Backround
Due to demographic changes and the resulting increase of the retirement age, the share of older employees in companies will continue to rise in the coming years. Therefore, more and more companies face the question of how they can contribute to the preservation of the health and working capacity of their employees.
Due to demographic changes and the resulting increase of the retirement age, the share of older employees in companies will continue to rise in the coming years. Therefore, more and more companies face the question of how they can contribute to the preservation of the health and working capacity of their employees.
A work and personnel policy that considers the course of working life and organises fields of action such as work design, qualification, personnel development, career design and health promotion accordingly is becoming more important. Good approaches already exist in many companies, but the measures and processes are often not yet sufficiently networked in terms of effective ageing management.
The topic was therefore pursued in the cooperation project of the IAD and the Chair of Work and Occupational Rehabilitation at the University of Cologne, which ran from September 2011 to August 2015, together with industrial partners from Audi, Bosch, Daimler, Evobus, Ford, Opel, Porsche and VW.
The PINA-project was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) as part of the New Quality of Work Initiative and supported by the work group representing the severely disabled in the German automotive industry. PINA also involved external actors in prevention and rehabilitation, such as health, accident and pension insurance companies.
Method
Following an initial survey on the state of ageing management, five thematic areas were selected together with the participating companies in order to develop solutions and practical support for central aspects of ageing management. Working in a group of several companies, concepts were compiled and instruments as well as processes were further developed. The corresponding products were successively tested and, if necessary, further refined. Backgrounds and products were also put into an overall framework and prepared accordingly.
Results
The resulting products support the further development of suitable indicators and provide guidance in sensitising and activating managers as the key players in ageing management. They provide the basics of age-appropriate work design, help with target group-oriented planning of workplace health promotion measures and advise on how to establish good cooperation with social insurance agencies.
Ageing management is not seen as an additional task, but as an increasing interconnection of existing activities. The meaning of this and how the so-called “Fit-Model” can support it is described in the introductory chapter of the PINA-project brochure, in which all project results are summarised. The brochure and individual products are available in the download area of the project website.
