• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Extending Employment Beyond Retirement Age: The Case of Health Care Managers in Quebec

Posted on: Friday, 19 August 2005, 03:00 CDT

Baby boomers in public agencies are getting ready to retire and there are concerns about retaining the existing workforce apart from recruiting younger managers. Recent studies of workplace patterns of older workers have shown that the workforce of older workers should no longer be seen as a unidirectional journey to retirement. Older workers may value bridge employment or even prefer to extend their working lives. The motives for deciding to leave the workplace permanently can be related to unmet expectations, the desire for change, and the need to enjoy a new phase of life. Based on a survey conducted on 402 older managers working in health care institutions in Quebec, this study sheds light on the new alternatives to traditional early retirement that organizations will have to take into account while considering the preferences and intentions of employees who are approaching retirement.

Because of the decline in fertility rates and the increase in life expectancy, in most developed countries there will, in the next few years, be a marked increase in the proportion of the workforce that is over 45 years of age. During the past 10 years, the population aged 45 to 64 in Canada increased by 35.8 percent to almost 7.3 million. This increase was fuelled mainly by the entry into this group of the oldest baby-boomers born between 1946 and 1965. People aged 45 to 64 alone accounted for virtually one- quarter of Canada's total population of just over 30 million in 2001 compared with only 20 percent in 1991. In 2011, these individuals are expected to represent almost one-third of the nation's total population.1 While the trend in recent years has been to downsize and cut costs by offering massive early retirement to aging employees, this has unfortunately denied organizations the expertise of senior employees, and has resulted in an over-representation of employees who are in their late forties. However, like the generation that preceded them, this generation is getting ready to retire, pushed by major organizational upheaval, work overload and especially a culture of early departure which, in recent years, has taken root in workplaces as a result of numerous early retirement programs. Replacements are therefore getting scarce and focus is being put on a workforce largely found in today's organizations, namely the cohorts of baby boomers whose age hovers around 50.

In Quebec, the health sector has been hard hit by this reality. The massive forced retirement of hundreds of nurses has caused a labor shortage in this job category. The entry of younger nurses has not compensated for the many retirements and the health sector is still grappling with recruitment crises. Managers working within health care institutions are currently experiencing a similar situation. Among the 3,450 managers working in 141 institutions in the Montreal area, approximately 21 percent (704) will be eligible for retirement in the next three years. This percentage will increase to 50 percent in the next five years. The healthcare network of the Greater Montreal area will undoubtedly be faced with not only a labor shortage but also the need to provide training to young recruits in record time in order to prepare them to take over. Human resources planning departments have no other choice but to accept the conclusions of the many studies that have tried to identify the problems associated with workforce aging and established that the effectiveness of organizations will undoubtedly depend on finding new effective ways to retain and manage employees who are 50 years and older.2 With the increasing number of mature employees in organizations and on the labor market, organizations will have to implement human resource practices that will make older employees' jobs more challenging, encouraging them to extend their working life and empowering them to contribute to the organization's success.3

The main focus of this article is to point to new ways to retain an older workforce by highlighting some of the benefits of implementing adequate human resource practices that can encourage older workers to extend their employment. The work expectations or values of older employees will first be examined in order to better understand their needs. secondly, the opportunity for older employees to realize each of their work values in their current jobs will be assessed. The impact of unmet expectations on two outcomes, namely the anticipation of early retirement and the expectation of extending working life, will then be examined while taking into consideration some important individual and retirement characteristics that determine the point at which people retire. Finally, human resource practices that are perceived as offering the possibility to meet older managers' expectations will be presented. By doing so, we expect to be able to determine the profile as well as the organizational effort that can dissuade employees from taking early retirement but also to determine the profiles and organizational practices associated with employees' willingness to extend their employment. By opting for a combination of these two outcomes, we expect to be able to better identify and interpret the usefulness of the organizational strategies implemented to manage the end of careers.

