oa Arbeidskosten en productiviteit van oudere werknemers

Labor costs and productivity of older workers: The view of Dutch employers in a European perspective

Perceptions about labor costs and productivity play an important role in the way employers behave towards older workers. This study addresses two main questions: What do employers see as possible consequences of an ageing workforce in terms of labor costs and productivity? And what organizational policies do European employers apply and consider in order to decrease labor costs or to increase labor productivity? To answer these research questions, we analyzed surveys administered to a total of 5,822 employers in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The results show that a considerable share of employers associate the ageing of their staff with a growing gap between labor costs and productivity; this is especially an issue in the Netherlands. ‘Employers expecting a larger gap do not more often apply organizational measures to adjust the cost-productivity balance, for instance, by means of training plans or demotion, although they more often seem to consider demotion. On the contrary, employers expecting a larger pay-productivity gap are more likely to apply early retirement schemes and accommodative measures. We conclude that organizational policies do not seem to be aimed at tackling a growing expected wage-productivity gap yet.