a rt, then with them their know- h ow and experience are irre t r i eva b ly lost .

H ow then can an enterprise on the one hand continue to fall back on the specifi c

skills and re s o u rces of its older emp l oyees and on the other hand emp l oyment

options be cre a ted for older persons which respect their situation and abilities?

An exa mple of a possible solution in an enterprise can be seen in the ideas of a

l a rge German automobile manufa c t u rer: Older qu a l i fied skilled sta ff with higher

m a n a gement and planning responsibilities are to be released from day- to - d ay

ta s ks and – grouped in inte rd i s c i p l i n a ry sta ff pools – make their special know-

h ow and experience available as re qu i red. And this not just for their own

c o mp a ny (in-house consulting) but also as a service which oth e rs can purch a s e .

E xa mples of emp l oyment options outside an enterprise could be observed in

recent ye a rs in the IT sector too. Here too “older” emp l oyees have been subjecte d

to massive pre s s u re and the favo u r i te ta rget of “exte rnalisation measures” in

e n terprises. The comp a ra t i ve ly low ave ra ge age as well as the high level of qu a l i-

fications of these “older persons” have however often opened up the way into

s e l f - e mp l oyment – supported and indeed part ly only made possible by means of

high settlement payments (”golden handshake”) or sta rt-up finance. New em-

p l oyment alte rn a t i ves are linked here to the flexible provision of “intellectual

c a p i tal” which can now be called up as needed as an exte rnal service. A classic

e xa mple ta ken from the cra ft trade sector of finding a solution outside the ente r-

prise is the “setting up of their own business” of cra ftsmen who have passed th e i r

m a ster cra ftsman examinations. This can also be the result of scarce pro m o t i o n

o p p o rtunities within an enterprise for the numerous emp l oyees with a maste r

c ra ftsman qu a l i fication but without an appro p r i a te position.

5. 6

5 0

What possibilities for vocational qu a l i fication and for changing pro fession or

occupation would be appro p r i a te for women in fe m a l e - d o m i n a ted areas of wo r k

under consideration of the ageing issue? In some pro fessions, such, for exa mp l e ,

as haird re s s e rs and dre s s m a ke rs, the step into self-emp l oyment can sooner be

recommended when a person is older. However the opportunities and diffi c u l t i e s

as well as the possibilities of support need examining. This needs inve st i gating

in particular in those areas of women’s work which are qu a n t i ta t i ve ly signifi c a n t ,

s u ch as the health services, docto rs’ assistants, haird re s s e rs, hotel wo r ke rs and

s a l e s wo m e n .

Under what conditions, in what fo rm, whether as sta ff pool, self-emp l oyed, part -

time work or in the fo rm of advice agencies and above all for which groups of

human capital this can re p resent a feasible and ge n e ra l ly applicable model fo r

the future, this still needs to be examined. Not only from the point of view of th e

p e rsons concerned or of labour market policy but also from the standpoint of th e

e n terprises is the development of alte rn a t i ve concepts for gainful emp l oy m e n t

b e t ween further emp l oyment and early re t i rement becoming incre a s i n gly urge n t .

New emp l oyment possibilities for older persons too – A p p ro a ches in the cra ft trade sector

In broad areas of the cra ft trade secto r, radical demographic ch a n ge seems less

l i ke ly to lead to direct bottlenecks in the supply of human capital than far more

to a gre a t ly alte red composition of age groups in enterprises. This age blocka ge

leads pre s u m a b ly, due to the fact that other economic secto rs are no longer exe r-

ting a suction effect with a consequent decline in mobility, to growing pro b l e m s

in taking on those persons who have comp l e ted their basic training in the ente r-

prise. That is why in particular in the case of older emp l oyees the creation not

o n ly of work opportunities but also the pre s e r vation and modernisation of th e i r

qu a l i fications – which not least means the pre s e r vation or re - e stablishment of

their ability to qualify – becomes part i c u l a r ly significant. This can be clearly illu-

st ra ted by means of two exa mples from the automobile trade: the creation of new

work opportunities in the automobile trade and qu a l i fication for the labour

m a r ket instead of dismissal and the risk of unemp l oyment as well as the intro d u c-

tion of the vehicle service te chnician as an exa mple of the further development

of vocational qu a l i fications which are demand and labour- m a r ket oriente d .

