With rising life expectancy and the decline in the birth rate, Spanish society will face a huge demographic challenge in the coming years. It is estimated that by 2068 Spain will have more than 14 million elderly citizens, 29.4% of the total population. A reality that entails make significant changes at all levels of society, including the world of work, to maintain and optimize current welfare standards.
In order to know how the corporate fabric deals with the aging of the workforce, the Age & Life Foundation, in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Self-Employed, Social Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility, belonging to the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, has prepared the study “Age management in companies. The obsolescence of templates ”. The full document can be consulted via this link.
The aim of the study is to analyze the current degree of implementation of the various measures for managing the aging of the workforce in Spanish companies. At the same time, it would like to emphasize the importance of raising the awareness of the world of work to the need to develop these policies and to disseminate existing good practices.
As explained Mary Joseph Abraham, general director of Age & Life Foundation, “the number of elderly people who are fit for work will continue to be greater than that of younger generations. It is vital that all companies develop an adequate age management of their workforce, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 8: policies that promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all ”.
Ageism and its Relation to the Politics of Aging
The Age & Life Foundation prepared this study on the basis of several questionnaires sent to HR and general managers of companies in a variety of sectors, including health, finance, real estate, insurance, manufacturing or nutrition. This questionnaire is made up of four main blocks: demographics, stereotypes and perceptions about older workers and their productivity, the policy of the age management company and reflections on the benefits, facilitating factors and detrimental factors of this policy.
The main conclusions of the study indicate that:
- The higher the percentage of older employees (aged 50 and over), the less age bias is present and the more proactive in applying and developing old age management measures.
- The greater the presence of age beliefs and the lower the presence of young workers, the worse the effect of aging on the productivity of workers and the less interest in the application of measures.
- The sectors where age stereotypes are most common are those with significant or repetitive physical exertion, especially in health and social services companies.
- Many companies find little knowledge or confusion about what the age management policies of their employees really are.
- Companies with a higher percentage of older employees claim to have more plans and specific measures for age management in their workforce. While it is true that the discussion needs to be done as to when it is more cost effective to develop them.
- More than 80% of health and social services companies claim to have talent management, ongoing training or health promotion.
- 100% of the companies in the financial and insurance sector that participated in the survey have plans to promote health and improve and adapt working conditions.
- The companies that responded to the questionnaire in the “other services” category have plans to improve the skills and competences of their employees, talent management and continuing training, at a rate higher than 80%.
Finally, the study indicates as lines of action the in-depth analysis of the structure of each company which makes it possible to analyze the opportunities and challenges it will face in connection with the aging workforce; developing outreach and training campaigns to combat negative age stereotypes and highlight the benefits of a diverse workforce at the generation level; and optimizing knowledge of the needs and benefits of age management policies.
According to María José Abraham, “All business needs to understand that adapting to demographic change will be essential for its survival and the sustainability of our welfare system in the years to come. It is vital to apply measures that promote intergenerational coexistence, the development of extensive work careers and the retention of talent of older generations, in order to match their needs, those of their workers and those of society ”.