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Bianca Acklin is 28 years old and Marcel Schwyter is 58 years old. Both work full-time for the central Swiss home appliance manufacturer V-Zug, but their employers’ needs are different.
“Flexibility is important to me,” says Bianca Acklin, who works in HR at V-Zug. “I appreciate the opportunity to decide for myself how early or late I start work and whether I work from home or the office.”
Marcel Schwyter interjects with a smile: “Flexibility is not always easy for me as a manager.” He leads a team of ten people in the control department.
Knowledge is retiring
Reconciling the needs of young and older employees is becoming an increasingly challenging task for employers. In many Swiss companies, four or more generations, from baby boomers to Generation Z, work under one roof. There were always different demands on their work. However, due to the shortage of skilled workers, it has become imperative for employers to actually meet these demands.
“Otherwise people will run away from them,” warns economist Anina Hille, who teaches at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences. He recently published a study on so-called production management in the Swiss economy. This includes, for example, the transfer of knowledge from old to young. Because more and more baby boomers are retiring. Companies must do everything they can to take advantage of their information before it is lost. However, only 15 percent of large companies surveyed in the study stated that intergenerational knowledge transfer actually occurs.
“Many companies do not have the knowledge to specifically solve this problem,” explains study author Hille. The most obvious way is mixed age teams. But many employers fail to take even this simple first step: Almost one in three companies in the study said they deliberately create mixed-age teams. “You could also organize a lunch raffle where staff come together in pairs for lunch. This encourages the informal transfer of knowledge,” suggests Hille. Mentoring programs and tandems are also moving in the same direction.
People over 50 are shaking with fear of losing their jobs
But production management is more than maintaining knowledge in the company: it is more about responding to the needs of different age groups. And sometimes there is a big gap between them. For example, job security is a major concern for older people, according to the survey. It is not surprising that when they reach the age of 50 at the latest, the retirement guillotine comes their way when looking for a job.
Marcel Schwyter was looking for a job for a year and a half before joining V-Zug. “You bring a wealth of experience with you and yet you still fall off the cliff,” Schwyter says. “Employers get the feeling that once you get over 50, you are inflexible and can no longer adapt.”
Added to this are the costs: Companies fear that they will automatically have to pay older workers more. Combined with higher pension fund contributions, this makes a difference. “Our research shows that older workers are willing to give up higher wages simply because of their advanced age with the same qualifications,” explains Anina Hille. “There are still companies that say: We prefer younger candidates if they have the same qualifications.”
Retirees stay as consultants
People over 50 may contribute to the skilled worker shortage. Especially if they don’t stay with the company until they reach normal retirement age. 80 percent of companies say they want to employ more people beyond retirement age in the future. But so far there has been almost no workforce participation.
“I can’t imagine continuing to work after 65,” says 58-year-old manager Marcel Schwyter. “Not only physical conditioning, but also mental conditioning should be taken into account. At some point, you withdraw from the leadership role and are no longer as fresh and agile as you would like.” He wants to continue working as a consultant and with a heavy workload. “Companies still cannot adequately meet the requirements for time and location flexibility, lower working hours and less responsibility when working at retirement age,” says Hille.
However, a change is taking place; Acceptance of working beyond retirement age has increased noticeably in recent years. “I don’t think my generation can avoid it anymore,” says Bianca Acklin, 28, with a shrug.
Leisure is more important than work for young and old
According to employers surveyed, the younger generation also has to fight prejudices in the labor market: they give up quickly and little can be expected from them. “You can’t throw away a whole generation,” criticizes Acklin.
In fact, HSLU research shows that younger workers value “the fun of life” more than older workers. However: For the elderly, the value of “family/child” comes to the fore. “What employees, regardless of age, have in common is that work is less important to them than other values,” Hille says. Hardworking baby boomer generation or lazy Generation Z? It’s nothing but prejudice.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