The situation in the automobile trade is causing experts to sound the alarm –

thousands of fi rms and tens of thousands of jobs in the automobile trade are

re ga rded to be at risk. By 2002 the closing of up to 8.000 fi rms and the loss of up

to 80.000 jobs are fe a red. The main causes for this are considered to be a drop in

the need for re p a i rs, longer inte r vals between maintenance ch e cks and a re d u c-

5 1

tion in the size of manufa c t u re rs’ netwo r ks. Many “older emp l oyees” (and in th e

a u tomobile trade this already includes 35 to 40 ye a r-olds) are no longer a match

for the demands the work entails, such as a high level of physical effo rt, wo r k i n g

to prescribed ord e rs and a dive rsity of st ress fa c to rs. The solution widely pra c t i s e d

to date from this age onwa rds of moving to other secto rs functions less and less:

M o st of the previous “recipient” secto rs are th e m s e lves cutting back sta ff, the few

expanding secto rs have scarc e ly any need for wo r ke rs from the cra ft trade secto r.

That is why considerable inte rnal friction and emp l oyment problems are to be ex-

p e c ted. Experts indeed see a major problem in the disposal of end-of-life ve h i c l e s ,

but also an emp l oyment opportunity (source: Group 2).

About 3 million vehicles are scrapped each year (to tal number in Germ a ny about

40 million vehicles). An enviro n m e n ta l ly compatible solution could eliminate a

serious current problem and would at the same time be a key pre-condition for

s a fe g u a rding the “future viability”of the automobile indust ry. The objective of

dismantling end-of-life vehicles in a manner as non-dest ru c t i ve as possible is

❯ to make immediate ly available usable parts for “repair work at current value” by

the vehicle trade;

❯ to dismantle components on a larger scale than to date which can be re c yc l e d

and used for repair purposes;

❯ to pre p a re eve ry thing which cannot be ta ken into consideration for the purposes

mentioned above in an optimum way for re c ycling (re c ove ry of secondary raw

m a terials) and thus to secure and cre a te jobs, in that

❯ m a r ket share in the automobile trade can be won back from illicit work and do-it-

yo u rself by means of re a s o n a b ly priced re p a i rs at current value and

❯ capacity is imp roved th a n ks to growing demand and additional jobs cre a ted in

the re c ycling business which are suitable for experienced wo r ke rs from the

vehicle trade. Additional ta s ks can furth e rm o re evo lve in the area of parts’ and

c o mponents’ treatment in the automobile and sub-contracting industries.

For both areas of activity re l evant experience and qu a l i fications are to be fo u n d

p re c i s e ly amongst the older wo r ke rs in the vehicle trade. Apart from st i m u l a t i n g

the safe g u a rding of jobs in the area of re p a i rs, it is th e re fo re also a matter of

s u p p o rting mobility towa rds dismantling and re c ycling fi rms by means of:

❯ i n fo rmation about the jobs which are being cre a te d ;

❯ the further training measures on offe r ;

❯ using social plan and emp l oyment support measures (e.g. in accordance with

§ 254 SGB III.);

5 2

❯ regulations which pro tect claims which have been wo r ked for e.g. claims to un-

e mp l oyment benefit, compensation for any possible disadva n ta ges in te rms of

pension etc.

A n o ther serious problem, which will be further aggrava ted in many other tra d e s

in the cra ft trade sector due to the shifting “upwa rds” of the age st ru c t u re, lies in

the learning and training ability pre c i s e ly of older emp l oyees which is often scar-

c e ly developed. The vehicle trade is less affe c ted by this problem since furth e r

t raining measures ta ke place re g u l a r ly. It is however affe c ted by :

❯ an innovation leap in the automobile sector (increased use of electronics) re s u l-

ting in a gap in qu a l i fications and

❯ the problem the indust ry has of presenting itself in the labour market as an

a t t ra c t i ve secto r, in particular in the apprentice market and of keeping qu a l i fi e d

e mp l oyees in the secto r.

