Personnel management in relation to workers of 50+ years of age in Czech and Slovak organisations

Abstract

Aging a population is a process that brings along a number of questions and topics for discussions regarding various aspects of life of an ever growing group of older employees. The fact that today's people live to be older and at the same time healthy without doubt represent of key successes of modern society. However, at the same time the population aging creates a need to alternate ways of work management and welfare systems. The European trend in approach to solution of this newly emerging situation is increasing the retirement age, as a subject of concept of productive aging, when this increasing of retirement age dominates in discussions on social measures regarding aging, across states and welfare systems. An alternative to this approach is a so called concept of active aging - use of active potential of older employees in social activities and on the job market. Bockova, Hastrmanova and Havrdova (2011) Schauerova (2010) further states that beside the fact that the population is aging, fertility rate is dropping too and organizations are lacking experienced and educated employees. This brings the increase in demand of employees over 50 years of age. The demand for older employees has been individual so far, as such think depends on the nature of the work position. The article introduces the results of the quantitative and qualitative research that was conducted by the author while writing his doctoral thesis, which was focused on personnel management and specific features of employees of the age group 50+ in Czech and Slovak organizations. The results given in the article focus on personnel management in relation to workers of 50+ years of age in Czech and Slovak organisations, from the point of view of both, the employees themselves and the management of the organisations surveyed. One of the objectives of the article is to realize that employees in the category 50+ should be approached as an active work force, which brings and provides to potential employer their long term work experience and skills proven by practice, high motivation for keeping of good work position before retirement and psychological maturity, seriousness, reliability, thoroughness and responsibility. These employees may offer to the younger generation understanding, support, or they may become mentors or couches and actively participate in the process of sharing their life long experience and knowledge with the younger employees.