Using Workability to recruit and retain life experience in

the aged care workforce

Business Work & Ageing Centre for Research

Outline for employers/organisations • Business Work & Ageing Centre for

research• Issues of age and work• The Workability construct• Promotion & Maintenance of

Workability• Current Projects & Case Studies• Explore possibilities for collaboration

Business Work & Ageing Centre for Research

• Established in 2001, the Centre is an international leader in researching the economic and social consequences of workforce ageing. It undertakes research and provides specialised consultancy services to industry

Screeching to a Halt:

Growth in the Working-Age Population

Source: Deloitte Research/UN Population Division (http://esa.un.org/unpp/) It’s 2008: Do You Know Where Your Talent Is? Why Acquisition and Retention

Strategies Don’t Work, p.6From Tamara Erickson Concourse Group

Mexico Brazil India China South Australia Canada USA NED Spain France UK Russia Italy Japan GermanyKorea

1970-2010 2010-2050

Health & Community Services Workforce Profile

All industries

EMPLOYMENT 1 108 800(10%)

10 559 800

Employment growth in last 5 years 17.3 % 12.7%

Aged 45 years or older NILS 2008 estimates -60% residential care-70% community care workers

42% 28%

Female 79% 45%

Working part-time 46% 37%

Employed outside state capital cities

Source: Australian Jobs 2008, DEEWR

37% 37%

A new emphasis on older workers

• Population ageing has led to concern about the sustainability of pension systems and labour supply, with increasing emphasis on prolonging work lives.

• But to achieve this many hurdles need to be overcome.

Occupational health and safety data

‘Many managers see “ageing workforce” issues as intractable problems that are not worth addressing. They believe that most of the injuries sustained (and claims lodged) are the result of a lifetime of accumulated wear and tear, and that nothing we do today will have sufficient impact to warrant the cost.’Munk, Congdon and Macdonald, in Promotion of Workability - Towards Productive Ageing, Kumashiro (ed) 2009 Taylor Francis

Basic problem and basic solution: relationship between human resources and work demands

Redesigning Work for Ageing Societies

• Inter-related factors determine the relationship between older people and the labour market.

• Consensus that tackling the issue requires multi-faceted and integrated strategies.

• Finnish WORKABILITY concept and a framework for its workplace promotion offers such an approach.

• WORKABILITY is an indication of how well a person’s health, skills and experience match the demands of their job.

LEVELS OF AGE MANAGEMENT

FIOH in Towards longer working lives

How should business respond?Dimensions of good practice in Age Management:• Job Recruitment • Training and lifelong learning• Career development• Flexible working time practices• Health protection and promotion and

workplace design• Redeploying older workers• Employment exit and the transition to

retirement.Source: Naegele, G & Walker, A, 2006, A Guide to Good Practice in Age Mangement, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Office for the Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg

The BWA retention model: An integrated view

The Workability concept

Measuring Workability

• Original measuring tool is the Workability Index (WAI)

• The Workability Survey (WAS) has been developed in Australia by BWA

• Current research on validating new tools to reflect the whole extended workability model

• Pre- and post - tests used to measure effectiveness of interventions

Workability Survey Model

Personal and Organizational Capacity WAS

(Work Ability Survey data Redesigning Work for an Ageing Society, BWA 2009)

Features of work that predict Workability

• Ergonomics• Possibilities to control one’s work• Time pressures• Management

Pohjonen, 2001n = 636 Finnish female home care workers aged 19 -62

Results of interventions

Promotion of Workability: integration of actions

Modified by Dr Richenhagen, 2003

So, why use the Workability model?

Proven, evidence-based concept based on researchIntegrated approach reflects the interaction between individual resources and work factorsModel invites and supports collaboration & offers an holistic life course approachQuality assurance - model facilitates & evaluates progress in quest for continuous improvement

Who & what is METEOR ?

Contact Associate Professor Libby Brooke Email lbrooke@swin.edu.auWeb www.meteorworkability.com.au