Organisational Measures and Strategies for a Healthy and Sustainable Extended Working Life and Employability—A Deductive Content Analysis with Data Including Employees, First Line Managers, Trade Union Representatives and HR-Practitioners

Kerstin Nilsson and Emma Nilsson
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Kerstin Nilsson: Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, 223 81 Lund, Sweden
Emma Nilsson: Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, 223 81 Lund, Sweden

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-29

Abstract: Due to the global demographic change many more people will need to work until an older age, and organisations and enterprises need to implement measures to facilitate an extended working life. The aim of this study was to investigate organisational measures and suggestions to promote and make improvements for a healthy and sustainable working life for all ages in an extended working life. This is a qualitative study, and the data were collected through both focus group interviews and individual interviews that included 145 participants. The study identified several suggestions for measures and actions to increase employability in the themes: to promote a good physical and mental work environment; to promote personal financial and social security; to promote relations, social inclusion and social support in the work situation; and to promote creativity, knowledge development and intrinsic work motivation, i.e., based on the spheres of determination in the theoretical swAge-model (sustainable working life for all ages). Based on the study results a tool for dialogue and discussion on employee work situation and career development was developed, and presented in this article. Regular conversations, communication and close dialogue are needed and are a prerequisite for good working conditions and a sustainable working environment, as well as to be able to manage employees and develop the organisation further. The identified measures need to be revisited regularly throughout the employees’ entire working life to enable a healthy and sustainable working life for all ages.

Keywords: employability; ageing; senior; work environment; swAge-model; demography; retirement; global sustainable goal; public health; health promotion; health prevention; empowerment; occupational health care; psychosocial; working hours; recuperation; recovery; private finance; economy; work–life balance; manager; social support; discrimination; motivation; job satisfaction; competence; work ability; creativity; gerontology; older worker; extended working life; age management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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