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Journal ArticleDOI

Older workers and active ageing in France: the changing early retirement and company approach

30 Mar 2011-International Journal of Human Resource Management (Taylor & Francis Group)-Vol. 22, Iss: 6, pp 1221-1231
TL;DR: In this article, the authors considered that the working-age population is falling nowadays and this drop is, in part, the result of low participation by seniors in the labour market, especially in France, where the employment rate for older workers at the present time is lower than the objectives set within the framework of the Lisbon Process.
Abstract: Europe is experiencing demographic shifts without precedent due especially to progress concerning health and the decrease in fertility. These affect individuals, families, local communities, countries and whole strata of society. The number of people over 60 years old is going to increase in Europe as the baby boomers reach retirement age. If the factors related to employment are considered, it must be noted that the working-age population is falling nowadays. This drop is, in part, the result of low participation by seniors in the labour market, especially in France. The employment rate for this category of workers at the present time is lower than the objectives set within the framework of the Lisbon Process. The low participation of older workers in the labour market is the result of premature exclusion, within a context of high unemployment and industrial restructuring. Therefore, the development and enhancement of employment for older workers constitute a crucial issue. If the situations are very div...
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of HR development practices on job satisfaction and affective commitment is moderated by age in a sample of 37 companies located in Italy, involving a total of 6,182 employees.
Abstract: Purpose – Drawing on social exchange theory, prior research suggests that the adoption of human resources (HR) practices in the areas of training and development helps to maximize employees’ positive work attitudes. However, while research has generally assumed that HR practices influence all employees in the same way, there is much evidence that employees’ motives and needs change with age, suggesting that older workers may react differently to the same HR practices as compared to younger colleagues. This study seeks to shed light on this important and under-explored issue, analyzing whether the effect of HR development practices on job satisfaction (JS) and affective commitment is moderated by age in a sample of 37 companies located in Italy, involving a total of 6,182 employees. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Applying a multilevel approach, the results confirm a positive influence of HR development practices in increasing JS and affective commitment and show that ...

47 citations


Cites background from "Older workers and active ageing in ..."

  • ...Moreover, it is important to consider that in Italy, alongside other European countries such as France (Gendron, 2011), early exit from the labour market has been an essential tool of adaptation to economic and social changes....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An important finding of this study is the large number of Baby Boomers who indicated that they would be happy to work part-time or never retire, and policies and continued dialogue aimed at making the workplace a safe, flexible and welcoming environment to accommodate this wish are required.
Abstract: Background: Governments have been implementing policies aimed at halting the trend towards early retirement for Baby Boomers. Public policies can have a strong effect on when a person retires and this analysis contributes to an improved understanding of retirement aspirations in regards to health, social, workplace and economic determinants. Methods: In October 2011 a telephone survey was undertaken with participants aged 50 to 65 years who were in paid employment and who had been in the workforce for the previous three years. Participants were obtained from two identical South Australian cohort studies - the North West Adelaide Health Study and the Florey Adelaide Male Ageing Study. The results of the telephone survey were linked to the original cohort data. Data were weighted by sex, age, postcode and probability of selection in the household. Work related questions included how much they thought about their retirement, current occupation, employment status, type of workplace and hours worked per week. Health related questions included current smoking status, physical activity, body mass index, self-reported health status and overall life satisfaction. Uni-variable and multi-variable analyses were undertaken to compare the different associations between people who were and were not intending to retire. Results: In total, 25.9% (n = 210) of people who were currently in paid employment indicated that they intend to retire completely from the workforce. The remainder indicated that they will continue to work (41.8% retire from full-time work but work part-time, 25.7% continue working part-time but reduce their current hours, and 6.7% never retire). The multi-variable results indicate that those with lower education, having a savings habit, and sales workers more likely to anticipate complete retirement. The self-employed, and those thinking only moderately about retirement, were more likely to extend their working life beyond age 65. Conclusion: An important finding of this study is the large number of Baby Boomers who indicated that they would be happy to work part-time or never retire. Policies and continued dialogue aimed at making the workplace a safe, flexible and welcoming environment to accommodate this wish, and to entice others to take up this option over complete withdrawal from the labour force, is required.

46 citations


Cites background from "Older workers and active ageing in ..."

  • ...The culture of early retirement, previously so pervasive, is being replaced by a culture of gradual retirement, encompassing continued part-time employment [1]....

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  • ...Background The economic, social and health consequences of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age is a topic of increasing academic and policy interest [1-3]....