That this is by no means a matter of a st ru c t u ral, age - re l a ted phenomenon but

a b ove all far more the result of qu a l i fication opportunities which either do not

e x i st or of which no adva n ta ge is ta ken, becomes evident in the fo l l owing exa m-

ple from the vehicle trade which is confro n ted with a constellation such as can

s i m i l a r ly be found in other trades. The vehicle service te chnician as a qu a l i fi c a-

tion between skilled cra ftsman and master cra ftsman has been cre a ted for th e

fi rst time in the cra ft trade sector as a possible solution:

The qu a l i fication pro file was developed jointly by the Central Association of th e

G e rman Vehicle Trade, the Au tomobile Indust ry Association and the Meta l -

wo r ke rs’ Union, then te sted comp re h e n s i ve ly and fi n a l ly adopted as a re c o g n i s e d

t raining dire c t i ve in accordance with vocational training legislation and cra ft

> t rade regulations. The fundamental principles:

❯ A unifo rm name for the qu a l i fication th roughout the entire indust ry.

❯ Training in cra ft trade training centres and in the customer service schools of

vehicle manufa c t u re rs with the same training offe r.

❯ Final examinations with the same sta n d a rds nationwide – sta n d a rdised cert i fi-

c a te .

❯ Recognition of examinations passed after the further training dire c t i ve was

a p p roved (19 9 8 ) .

❯ The qu a l i fication counts towa rds the master cra ftsman exa m i n a t i o n .

5 3

P re l i m i n a ry results (after about fi ve ye a rs ) :

❯ A high level of inte re st amongst emp l oyees in the vehicle trade (about 10 . 0 0 0

h ave already ta ken part ) .

❯ The dual objectives succeed in covering a qu a l i fication gap and in increasing th e

a t t ra c t i veness of the vehicle trade in the labour marke t .

❯ Older emp l oyees are also invo lve d .

W h i l st most of the participants are indeed yo u n ge r, it was also possible in th e

fi rst phase to re a ch the “older” ones (according to the vehicle trade’s ya rd st i ck ) :

10% of the participants we re between 36 and 40 ye a rs of age, a further 7% eve n

o l d e r. It is expected that with a growing degree of diffusion of the qu a l i fi c a t i o n ,

the perc e n ta ge of older emp l oyees will increase furth e r. If the qu e stion is aske d

w hy it was possible to re a ch this age group at all, then one qu i ck ly arr i ves at th e

a n s wer that emp l oyees in the vehicle trade have been confro n ted “since the ye a r

dot” with the demand to adapt their know- h ow to ra p i d ly changing re qu i re m e n t s .

Thus the “unused to learning” widely to be met in other areas of the cra ft tra d e

s e c tor scarc e ly exists here: Only 10% of those who have comp l e ted the ve h i c l e

service te chnician training courses sta ted that th ey had not prev i o u s ly part i c i-

p a ted in any job-re l a ted training. Over half on the other hand had already ta ke n

p a rt in seven or more training measure s .

This exa mple shows that regular opportunities to part i c i p a te in training cours e s ,

even if initially less ambitious, and the associated “sense of ach i evement” can

fo rm an imp o rtant basis for successfully conveying more demanding tra i n i n g

qu a l i fications to older emp l oyees as well. Such a “further training culture” is how-

ever so far still by no means the ge n e ral rule in the cra ft trade secto r. If notice-

able pro gress in this direction can also be made successfully in other trades, th e n

the result will be a major contribution to a better use of human re s o u rces in th e

c ra ft trade sector and to the qu a l i ta t i ve imp rovement of the supply of human

c a p i tal and this not by means of “ro tation”, which is in many respects pro b l e m a-

tic, but instead by optimisation of sto ck. At the same time the situation in the

labour market is also imp rove d .

6

5 4

Responsibility of organisations in economy and society

D e m o graphic ch a n ges place organisations in the economy and society befo re

n ew ch a l l e n ges: They are consta n t ly confro n ted with the labour market conse-

quences of demographic and te chnical/economic ch a n ge and are often eve n

held part ly responsible for th i s . D e m o graphic ch a n ge inte n s i fies the pre s s u re fro m

the economy and society and th e re by imp l i c i t ly qu e stions the sta n d a rds and ru l e s

in working life which have so far applied. In all areas of the economy, the va r i e t y

of types of emp l oyment is growing. Traditional working relationships are not just

becoming the exception in the soft wa re trade or the media secto r.

