Employment of the Elderly, the Ageing Workforce and HRM
The labour force participation of the elderly in Japan can be considered extraordinarily high by the standards of other developed countries. As demographic change is forecast to lead to a shortage in skilled labour in the medium term, the fact that 20 per cent of people over 64 years of age are still part of the labour force is widely seen as a strategic advantage. The promotion of employment of the elderly is considered an option to adapt to the challenges of demographic change.
In the first part of the research project Volker Elis deals with the debate about employment of the elderly in Japan by analysing the measures and aims of Japanese employment policy against the backdrop of the changing socio-political conditions in Japan. In addition, he also examines the economic situation and the motivations of elderly people in the labour market.
In the second part of the research project, Florian Kohlbacher deals with the issues of labour shortage, attrition of skills and knowledge as well as the implementation of suitable instruments and strategies of human resource management to cope with an ageing workforce. In this context he examines the challenges and opportunities, in relation to the employment of older people, both from a company and an employee perspective.
Staff
Previous Staff
Related Research Projects or Programs
Selected Publications
Editorship
[Kohlbacher, Florian; Güttel, Wolfgang H.; Haltmeyer, Beate] The Ageing Workforce and HRM – Challenges, Chances, Perspectives. Special Issue, International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management. 9(2/3) .
[Conrad, Harald; Heindorf, Viktoria; Waldenberger, Franz] Human Resource Management in Ageing Societies. Perspectives from Japan and Germany. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 256 p.
Articles
Baby Boomer Retirement, Arbeitskräftemangel und Silbermarkt: Herausforderungen und Chancen des demographischen Wandels für Unternehmen in Japan (Baby boomer retirement, labor shortage and silver market: Challenges and chances of demographic change for businesses in Japan)
In: Wirtschaftspolitische Blätter 54; 4. pp. 745-758.
[Pohl, Manfred; Wieczorek, Iris] Nisennananen-Mondai: Bedeutung und Auswirkungen einer alternden Bevölkerung und Belegschaft für Firmen in Japan (Meaning and Implications of an Aging Population and Workforce for Firms in Japan)
In: Pohl, Manfred; Wieczorek, Iris (Ed.) Japan 2006. Politik und Wirtschaft (Japan 2006. Politics and Economy). Hamburg: Institut für Asienkunde. pp. 103-125.
Other Articles
Japans „freie Arbeiter“: individueller Lebensstil oder aufgedrängte Prekarität? (Japan’s “free workers”: individual lifte style or imposed precarity)
In: JapanMarkt, Oktober 2007. Tokyo: Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer in Japan. pp. 16-19.
Bye-Bye Baby-Boomer – Wissensbewahrung und die Herausforderung des demografischen Wandels in Japan (Bye-bye baby boomer – Knowledge retention the the challenge of demographic change in Japan)
In: Journal Arbeit 7.Jg./Nr.1. pp. 8-9.
Japan und das Wissen der Babyboomer (Japan and the knowledge of the baby boomers)
In: Wissensmanagement, 01/07. pp. 22-24.
Das Jahr-2007-Problem in Japan: Arbeitskräftemangel und Wissensverlust? (The Year 2007 Problem in Japan: Labor Shortage and Lost Knowledge?)
In: JapanMarkt, Juli 2006. Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer in Japan. pp. 8-11.