Keeping older workers in the labour force : working conditions and sustainable work

Title page 1

Contents 4

Executive summary 5

Introduction 7

Objectives and structure of the report 7

EU policy context 8

Data sources and methodology 9

1. Mapping the EU older workforce 11

Labour market developments and trends 11

Social conditions and health in older age 21

Summary and key takeaways 24

2. Job quality and sustainable work 25

Job quality and age 25

Overall job quality 32

Job quality profiles 33

Sustainable work outcomes 37

Summary and key takeaways 40

3. Drivers of labour market participation 42

Sociodemographic and individual factors 42

Workplace- and job-related factors 44

Country-level and regional factors 46

Summary and key takeaways 47

4. National policies on retaining older workers 48

Government policies and initiatives 48

Sustainable workplaces 55

The green transition 58

Summary and key takeaways 59

5. Social dialogue and collective bargaining 60

Implementation of the framework agreement 60

Collective bargaining 60

Summary and key takeaways 66

Conclusions and policy pointers 67

Policy pointers 68

References 70

Annex 76

Participants in the expert and stakeholder workshop 76

Job quality indicators 76

Tables 27

Table 1. Overview of physical and social environments by age group and gender, EU-27, 2021 27

Table 2. Overview of job tasks by age group and gender, EU-27 28

Table 3. Overview of working time arrangements by age group and gender, EU-27, 2021 30

Table 4. Overview of job prospects by age group and gender, EU-27, 2021 32

Table 5. Intrinsic job features by age group and gender, EU-27, 2021 32

Table 6. Job quality of older employees aged 55+ by job profile and indicators of the job quality index, EU-27, 2021 34

Figures 11

Figure 1. Employment by age group, EU-27, 2010-2023 11

Figure 2. Proportion of workers aged 55-64, EU Member States, 2010 and 2023 (% of total employment) 12

Figure 3. Employment rate by age group, EU-27, 2010-2023 12

Figure 4. Employment rates for men and women, for those aged 55-64, 2010-2023 (left panel), and by age group, 2023 (right panel), EU-27 13

Figure 5. Gender employment gap in 2005 and 2023 among those aged 55-64 by EU Member State (percentage points) 13

Figure 6. Part-time employment by type of contract and age group, EU-27, 2023 (% of total employment) 14

Figure 7. Part-time employment by age group and EU Member State, 2023 (% of total employment) 14

Figure 8. Self-employment by age group and EU Member State, 2023 (% of total employment) 15

Figure 9. Prevalence of long-term unemployment by age group and EU Member State, 2023 (% of total unemployment) 16

Figure 10. Transitions from unemployment to employment by age group and EU Member State, 2023 (% of unemployment) 16

Figure 11. Participation in formal and non-formal education and training by age group and EU Member State, 2022 17

Figure 12. Retention rate by age group, EU-27, 2010-2022 18

Figure 13. Retention rate by age group and EU Member State, 2022 18

Figure 14. Retention rate among those aged 60-64 by sex, EU-27, 2010-2022 19

Figure 15. Retention rate among those aged 60-64 by gender and EU Member State, 2022 19

Figure 16. Retention rate among those aged 60-64 by sector of activity, EU-27, 2022 20

Figure 17. Employment rate among those aged 65-69 years by gender, EU-27, 2010-2023 20

Figure 18. Healthy life years at the age of 65 by gender and EU Member State, 2022 (years) 21

Figure 19. Self-perceived health (very good or good) by labour status for those aged 55-64, EU-27, 2010-2023 22

Figure 20. Workers aged 55-64 years reporting bad or very bad health by gender and EU Member State 23

Figure 21. Poverty and social exclusion among those aged 55+, EU-27, 2015-2023 23

Figure 22. Physical environment by age group, EU-27, 2021 26

Figure 23. Physical demands and risks by occupations among those aged 55+, EU-27, 2021 27

Figure 24. Items of work intensity by age group, EU-27, 2021 28

Figure 25. Items of organisational participation (answers 'always' and 'often') by age group and gender, EU-27 28

Figure 26. Usual working hours per week by age group, EU-27, 2021 29

Figure 27. Preferences of employees aged 55+ regarding their weekly working hours by usual weekly working hours, EU-27, 2021 29

Figure 28. Participation in each training type by age group and gender, EU-27, 2021 30

Figure 29. Good career prospects by gender and age group, EU-27 31

Figure 30. Good career prospects by economic sector and age group, EU-27, 2021 31

Figure 31. Job resources and strain by age group and gender, EU-27, 2021 32

Figure 32. Association between job quality and employee age, EU-27, 2021 (reference category: 30-54 years) 33

Figure 33. Job profiles by employee characteristic, EU-27, 2021 35

Figure 34. Job profiles of older employees aged 55+ by EU Member State, 2021 36

Figure 35. Occupational structure by job profile of older employees aged 55+, EU-27, 2021 37

Figure 36. Job profiles of older employees aged 55+ by sector, EU-27, 2021 37

Figure 37. Work-life conflict by job profile of older employees aged 55+, EU-27, 2021 38

Figure 38. Financial sustainability indicators by job profile of older employees aged 55+, EU-27, 2021 38

Figure 39. Work engagement indicators by job profile of older employees aged 55+, EU-27, 2021 39

Figure 40. Health problems by job profile of older employees aged 55+, EU-27, 2021 40

Figure 41. Effective versus statutory retirement age by EU Member State for women (top panel) and men (bottom panel) (years) 49

Figure 42. Physical and social environments by age group and job profile, EU-27, 2021 76

Figure 43. Work intensity and task discretion and autonomy by age group and job profile, EU-27, 2021 77

Figure 44. Organisational participation by age group and job profile, EU-27, 2021 77

Figure 45. Organisational participation, unsocial work schedules and flexibility in working hours by age group and job profile, EU-27, 2021 77

Figure 46. Training opportunities and job insecurity by age group and job profile, EU-27, 2021 78

Figure 47. Opportunities for self-realisation by age group and job profile, EU-27, 2021 78

Boxes 17

Box 1. Operationalising retention rates 17

Box 2. Measuring job quality 26

Box 3. Latent class analysis 33

Box 4. Sustainable work initiatives 53

Box 5. Initiatives enhancing digital skills of older workers 56

Box 6. Company-level collective bargaining on the active ageing of older workers: the contratto di espansione in Italy 61

Box 7. From regulation to voluntarism: the situation in France 62