Research Issues

Recent studies of workplace patterns of older workers have shown that the workplace of older workers should no longer be seen as a unidirectional journey to retirement.4 Despite legal provisions that prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in all aspects of employment, attitudes toward older workers have been reported to be negative.5 To make decisions based on knowledge and not on prejudice, it is necessary to investigate some factors related to the management of older workers. If the decline in physical capacity due to the effect of age is inevitable, it is counterbalanced by added experience and maturity.6 Moreover, a common finding of meta-analyses in previous studies was that, on average, the relationship between age and performance effectiveness is around zero. In their longitudinal study, Yearta & Warr7 found that there was no difference between the overall sales performance of older and younger employees. Reviewing the literature on age-related performance, Agarwal & DeGroote8 concluded that individual differences can better explain performance than age group differences.

To facilitate their integration and enhance their chances of remaining in the workplace for a longer period, effective organizational policies should meet older workers' needs.9 Therefore, the work values of older workers that may differ from those of their younger colleagues need to be assessed in order to encourage their active participation in the organization.10 The provision of work alternatives as older workers reach retirement age will broaden their career perspectives. Senior employees who are eager to retire will be able to leave the organization whereas those who show some flexibility will be offered financial or work organization incentives by the organization that encourage them to consider bridge employment. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that those who are still performing well and looking forward to advancement and career development should be able to continue to play an active role and contribute to the organization's success.

Retirement Issues

Doeringer11 found that although 50 percent of U.S. workers have officially retired by the age of 60, only 11 percent have fully withdrawn from the workforce by that time. The others choose bridge employment, namely, employment that takes place after a person's retirement from a full-time position but before the person's permanent withdrawal from the workplace.12 At the end of their careers, workers can make three choices that are different from the traditional separation from work by retirement.13 The first choice, remaining at work, means that an employee meeting the retirement qualifications of age and years of service chooses to continue working in a full- or parttime job without a break in service. The reasons for this choice relate to financial planning in preparation for a reduced income, respect for older workers' contributions, and the desire to do meaningful work. A second choice is returning to work (paid position) after the person has experienced a period of retirement. Such a choice is often due to the need for a second career or a bridge job between periods of retirement, the need to supplement income, the need for greater health insurance coverage, or just a desire to feel like a contributing member of society. Finally, a retiring worker is an employee who meets the age and service requirements and elects to leave his or her current employment with no intention of returning. The motives for deciding to leave the workplace permanently can be related to job dissatisfaction, the desire for change, and the need to enjoy a new phase of life.

Organizations will therefore have to take into account alternatives to traditional early retirement and consider the preferences and intentions of employees who are approaching retirement. Older workers may value early retirement or prefer to extend their working lives. After careful examination of the preferences of older workers with regard to their retiremen\t plans, Rosen & Jerclee,14 Sheppard15 and Feldman16 argued that older workers often favor phased retirement, combining work and retirement, instead of an abrupt end to their professional lives. Shepparcl17 noted in his study that 80 percent of workers prefer gradual retirement to early retirement.

The Influence of Older Workers' Values on Their Desire to Extend their Working Lives

There has been considerable research on the aspirations and work values of older workers. As reported in the review by Crampton, Hodge & Mishra,18 older workers, in comparison with their younger counterparts, tend to enjoy themselves more on the job and are less concerned with advancement and more concerned with finding stability and developing a good relationship with co-workers. Furthermore, they are more loyal to their company, have better job morale, are more aware of occupational health and safety issues, and have much lower rates of turnover and absenteeism. Tschirhart" studied age- related differences among volunteers. She found that senior individuals (over 60) were more motivated, more altruistic and less interested in career development. Older volunteers were more receptive to feedback than to rewards and needed to know that they were 'making a difference.' They perceived their work as more meaningful and felt more responsibility for work outcomes than younger volunteers.