I n te rm e d i a ry organisations such as ch a m b e rs, emp l oyer associations and unions,

p ro fessional and trade associations or we l fa re organisations influence, just as do

o rganisations with regional responsibility via their central bodies, opinions in

politics and amongst the ge n e ral public and th e m s e lves offer info rmation and

services for enterprises as well as for emp l oyees, where by th ey often find th e m-

s e lves in a dilemma:

❯ T h ey have a duty towa rds their members or regions and these expect from th e m

at least that th ey defend that which has been ach i eved so far and as far as possi-

ble ch a n ges to their adva n ta ge .

❯ T h ey are (jointly) responsible for the development and stability of ge n e ral, non-

c o mp a ny para m e te rs which however can only evo lve with the consensus of all

i n te re st gro u p s .

In view of the diffe rent inte re sts and the major ch a n ges in the economy and in

s o c i e t y, it is becoming incre a s i n gly difficult to maintain or to develop inst i t u t i o-

nal service st ru c t u res which are viable and capable of consensus. A good exa mp l e

of this situation are the agreements on early re t i rement. These we re accepted on

a broad scale in the early 90’s because most of the costs could be off - l o a d e d ,

a b ove all onto the social services. This supposedly good solution however soon

led after a few ye a rs to an increasing burden on social security, tax and public

b u d gets and re p e a te d ly demanded re n ewed political inte r vention. The initial

consensus was revealed to be unstable. What was ach i eved – and certa i n ly unin-

tended – was pre c i s e ly the opposite: In place of growing sta b i l i t y, for ye a rs th e

c redibility of the reliability of the social net in Germ a ny has declined. In addition,

the ave ra ge age in many enterprises is rising from year to ye a r, the substitution

in fi rms of one ge n e ration for the next is becoming incre a s i n gly difficult and

c reating new pro b l e m s .

O n ly ve ry few institutions in Germ a ny have so far devo ted th e m s e lves to qu e s-

tions about the impacts caused by demographic ch a n ge. As an ove rall rule, more

imminent problems, such as stabilising their own organisational st ru c t u re, yo u th

5 5

u n e mp l oyment, the smoothing out of social crises or the emp l oyment of pers o n s

a l ready in re t i rement have enjoyed higher priority. The little initiative which has

been ta ken however shows at the same time what scope for action th e re re a l ly is:

❯ The compilation and dissemination of info rmation e.g. as tips for best pra c t i c e

e xa mples, bro ch u res on specific topics or wo r ks h o p s / s e m i n a rs for ente r p r i s e s ,

p e rsonnel manage rs or for emp l oyees who are inte re sted or dire c t ly affe c ted.

❯ A s s i stance via training in experience-based and comp a ny- o r i e n ted model te sts in

h ow to sustain the working ability of older emp l oyees or ones who have become

unused to learning, how to train the exch a n ge of know- h ow in groups of mixe d

a ges or how to organise the co-operation of enterprises in order to conserve th e

l i felong emp l oyability of their emp l oye e s .

❯ Advice for and mediation of human capital in order to imp rove the efficiency of

the labour market as a whole and the deployment opportunities for older pers o n s

and at the same time to assist enterprises in the identification and satisfaction of

their personnel re qu i re m e n t s .

❯ The organisation of co-operation such as in the fra m ework of regional initiative s ,

for exa mple, training groups, emp l oyment initiatives, regional development and

te chnology tra n s fer in order to bundle one’s own possibilities and to develop and

te st ge n e ral and pra c t i c e - o r i e n ted re g u l a to ry and service st ru c t u re s .

❯ The ch e cking and adjustment of ge n e ra l ly applicable regulations, as are fo u n d ,

for exa mple, in laws, salary and wa ge agreements, regulations gove rning indu-

strial relations, social regulations, in vocational legitimisation issues, in health

and safety at work regulations or planning dire c t i ves in order to fa c i l i ta te the

d evelopment of fo rms of emp l oyment which respect the ageing pro c e s s .

An inte re sting exa mple of how inte rmediaries also active ly inte r vene in the

shaping of demographic ch a n ge is shown by a cra ft trade chamber’s initiative. In

its district the cra ft trade fi rms complained about the lack of skilled wo r ke rs and

a p p rentices. At the same time the number of skilled cra ftsmen and young people

unable to find a job or position as apprentice increased. In order to assist both

sides, the fo l l owing solutions we re deve l o p e d :

1. A personnel consulting agency: Its task is to bring to ge ther cra ft trade fi rm s

seeking skilled wo r ke rs and long-te rm unemp l oyed persons. Wi th the fi n a n c i a l

s u p p o rt of job creation schemes and the European Social Fund, the long-te rm

u n e mp l oyed are given appro p r i a te training, training in how to apply for work

and are placed in suitable enterprises for a 6-month training period. The ra te of

placement is ve ry high.

