Fast-Track Project “Work & Productivity” Update to the General Assembly Wenke Apt Palermo 23 May 2014

Status and objectives Title “Understanding employment participation of older workers: Past, present and future changes” (Acronym: JPI UEP) Duration 1 May 2014 – 31 December 2014 Aspired results  A partial „review“ of research concerning the determinants of work participation among workers aged 50+ years  Objective is to identify research needs and formulate recommendations for research policy o With respect to domains o Specifically for selected European countries and Canada

Focus  “Why older people stay at work, leave work early, and return to work”  This includes five groups of older people, including those who: o Work longer, o Leave early due to early old age pension, o Leave early due to disability pension, o Leave early because of unemployment / non-employment, o Return to work  Paid work  People aged 50+ years  Scientific findings in research literature and scientific findings in “grey literature” (informally published written scientific material )  Findings published in the past 10 years

National contributions

“lidA Cohort Study – A German Cohort Study on Work, Age, Health and Work Participation”

society, social context economy (labour market) policy (e.g. retirement legislation) socio economic status lifestyle health DO I WANT TO WORK? motivation domestic domain CAN I WORK? work ability knowledge & skills work OPTIONS DO I NEED TO WORK? finances, legislation early legal retire- ment age late retirement S. Vickerstaff (GER) I. Mairhuber (AUT) E.-P. Takala (FIN) TNO (NL) N. Riedel (GER) A. Jousten (BE) S. Kuivalainen (FIN) J. Schippers (NL) D. Lain (UK) N. Riedel (GER) St. McNair (SAB) T. Midstundstad (NOR) Y. Carriere (CAN) TNO (NL) St. McNair (SAB) D. Żołnierczyk (POL) A. Pohrt (GER) P. Nolan (UK) O. Poulsen (DK) I. Mairhuber (AUT) M. Albin (SWE) S. Vickerstaff (UK) A.-I. Hilsen (NOR) T. Midstundstad (NOR) O. Poulsen (DK) TNO (NL) D. Żołnierczyk (POL) St. McNair (SAB) M. Ebener (GER) TNO (NL) D. Żołnierczyk (POL) A. Pohrt (GER) M. Albin (SWE) O. Poulsen (DK) N. Riedel (GER) TNO (NL) D. Żołnierczyk (POL) M. Ebener (GER) St. McNair (SAB) N. Riedel (GER) S. Kuivalainen (FIN) A. Pohrt (GER) M. Albin (SWE) E. Prammer (AUT) S. Kuivalainen (FIN) TNO (NL) A. Jousten (BE) T. Midstundstad (NOR) Y. Carriere (CAN) D. Lain (UK) I. Mairhuber (AUT) work

Project plan and organization

CHANGING EMPLOYMENT The changing nature of employment in Europe in the context of challenges, threats and opportunities for employees and employers  From to [Execution]  Explore societal differences and national variations in employees’ experiences of working life.  Examine relations between management and employees.  Develop a comparative understanding of the changing quality of work, organization and employment in the context of the (above) changes.  Consider patterns and consequences of workplace inclusion-exclusion in relation to migration, employment and unemployment or gender in terms of the new patterns of work and retirement.  Total cost: EUR | EU contribution: EUR  Program acronym: FP7-PEOPLE  Coordinator: UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE, UNITED KINGDOM 

MOPACT 1.How to foster both postponing retirement age as well as extending working lives and raising the employment rate of older workers (pre- and post-retirement age, including unemployed older workers), aided by lifelong learning. 2.How to identify and assess socially innovative, effective, sustainable and transferable private and public-sector strategies that enable and encourage older workers in both staying longer in employment and intensifying life-long (vocational) learning.

MOPACT

Link of the project to the JPI MYBL and its Strategic Research Agenda

Research Priority 3: Social and economic production  “While average healthy lifespan is growing steadily throughout Europe, formal and actual retirement ages are not keeping pace.”  “The result is a growing body of people in relatively good health who are – or could be – contributing skills, knowledge and experience to society, but doing so outside the conventional paid labour force.”

Research Priority 6: A new labor market  “To identify effective ways of redistrib­uting employment across the extending healthy life course, including extending working life, through regulation, governance and management. “  “All developed countries are seeking to extend working life.”  “For employees, work has to be more attractive than the alternatives, and for employers the benefits of a more age diverse workforce need to be evident.”  “For older people, the quality of work and its benefits vary by sector and occupation, and their impact is affected by gender, ethnicity, migrant status and disability.”

Research Priority 10: Technology for living  “Workplace technologies which overcome the physical effort involved in many manual tasks make extended working life possible for some, and may reduce the likelihood of people arriving at retirement with work related health conditions.”

Requirements as formulated by the General Assembly  Strong link to the relevant parts in the strategic research agenda  The focus should be on producing an inventory of research (i.e. where research currently stands).  The integration and synthesis of research, as well as the development of policy recommendations are of lesser importance.  The mapping of existing research (i.e. the “inventory”) shall be ready by the end of The conclusions may be drawn thereafter.

Feedback from the Societal Advisory Board I  It should be considered that increasing parts of the work force have short-term, part-time, or other fairly insecure contracts; “retirement from work” means something different in these situations  Many of the determinations of work participation evolve in combination and to different degrees in the area of work ability (“Can I work?”), work motivation (“Do I want to work”), and policy (e.g. financial and legislative background --> “Do I need to work”). It may therefore be difficult to disentangle the true reasons underlying the decision to stay or remain in the labor force.  The project does not explicitly refer to technology at the work place (or at home) which might change the character of work substantially by assisting older workers in the firm, enabling work from home, and supporting longer working lives.

Feedback from the Societal Advisory Board II  The project should take into account the gender perspective and specific gender barriers faced by different age groups (older women face different challenges from younger female workers).  Care services should be looked at as a working environment.  Migrants are an important issue on all levels (local to EU).  Under “relevance of the project” the views of science and policy makers are well recognized, while enterprises and organizations fall short.

Public relations  Scientific results and reports will be published on the JPI MYBL website  Final conference for the scientific community and broader public planned for January 2015, most likely to take place in Berlin and to be hosted and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs