Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa

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CHAPTER 13 A Swedish programme for phasing out older employees based on consent and social responsibility Roland Kadefors, Marianne Blomsterberg Redundancy following organisational downsizing puts those discharged in risky positions. Their chances to remain in the labour market depend to a major extent on their employability. This chapter aims to analyse the facilitating role an employer can play in supporting the continued employability of those to be made redundant. Lessons drawn from a case study imply that both organisational and personal factors must be considered concurrently. A clear competence profile supports employability and allows an element of consent in the downsizing process to be introduced. A successful career change for those made redundant is eased by individual counselling, offered and financed by the employer. 13.1. Introduction There are many reports on organisational downsizing related to closure or reorganisation of workplaces (for an extensive review see Cedefop, 2010). Such processes invariably evoke discontent, insecurity and productivity loss in the organisation during the downsizing programme. For people made redundant, changes may mean new opportunities, but more often lengthy periods of unemployment, ill health, and/or marginalisation in the labour market. For the employer there is a risk of conflict or mistrust between management and unions. For society, chances are that some discharged persons will become an economical burden on social security systems. It is self-evident that downsizing cannot always be avoided; at times it is necessary. Alternative models can reduce negative side-effects of stereotyped ways in which such processes are usually carried out.
CHAPTER 13 A Swedish programme for phasing out older employees based on consent and social responsibility 245 Large-scale downsizing projects were carried out in the Swedish labour market, for instance in shipbuilding and the car industry, where parallel organisations were created and given sizeable resources to support those becoming redundant. However, the present chapter analyses a more ambitious model: restructuring personnel based on consent and simultaneous recruitment and discharge. The central question we address is under what conditions is it possible for an employer to reach legitimate goals set for downsizing, still maintaining good relationships with trade unions, and giving good opportunities for those discharged. We present a case study of a downsizing process carried out by the Swedish Armed Forces. Special emphasis is on the innovative model applied for career switching of military officers in danger of being made redundant. Analysis of the outcomes and comparison with a more successful, but similar, project carried out at Ericsson Microwave Systems follows. Finally, the results are interpreted in the light of current organisational theories. 13.2. Age and late career There is a growing body of knowledge in contemporary academic literature with respect to conditions that influence possibilities of a late career for older persons. For Greller and Simpson (1999) the cognitive decline with age is not sufficient to impact work performance, and current perceptions assuming declining productivity are flawed. In principle, research indicates that there is much better potential for a sustained working life for many than is usually assumed. However, important barriers have been identified. Older professionals are ʻvulnerable to diminishing rewards, dwindling networks and outdated skillsʼ (Platman, 2004, p. 592). According to Buyens et al. (2009), the generally negative image of older workers forms, ʻa self-fulfilling prophecy due to the mechanisms of stereotype threatʼ, and this tends to affect the preference for keeping on working negatively. There also seems to be an adverse age effect related to competence development: many employers are not inclined to invest in vocational education and training of older people (Taylor and Unwin, 2001). This poses a threat to their employability due to a competence base which is not sufficiently up to date and broad (Van der Heijde and Van der Heijden, 2006). Organisational turnover has been defined as ʻleaving any job of any duration, and is usually thought of as being followed by continued regular employmentʼ (Feldman, 1994). The mechanisms behind voluntary
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EN Working and ageing Guidance and
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A great deal of additional informat
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Foreword Population ageing is one o
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Acknowledgements This publication r
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8. Policy, research and practice: s
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14.2. Participation rates of indivi
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CHAPTER 1 Setting the scene: promot
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To improve quality and transparency
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Gomes present the set-up and outcom
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CHAPTER 2 Do European employers sup
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CHAPTER 5 Cognitive ageing in older
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PART 2 Meeting the challenges - Eme
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unmet demand is limited, as is the
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people in the second phase (25-50)
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CHAPTER 7 Learning, work and later
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are now better than ever before, es
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CHAPTER 8 Policy, research and prac
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will need to be supported by struct
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ʻflexicurityʼ model is challenged
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different forms of retirement (2010
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8.8. Policy considerations CHAPTER
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9.1. Introduction CHAPTER 9 Changin
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CHAPTER 9 Changing patterns of guid
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their continuing learning and devel
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Table 9.4. Use of past work experie
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CHAPTER 10 Career development in la
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