5 6

2 .Agency for the placement of skilled wo r ke rs: This is an offshoot of the pers o n-

nel consulting agency and now opera tes as a priva te enterprise. It active ly seeks

the most suitable applicants for cra ft trade fi rms, develops pro files and is re s p o n-

sible for pre-selection. Fi rms only pay if the agency is successful. Its closeness to

the cra ft trade chamber and its training institutions is a key fa c tor in its success.

3 .The cra ft trade training agency: It helps to link up supply and demand in th e

a rea of training. It seeks new and additional trainee positions and helps cra ft

t rade fi rms seeking suitable applicants for apprenticeships. It advises ente r p r i s e s

o ffering traineeships for the fi rst time, helps with fo rmalities and if necessary

w i th applications for public funding. It supports young people in finding an ap-

p renticeship or traineeship which corresponds to their pre fe rences and inte re st s .

A so-called “offer and demand file” will in future help to document the situation

in the “apprenticeship marke t ” .

7

5 7

Conclusions and recommendations

”The effect of demographic ageing is that human capital is becoming a re s o u rc e

w h i ch we must treat with much gre a ter care than befo re”. This observation fro m

the European Commission’s communication “A Europe for all age groups” of May

1999 is confi rmed by all the groups invo lved in the re s e a rch pro gramme of th e

M i n i st ry of Education and Re s e a rch. The results of the individual re s e a rch pro-

jects reveal a broad ra n ge of problems but also of possible solutions which must

be seized in order to counter potential dange rs from demographic ch a n ge for th e

i n n ovation ability of the economy.

What is actually banal, but in fact pre c i s e ly for that reason ve ry imp o rtant, is

the result that the process of demographic ch a n ge as it sneaks up on us is so far

s c a rc e ly anch o red in the consciousness of the pro ta g o n i sts invo lved. Since th e

n ew way of thinking needed amongst enterprises, emp l oyees and all other pro ta-

g o n i sts needs time just as does the taking of counte rm e a s u res, then it is alre a d y

i mp o rtant to d ay to adapt to the diffe rent para m e te rs to be expected in a few

ye a rs. Explaining and providing info rmation about these irre f u table ch a n ges is

h owever also necessary since apart from this gradual and hidden ageing pro c e s s

of population and wo r k fo rces, a prejudice will need to be centra l ly combate d

w h i ch is th re a tening to assert itself: Older persons, so this dange rous ste re o t y p e ,

a re auto m a t i c a l ly less efficient and less capable of innovation, where by the

re s e a rch results available show unequ i vo c a l ly that perfo rmance potential and

i n n ovation ability are linked less to biological age(ing) than with the conducive

or re st r i c t i ve conditions to which people are subjected in their individual wo r k i n g ,

p ro fessional and priva te lives. In a vicious circle of prejudice (image of oneself

and of oth e rs), exclusion from qu a l i fication as well as encoura gement and fi n a l ly

resignation, the readiness towa rds perfo rmance and innovation wither away.

The problems and reasons behind a working world not yet suffi c i e n t ly pre p a re d

for the demands of demographic ch a n ge, as shown in the re s e a rch pro gra m m e

groups, are ve ry dive rs i fied. As exa mples only the fo l l owing are mentioned aga i n :

❯ A re c ruitment policy derived from innovation st ra tegy and oriented at young

people,

❯ p roblems of one-sided physical or mental st rain caused by a lack of variety of

a c t i v i t y,

❯ the age - s e g m e n ted allocation of ta s ks above all when introducing modern fo rm s

of work which can lead to specialisation traps for emp l oye e s ,

❯ the ignoring of natural limitations in the duration of certain ta s ks without

5 8

opening up any options and alte rn a t i ves which could stabilise career paths,

❯ the disre ga rd for know- h ow gained from experience and for the need for an

i n te rge n e ra t i ve exch a n ge of know l e d ge in the wo r k fo rc e ,

❯ s h o rt - te rm inte re sts when making qu a l i fication decisions.

