Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa

More documents

Recommendations

Info

256 Working and ageing Guidance and counselling for mature learners 13.5.3. Incentives Those who have applied for career switching can be grouped in different categories: (a) those who have planned for a civilian career and who already have contacts with a prospective employer; (b) those who feel there is no way forward in the military context; (c) those tired of the armed forces. So far, interest in applying for career switching was not based on a concern for imminent discharge, closure of military units, etc. It is common practice to wait and see, and not take any risks. If you are to be made redundant, the job security agreement for government employees is seen by many as an equally good or better alternative than career switching. Let us reflect on the psychological driving forces and barriers related to career switching. The interviews indicate an outspoken esprit de corps, identification, even affection for the military context; a sentiment encompassing the armed forces at large, but particularly focusing on oneʼs own unit. It counteracts switching to other jobs outside the military. It is relevant to discuss these conditions in terms of theories of ʻcommitmentʼ. In research on work different degrees and types of commitment to work have been identified and labelled, for example employment commitment, work commitment and organisational commitment (Mowday et al., 1982). Relatively high degrees of work commitment among military officers, namely strong commitment to their own work, in their tasks, and to the occupation, could be a hypothesis. Is there also corresponding loyalty to the organisation where they work? Allen and Meyer (1996) defined the concept organisational commitment as a psychological contract between the employee and the employer or organisation. The degree of organisational commitment is likely to affect the decision whether or not to leave in a situation such as the one in this case study. Rich scientific literature applies operationalisations of the commitment concept to enlighten factors affecting labour force turnover. There is also ample research literature on the concept of trust between the employee and the organisation. For instance, for Rousseau et al. (1998) there are always expectations of employees on the balance between obligations of the organisation and obligations of individual employees. When employees feel obligations of the organisation respond negatively to their expectations, it is likely that commitment, wellbeing and productivity are affected negatively. A balanced relationship would further confidence, loyalty and trust. Trust in an employment relationship is a result of the organisationʼs capacity to create a framework that promotes such development.
CHAPTER 13 A Swedish programme for phasing out older employees based on consent and social responsibility 257 Our interviews indicate that military officers show a high degree of organisational commitment, while trust may be declining due to ongoing organisational changes, in particular among commanding officers. Planned restructuring in our case study may well in the near future mean to many officers in the organisation that it is their own environment and employment that is endangered; levels of commitment and trust may then fall dramatically, and interest in career switching will likely increase. 13.5.4. An alternative strategy: the case of Ericsson Career change is not an entirely new concept in the Swedish labour market. For instance, it has been applied in public service when organisations need to downsize. There are consultants offering programmes in outplacement. However, voluntary downsizing of one age group combined with recruitment of another can be found in only one major project, the career change project, carried out at Ericsson Microwave Systems in Göteborg, Sweden, in 2003/04. Personnel were reduced (500 left voluntarily) in some technological areas, and replaced (100 recruited) with fresh staff in other areas. Managers were instructed to have eight coaching talks with every employee, who would reflect over the situation and their future career, and then decide whether or not to stay. Those who made the choice to leave were given one to two yearsʼ pay and personal coaching to find a new job. Older employees were offered paid leave. At the end, the company thought they had been successful at 25% lower cost than if they had fired employees right off, and they had preserved good relationships with trade unions (Bergström and Diedrich, 2006). There were clear differences between the armed forces and Ericsson projects with respect to clarity and content of the offer, and how information was handled. In the armed forces, information was curtailed at unit level, due to down prioritising by commanding officers, while at Ericsson it appears no such resistance took place; middle management was directly involved and carried a main responsibility throughout the process. In the armed forces, career switching was introduced at the same time as major organisational changes dominated the discussion, while at Ericsson the project could be given maximal visibility. The project at Ericsson Microwave Systems was also carried out in a given time period, unlike the career switching project that already from the outset was seen as a long process. There was also confusion in the career switching project on what exactly it meant if you applied. Do I dare talk to my supervisors about career development? Perhaps I will then be switched. This was clear and unambiguous at Ericsson. An important aspect in comparing the two cases is that in the Ericsson
Page 1:
EN Working and ageing Guidance and
Page 4 and 5:
A great deal of additional informat
Page 7 and 8:
Foreword Population ageing is one o
Page 9 and 10:
Acknowledgements This publication r
Page 11 and 12:
8. Policy, research and practice: s
Page 13 and 14:
14.2. Participation rates of indivi
Page 15 and 16:
CHAPTER 1 Setting the scene: promot
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
To improve quality and transparency
Page 25 and 26:
Gomes present the set-up and outcom
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29:
Page 32 and 33:
CHAPTER 2 Do European employers sup
Page 34 and 35:
28 Working and ageing Guidance and
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
Page 48 and 49:
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53:
Page 54 and 55:
Page 56 and 57:
Page 58 and 59:
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
CHAPTER 5 Cognitive ageing in older
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 106 and 107:
Page 108 and 109:
Page 110 and 111:
Page 112 and 113:
Page 114 and 115:
Page 116 and 117:
Page 118 and 119:
Page 120 and 121:
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128 and 129:
Page 131 and 132:
PART 2 Meeting the challenges - Eme
Page 133 and 134:
unmet demand is limited, as is the
Page 135 and 136:
people in the second phase (25-50)
Page 137 and 138:
CHAPTER 7 Learning, work and later
Page 139 and 140:
are now better than ever before, es
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
CHAPTER 8 Policy, research and prac
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
will need to be supported by struct
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
ʻflexicurityʼ model is challenged
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
different forms of retirement (2010
Page 165 and 166:
8.8. Policy considerations CHAPTER
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
9.1. Introduction CHAPTER 9 Changin
Page 175 and 176:
CHAPTER 9 Changing patterns of guid
Page 177 and 178:
their continuing learning and devel
Page 179 and 180:
Table 9.4. Use of past work experie
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
CHAPTER 10 Career development in la
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
life, much will change. Cate and Jo
Page 207:
Page 210 and 211:
CHAPTER 11 Maintaining senior emplo
Page 212 and 213: 206 Working and ageing Guidance and
Page 250 and 251: CHAPTER 13 A Swedish programme for
Page 268 and 269: CHAPTER 14 Realising the potential
Page 292 and 293: CONCLUSIONS Ageing Europe at work -
Page 298: EN Working and ageing Guidance and
show all

Working and ageing - Cedefop - Europa

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?