In an effort to synthesize the literature on the subject, we have classified older workers' values into five categories: work content, career development, recognition, work conditions and retirement conditions.

Work content. Toward the end of their careers, older workers tend to value career autonomy.20 They favor quality and prefer to work at their own pace.21 They yearn for variety and the possibility to choose among tasks that reduce or better balance their workload.22 Another important aspiration of mature employees is to deal with a supportive and understanding supervisor who recognizes their experience and maturity, and provides them with work autonomy.23 Zetlin24 identified the importance of making older workers feel useful. The need for older workers to reorient their careers, to assume new roles, such as mentors, trainers or consultants, has also been studied by Sheppard,25 Kelly,26 and Lewis & McLaverty.27 These aspirations are not necessarily shared by all older workers. The desire to play new roles or start a second career is driven by tenure in the profession and in the organization, by career stage and by a number of personality traits such as self-efficacy locus of control and work involvement.28

Career development. Some authors have suggested that workers who reach their fiftieth birthday still have at least 10 to 15 more professional years ahead of them.29 Older workers need to have the same opportunities as younger workers and equal access to training, career advancement and career development. They can still seek challenging jobs with increased responsibilities.30 Various authors emphasize the fact that older workers value training opportunities.31 Kelly'2 adds that older workers who are worried that their careers are plateauing see training as a way of enhancing their chances for advancement.

Contribution recognition. Leibowitz & Farren,33 and Wright & Hamilton34 argued that older workers need to be heard and be fairly compensated for their contributions to the organization. They fear losing status with aging and yearn to see their experience, maturity and years of loyal services to the organization recognized. Therefore, recognition in their jobs is identified as a very important aspiration for older workers.

Adapted work conditions. Rix,i5 and Dibden & Hibbett36 point out that older workers often choose to work part-time. Toward the end of their careers, they tend to value spending more time with their families and therefore favor reduced workloads. They would rather avoid long hours and hours spent in traffic, and eventually choose to telecommute.37

Individual Characteristics Influencing Bridge Employment

Individual differences (health and age), family status, and job factors (organizational tenure, salary at time of retirement, amount of pension benefits, and retirement counseling) were hypothesized to influence the decision to engage in bridge employment and therefore to extend working life.3" Hypotheses about the positive relationship between good health and bridge employment have been supported by research results. Organizational tenure was found to be strongly correlated with engaging in bridge employment. The higher a retiree's salary, the less likely he or she was to engage in bridge employment. Pension benefits, declined retirement incentives in the past, and retirement counseling were not significantly related to engaging in bridge employment. With spouses still in the workplace and children to support, retirees were significantly more likely to engage in bridge employment. However, neither marital status nor retiree's gender was related to bridge employment.39

Managing Older Workers

Age should be considered as a component of the diversity issue and managing older workers as a part of diversity management that reflects the new challenges facing human resource professionals as they manage a multi-cultural, multi-racial, well-educated workforce of both genders. Recent studies identified three key strategies used to manage older workers efficiently."40

Establishing supportive workplace relations. Two areas have been identified to achieve a supportive workplace environment for older workers. Alternative work arrangements provide flexibility in terms of job redesign, job rotation, redesign of equipment, leave policies and flextime. Other options are part-time arrangements, reemployment of retirees, and using retirees as volunteers (it is estimated that a third of all Americans, including older workers, are hired on a part-time, temporary or contingent basis). The second area is retirement-related assistance through pension planning and providing early retirement incentive programs.

Encouraging career development can be achieved by developing annual career objectives, providing an environment of continuous learning opportunities, facilitating transfer of knowledge from one generation to another and providing training. The literature suggests that some older workers are reluctant to participate in training. According to Maurer,41 one possible explanation is a decline in older workers' self-confidence in their ability to learn. It is necessary to encourage all employees to be involved in training and to design the training so as to enhance its success. It is also important to make sure that qualified older workers have as much access as their younger colleagues to challenging tasks and assignments in order to avoid lost opportunities for older workers.