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Dissertation
19 Jun 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse l'effet de l''' etape de carriere '' sur les facteurs de fidelisation and sur le niveau de fidedite des salaries.
Abstract: Les nombreux modeles de turnover que l’on peut trouver dans la litterature en Gestion des Ressources Humaines illustrent l’importance de la fidelisation des salaries a l’entreprise.L’objectif de cette these est d’analyser l’effet de l’« etape de carriere » sur les facteurs de fidelisation et sur le niveau de fidelite des salaries. Ce travail est egalement l’occasion d’etudier les determinants de l’etape de carriere et de debattre autour de l’impact de l’appartenance a la generation Y sur l’intention de quitter l’entreprise.Pour repondre a ces questions de recherche, une enquete par questionnaires a ete realisee en janvier 2011 aupres de salaries francais d’une entreprise franco-americaine et de deux entreprises francaises. L’echantillon est compose de 478 repondants : 206 vendeurs, 150 techniciens, 76 salaries de fonctions support et 46 de fonctions indefinies. La population etudiee a un niveau de qualification faible a moyen (CAP/BEP/BAC a BAC+2/BTS).Les resultats confirment (1) le role central de la satisfaction extrinseque au travail et de l’implication affective organisationnelle dans un modele de turnover et (2) l’influence du score a l’etape de carriere d’un individu a la fois sur les facteurs de fidelisation et l’intention de quitter l’entreprise.Le profil du salarie a egalement un impact sur les facteurs de fidelisation et sur l’intention de quitter. Le score a une etape de carriere est peu influence par l’âge et les differentes formes d’anciennete.L’appartenance a la generation Y, plutot qu’a la generation X ou a celle des Baby Boomers, n’influence pas l’intention de quitter l’entreprise, du moins telle qu’elle est mesuree par l’appartenance a une tranche d’âge.

31 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...Ce résultat va à l’encontre des perceptions socioculturelles et de l’image qu’ont les seniors (Gendron, 2011)....

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Dissertation
29 Jun 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the reasons for the decision of migrant worker hostel residents not to return definitively to places of origin at retirement, and found that the overwhelming preference of resident is for back-and-forth migration, between the hostel in France and communities of origin.
Abstract: Unlike many of their North African and West African compatriots who reunified with family and settled in France in the 1970s and 80s, the decision of migrant worker hostel residents not to return definitively to places of origin at retirement is puzzling. Firstly, it calls into question the assumptions of the ‘myth of return’ literature, which explains non-return on the basis of family localisation. In the case of ‘geographically-single’ hostel residents, however, the grounds for non-return cannot be family localisation, since the men’s families remain in places of origin. Secondly, older hostel residents also remain unmoved by the financial incentives of a return homewards, where their French state pensions would have far greater purchasing power. Instead of definitive return, the overwhelming preference of hostel residents is for back-and-forth migration, between the hostel in France and communities of origin. The aim of this dissertation is to resolve this puzzle, by asking: What explains the hostel residents’ preference for back-and-forth mobility over definitive return at retirement? In order to make sense of these mobility decisions, several theories of migration are presented and evaluated against qualitative data from a multi-sited research design incorporating ethnography, life story and semi-structured interviews, and archive material. This fieldwork was carried out across France, Morocco and Senegal. Although no one theory adequately accounts for all the phenomena observed, the added value of each theory becomes most apparent when levels of analysis are kept distinct: at the household level as regards remittances; at the kinship/village level as regards re-integration in the home context; at the meso-level of ethnic communities in terms of migrants’ transnational ties; and at the macro-level of social systems concerning inclusion in healthcare and administrative organisations. Widening the focus beyond the puzzle/dilemma of late-in-life mobility, the thesis concludes by questioning what ‘home’ can mean for the retired hostel residents. An innovative way of theorising home – building on conventional conceptions of home based on territory and community – is outlined, arguing that to be ‘at home’ can also mean to be ‘included’ in different ‘social systems’. With this argument the thesis aims to contribute to broader debates on what it means for immigrants to belong and achieve inclusion in society. The candidate declares (a) that the thesis has been composed by the candidate alone, and (b) that the work is the candidate’s own, and (c) that the work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Signed (the candidate)

28 citations


Cites background from "Older workers and active ageing in ..."

  • ...63 The median age of retirement in France is 58 years (Gendron 2011)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, three studies were carried out to develop and validate an instrument for measuring managers' attitudes toward older workers, and the main findings are: (a) five types of managers’ attitudes towards older workers were identified (adaptability, value of older workers’ competencies, organizational conscientiousness, social capital/generosity and performance); (b) these attitudes predict how managers select older vs. younger workers in hiring and selecting employees to participate in training; (c)
Abstract: Three studies were carried out to develop and validate an instrument for measuring managers’ attitudes toward older workers. In the first study we explore (a) managers’ attitudes toward older workers, and (b) retirees’ perceptions about their last experiences before retirement. In the second study, 51 items emerging from the first study and from the literature were developed. The corresponding questionnaire was then applied to a sample of 224 Portuguese managers who were also invited to make decisions in three scenarios involving younger and older workers. The third study replicated the second one with a sample of 249 Brazilian managers. The main findings are: (a) five types of managers’ attitudes toward older workers were identified (adaptability, value of older workers’ competencies, organizational conscientiousness, social capital/generosity and performance); (b) these attitudes predict how managers select older vs. younger workers in hiring and selecting employees to participate in training; (...

