Human Resources Policy for Ageing Workforce

There is no denying the fact that demographic change has affected personnel policies of companies and governments. What this means at the individual level and how we should plan for these changes remains unclear, particularly when it increasingly becomes a focus of research. It is not only a question of family policies but also personnel policies. A new study released by the HWWI (Hamburgisches Weltwirtschafts Institut – Hamburg Institute of International Economics) quotes, “it’s difficult to make broad statements about the consequences that an aging society and workforce will have on productivity as it depends on the field and type of work. However, the future development of labor productivity should not differ based on fields. An important role will be the reorganization of work procedures and team structures that could be optimized for a new demographic framework. We should make every effort to support the research of academic labor specialists and promote the transfer of this knowledge to the economy. Since workers in companies are getting older, further education and training is assigned greater importance.” (Demographic Change and Labor Supply: perspectives and potential solutions for Hamburg companies). A study carried out by the VDI (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure – Association of German Engineers) and IW (Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft – Institute of the German Economy) about the lack of engineers comments: “those companies that implement measures to foster and promote older engineers, retire those engineers two years and four months later than those companies who make little or no efforts.” The symposium will deal with these and other issues, and draw a comparative analysis of potential solutions in Japan and Germany.