It is pre c i s e ly in a modern know l e d ge and service society that know- h ow ga i n e d

f rom experience and a qu a l i fication culture as well as lifelong learning and th e

t ra n s fer of know l e d ge become st ra tegic and comp e t i t i ve pre re qu i s i tes for indivi-

duals as well as for enterprises. In a know l e d ge society with a constant incre a s e

in virtual processes and products, many enterprises are confro n ted with the need

to establish a system of inte rnal know l e d ge management. The traditional path of

a c quiring new know l e d ge by re c ruiting young and skilled sta ff will in future

become more difficult, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises, due

to the drop in the number of qu a l i fied yo u n ger persons. The consequence of th i s

is that in ageing wo r k fo rces older emp l oyees will also have to remain “up-to -

d a te” in order not to endanger the comp e t i t i veness of the enterprise. Fi rms are

not pre p a red for the task of initiating and organising the inte rge n e ra t i ve tra n s fe r

of know l e d ge. Systematic concepts and tried and te sted appro a ches are howeve r

also lacking from the point of view of re s e a rch. Various types of concepts and

a p p ro a ches – with qu i te diffe rent levels of te sting – exist with re ga rd to the plan-

ning of training (lifelong learning) and qu a l i fication which is oriented towa rd s

c a reer paths, their degree of maturity is however scientifi c a l ly disputed.

In Germ a ny just as in other countries th e re are exa mples wo rth imitating of a

b e t ter handling of the problems of ageing wo r k fo rces and demographic ch a n ge .

In many cases their tra n s fe rability to other enterprises and situations howeve r

still needs to be examined. Now that 11 - year longitudinal inve st i gations (Re s p e c t

for the Ageing) in the Fi n n -Age - P ro gramme have been comp l e ted, new inte rn a-

tional projects are curre n t ly in pre p a ration in Finland which are focussed on th e

i n te raction of health, qu a l i fication and working environment, where by a dynamic

i n te r p re tation also ta kes place – under consideration of the career biographies of

the individuals invo lved – of changing work demands and of the measures re qu i-

red. What can be learnt from this appro a ch needs to be examined and also which

qu e stions and solutions are tra n s fe rable to Germ a ny. There is certa i n ly some

c a tching up to do in te rms of how to handle inte rnational experience and in th e

a rea of inte rnational comp a r i s o n s .

The ch a n ges necessary in personnel management and personnel development also

raise a whole series of open qu e stions, such as the fact that preve n t i ve measure s

towa rds the risks of demographic ch a n ge must not just be adopted by ente r p r i s e s .

S u staining innovation potential in an ageing society equ a l ly demands ch a n ges in

5 9

human capital (inve stment in qu a l i fication, motivation and mobility) and th e

te sting and exploiting of ge n e ra l ly applicable solutions. The consequences – which

go beyond individual enterprises and secto rs – of companies’ future action st ra te-

gies under a ch a n ged composition of the population are unknown: Should th e

c o mposition of the working population develop as pre d i c ted, then the successful

i n t roduction of a balanced age st ru c t u re in some enterprises will comp u l s o r i ly lead

to even gre a ter upheaval in the re st . P re c i s e ly with re ga rd to measures which go

b eyond individual enterprises as well as in training and labour market policy, th e re

is a call for the sta te and inte rmediaries too to devo te gre a ter attention to the con-

s e quences resulting from demographic ch a n ge. Explicit areas where th e re is a need

for action still need to be carved out here .

A m o n g st older emp l oyees, limitations to perfo rmance due to health and qu a l i fi-

cation reasons fre qu e n t ly occur which can be traced back to a combination of

various causes. A diffe rentiation must be made between concepts whose sta rt i n g

point is emp l oyees who are already either part i a l ly or to ta l ly unable to work and

w h i ch are of a corre c t i ve ch a ra c ter and concepts which encompass measures to

a c c o mp a ny an entire working life and are of a future - o r i e n ted nature . O n ly from a

standpoint which goes beyond the short - te rm pro fi tability inte re sts of individual

economies and which has precedence is it possible to do justice to the re qu i re-

ments of an ageing working population. Many of the measures necessary for

p reve n t i ve reasons are uncomfo rtable – at least more uncomfo rtable than the to