17 citations

References
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MonographDOI
01 Jan 1986

89 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the assertion in the perspective of an optimal constitution and exploitation of Human Capital, and show that emotional capital, more than an additional capital, is a booster capital potentializing, which energizes or empowers the human, social and cultural capitals.
Abstract: From the perspective of the Chicago school, there is no behaviour that can not be interpreted as economic. In this paper, through our conceptual framework named “Emotional Capital” (EC), I discuss the assertion in the perspective of an optimal constitution and exploitation of Human Capital. In reference to emotional intelligence, I show that emotional capital, more than an additional capital, is a booster capital potentializing, which energizes or empowers the human, social and cultural capitals. EC is critical to enable human capital formation, accumulation and its optimal exploitation for individuals. Also, it is crucial in knowledge management in the today's increasingly complex and competitive global workplace for companies and organisations. Our conceptual model enables to understand student academic success or failure on the one hand, the different occupational and jobs choices and career prospect between men and women, and organisations or companies successes as well, on the other hand.

65 citations


"Older workers and active ageing in ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…a smooth and trust atmosphere (le ‘bien vivre ensemble’), involving a balance sustainable organisations will depend a lot on their ‘emotional capital’ (Gendron 2004), and the way they will manage it, i.e. take into account their workers’ emotional competencies, using them in an efficient and…...

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  • ...…human people in an active process of sense making to continuously assess the effectiveness of best practices requires managing the workforce in a new way: towards partners’ relationship where emotional competence will differentiate successful managers with leadership4 style (Gendron 2004, 2006)....

    [...]

Posted Content
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the assertion in the perspective of an optimal constitution and exploitation of Human Capital, through their conceptual framework named Emotional Capital (EC), referring to emotional intelligence, and show that emotional capital, more than an additional capital, is a booster capital potentializing or energizing the human, social and cultural capitals.
Abstract: From the perspective of the Chicago school, there is no behaviour that is not interpretable as economic. In this paper, we discuss the assertion in the perspective of an optimal constitution and exploitation of Human Capital, through our conceptual framework named Emotional Capital (EC). Referring to emotional intelligence, we show that emotional capital, more than an additional capital, is a booster capital potentializing or energizing the human, social and cultural capitals, EC is critical to enable human capital formation, accumulation and, its optimal exploitation for individuals and crucial in knowledge management in the today's increasingly complex and competitive global workplace for companies and organisations. Our conceptual model enables to understand student academic success or failure on the one hand, the different occupational and jobs choices and career prospect between men and women, and organizations or companies successes as well, on the other hand.

23 citations

MonographDOI
01 Mar 2010
TL;DR: Les reformes des retraites se succedent en France depuis 1993, suscitant inquietude and resignation chez les Francais, who ne croient plus pouvoir beneficier d'une retraite genereuse a lavenir, tout en sachant qu’il leur faudra travailler plus longtemps as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Les reformes des retraites se succedent en France depuis 1993, suscitant inquietude et resignation chez les Francais, qui ne croient plus pouvoir beneficier d’une retraite genereuse a l’avenir, tout en sachant qu’il leur faudra travailler plus longtemps. Avec des reformes qui repoussent l’âge legal de depart a la retraite, qui prevoient une augmentation du nombre d’annees de cotisations necessaires pour acquerir le droit a une retraite complete, qui programment une baisse des taux de remplacement des retraites publiques, et qui sollicitent l’epargne privee des individus pour completer leur niveau de vie a la retraite, la France suit des evolutions communes aux differents pays d’Europe. Longtemps absentes des debats francais, les references aux cas etrangers deviennent courantes : les Allemands ont repousse l’âge de depart a la retraite a 67 ans, les Suedois ont mis en place un systeme de compte notionnel. Mais que font precisement les autres en matiere de retraite ? Pourquoi tous reformentils leur systeme de retraite ? L’analyse des cas etrangers peut-elle fournir des pistes pour les reformes francaises ?

18 citations


"Older workers and active ageing in ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...This evolution of the social representation of early exit facilitated the institutionalisation of this new instrument of ‘social treatment’ of unemployment (Palier 2003)....

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