d a te common but untenable practice of exte rnalisation of older emp l oyees. Such

st ra tegies of an incre a s i n gly inte n s i ve use of human re s o u rces for an ever shorte r

period of time are socially and economically unsustainable. The about-turn

towa rds a policy of a ta rge ted rise in the emp l oyment ra te of older persons – just

as also of women – however demands massive ch a n ges in the emp l oyment beha-

viour of emp l oyees and in the re c ruitment behaviour of enterprises. What is also

n e c e s s a ry is a new way of thinking – not least an ove rcoming of existing pre j u d i-

ces with re ga rd to the efficiency of older emp l oyees and their role in the innova-

tion process. This however ta kes time and also re qu i res appro p r i a te action fro m

associations and the political and scientific community.

6 0

Q u i n tessence – Need for action:

❯ E n terprises must cre a te innova t i ve working conditions which encoura ge learn i n g :

Concepts for an inte gra ted labour policy must be developed which are not just

d i re c ted at individual aspects but in a comp re h e n s i ve manner at the shaping of

work (work organisation, te chnical aspects), working hours, co-operation and

social relationships, encouraging health, regulating perfo rmance and qu a l i fi c a-

tion with the aim of as long an inte gration as possible of older emp l oyees. This

includes above all a dove tailing of organisational development and pers o n n e l

p o l i c y.

❯ E n terprises must hurry along the development of a comp a ny culture across th e

ge n e rations which is oriented at the va rying potential in the wo r k fo rce: Quest i o n s

of know l e d ge management and inte rge n e ra t i ve know l e d ge tra n s fer must be ta ck-

led since the traditional ways of acquiring new know l e d ge by re c ruiting yo u n g

and skilled sta ff will in future be incre a s i n gly obst ru c te d .

❯ The possibilities and limits of developing career paths within and outside an ent-

erprise re p resent a field of action for enterprises and inte rmediaries. What can be

mentioned here are lifelong learning concepts and also appealing ch a n ges in

ta s ks, independent of mounting the hiera rchical ladder. What must be exa m i n e d

f rom this pers p e c t i ve is comp a ny and social areas of activity which could be used

in a ta rge ted manner for a “mixed” (horizonta l ly, ve rt i c a l ly, diagonally) shaping

of career paths. It is open which st ru c t u ral and institutional ch a n ges are re qu i re d

for th i s .

❯ E mp l oyees must recognise their share of responsibility for shaping their care e rs :

A p p ro p r i a te measures can only then be effe c t i ve if th ey are linked to the vo c a-

tional inclinations of the emp l oyees and existing inte re sts and re s i stance is ta ke n

i n to account. Scarc e ly any systematic findings are so far available about the

individual planning of career path s .

❯ Associations and enterprises must re think old models such, for exa mple, as th e

d e ficit model of age i n g .

❯ By means of the services th ey offe r, inte rm e d i a ry organisations must support

e n terprises and emp l oyees in coping with socio-demographic ch a n ge. They could,

for exa mple, set off a public discourse about the adva n ta ges of emp l oying older

p e rsons in various areas of activity.

6 1

“ D e m o graphic Change” Ad v i s o ry Committee

P rof. Dr. Fritz Böhle

Un i ve rsity of Au g s b u rg

P rof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Bullinge r

Fra u n h o fer Inst i t u te for Work Planning and Organisation

No r b e rt Fe i th

Fe d e ral Minist ry for Fa m i ly, Senior Citizens’, Women and Yo u th Affa i rs

D r. Fr i t z - J ü rgen Ka d o r

Fe d e ral Union of German Emp l oyer Associations

P rof. Dr. Karl Ku h n

Fe d e ral Institution for Occupational Safety and Health

D r. Dagmar Lennart z

Fe d e ral Inst i t u te for Vocational Tra i n i n g

P rof. Dr. Gunda Maintz

Fe d e ral Institution for Occupational Safety and Health

P rof. Dr. Gerhard Na e ge l e

Un i ve rsity of Dort m u n d

D r. Marga re tha Ne u d e cke r

Fe d e ral Minist ry of Emp l oyment and Social Affa i rs

G e rd Pe te rs

I n st i t u te for Labour Market and Occupational Re s e a rch,

Fe d e ral Emp l oyment Inst i t u t i o n

P rof. Dr. Anita Pfa ff

Un i ve rsity of Au g s b u rg

P rof. Dr. Hedwig Rudolph

Berlin Science Centre

P rof. Dr. Gernot We i ß h u h n

Berlin Te chnical Un i ve rs i t y

U l r i ke Zuehlsdorff

DGB National Committe e

6 2

I n st i t u tes and project sta ff invo lved in the re s e a rch pro gramme “Demographic Change ”

INIFES, Sta d t b e rge n

S u b j e c t i ve components of the long-te rm development of emp l oyment

o p p o rt u n i t i e s

E rn st Kist l e r, Markus Hilpert, Dorit Sing

ISF Munich

In the shadow of innovation

Vo l ker Döhl, Nick Kra t z e r, Dieter Sauer

S Ö ST RA, Berlin

I n n ovation ability and changing age st ru c t u res

J ü rgen Wahse, Re i n h a rd Sch a e fe r

Fu t u re Fa c to ry/ Hamburg Chamber of Trade

St ra tegies for the cra ft trade sector

C h r i stine Ax, Marianne Lu d ew i g

ISF Munich

A chance for wo r k

Hans Gerhard Mendius, Ste fanie Weimer

L ower Rhine Po ly te chnic

New demands on personnel deve l o p m e n t

Lutz Pa cke b u s ch, Birgit We b e r

ISO, Saarbrücke n

P romotion of health in enterprises and age - i n te gra t i ve emp l oyment policy

M a rtina Mors ch h ä u s e r

FfG, Dort m u n d

New models for working hours for older pers o n s

G e r h a rd Na e gele, Fre r i ch Fre r i chs, E. Zimmerm a n n

ISIS, Fra n k f u rt / M a i n

L i m i ted occupational lifetime and career in ente r p r i s e s

Johann Behre n s

ZeS, Bre m e n

Financial consequences of working hour models in enterprises

H o l ger Vi e b ro k

I AO, St u t t ga rt

I n n ovation ability in the manufacturing and service secto rs

J o chen Pa ck, Hartmut Buck

6 3

BTU Cottbus

I n n ovation ability in the area of soft wa re development

Klaus Ko rn wa chs, Ste fan Berndes, Uwe Lünst ro th

Chemnitz Te chnical Un i ve rs i t y

I n n ovation ability in product assembly

H a rtmut Enderlein, Armin Reif, Jens Täubert

Society for Occupational Safety and Humanisation Re s e a rch, Dortmund

C o mposition of age st ru c t u res and ch a n ges in enterprises

A n n e gret Köch l i n g

a&o re s e a rch, Berlin

The working environment as producer of subjective experience and the re a d i n e s s

towa rds innovation of yo u n ger and older emp l oyees

G e rda Jasper, We rner Duell

Ne u b ra n d e n b u rg Po ly te ch n i c

Typical career biographies of yo u n ger and older emp l oyees

Adelheid Ku h l m ey, Tanja Hitzblech

HDZ RWTH Aa ch e n

Shaping work systems and te chnical aspects towa rds career biographies

E rn st Hartmann, Silvia Schmid

ISO, Saarbrücke n

S o c i o - st ru c t u ral composition and ch a n ges in ente r p r i s e s

Josef Reindl, Hans Günter Grewer

H a m b u rg - H a r b u rg Te chnical Un i ve rs i t y

S u p p o rt st ru c t u res for yo u n ger and older innova to rs

K l a u s - D i e ter Fr ö h n e r, Ke rstin Naw ro th

V D I / V D E - I T, Te l tow

I n n ovation as an inte gral process

M i chael Asto r, Ulrich Bra s ch e

P RO G NOS, Basle

Ageing and Work

Heimfrid Wo l ff, Henrike Mohr, Ka tharina Spieß

Fu rther info rmation on the contents of the re s e a rch pro gramme can be obtained from:

D L R- P T

G ü n ter Ne u b a u e r, Tel. ++49-228-3821 -145, e-mail: guente r. n e u b a u e r @ d l r. d e

F h G - I AO

J o chen Pa ck, Tel. ++49-711 - 9 7 0 - 2 019, e-mail: joch e n . p a ck @ i a o . f h g . d e

Space for note s

Space for note s