Performance appraisal and communication systems should be reliable, valid, and age-neutral, in other words, based on objective measures and free of stereotypical thinking about aging. Among the most important concerns were the need to adapt appraisals to the needs of older workers, to adopt a policy for older workers, and to provide outplacement assistance. Grievance procedures and open door policies were viewed as an effective way to better understand the needs of older employees and as a gatekeeper for ethical behavior serving to prevent discrimination against them.

Study Design

Sample

The data for the present study were collected by a questionnaire completed between April and March 2001 by 402 managers aged 50 years and older working in health care institutions (response rate 28 percent). The respondents' mean age is 53.5. Women make up a slightly larger proportion of the population studied and account for 60.9 percent of respondents. As might be expected from a population of managers, the level of education is fairly high: 34.3 percent of respondents have a bachelor's degree, 35.8 percent have a master's degree and 3.5 percent have a Ph.D. The great majority of respondents live with a spouse (75.6 percent) and 43.8 percent have no dependants. Their average salary is between C$55,000 and C$70,000. The mean tenure is 16 years in the organization, and 8.5 years in the current position. Most of the respondents have decided to retire at the age of 59, even though only 19.9 percent of those choosing to retire will be entitled to their full pension at that time. If given the chance, they would prefer to retire at the age of 57.5.

Measures

Work value. The work values of older workers were measured using 17 items relating to various working conditions that were identified in the literature. The scales used to measure these work expectations each consist of a seven-point Likert-type format rating the relative importance assigned to the various aspects of work by the individual.

Work rewards. Using the same items that measure the work values of older workers, each individual also rated, on a seven-point Likert-type scale, the extent to which he or she feels that their work aspirations can be achieved in their current job.

Unmet expectations were computed by calculating a difference score between the work values and the work rewards.

Retirement expectations. Using a seven-point Likert-type scale, respondents were asked to rate the extent to which it is important for them to retire as soon as possible.

Extending employment. Older managers were asked to rate the extent to which it is important for them to continue working after the normal retirement age.

Human resource practices. Thirty-three practices identified in the literature as effective practices for managing older workers were included in the analyses. The respondents were asked to indicate whether the practices existed or not. The practices refer to career management, compensation, retirement management, working conditions, appraisals and new roles.

Individual characteristics. Work involvement \was assessed using a measure developed by Kanungo,42 which included six items on a seven-point Likert scale. The scale had an internal coherence coefficient of .75, which indicated a fairly acceptable reliability. Demographic and employment variables were collected from direct questions on age, gender (coded 1 = female, 2 = male), level of education, organizational tenure, length of time in current position, family income and number of dependants. Whether or not the respondent considered himself or herself to be in good health was measured by 13 items developed by Health Canada. Examples are "I felt tired lately,"" I was in a very bad mood." The internal consistency of the scale is .87. The respondent was asked some direct questions pertaining to their retirement (retirement age, spouse's retirement age, number of dependants at retirement and financial situation).

Statistical Analysis

Four types of analysis were conducted. First, a descriptive analysis was used to rank the work values of older workers and to measure the possibility of attaining those work values in their current jobs. secondly, simultaneous regressions were run to explain the effect of unmet expectations on both the anticipation of retirement and extending employment. Thirdly, hierarchical regression analyses were run to control for the effect of individual variables in explaining early retirement and extending employment. Finally, multivariate regression analyses were conducted on human resource practices that are perceived by older workers as effective practices, inasmuch as they help them meet their expectations.

Results

Unmet expectations of older managers

As indicated in Figure 1, older workers rate the need to work in a pleasant environment as their most important work value followed by the need to feel useful. To be able to balance work and family is considered as the third most important work value. The need to self- actualize at work and work with a clear vision ranks fourth and fifth. Next is the aspiration to see their efforts recognized. Enjoying interpersonal relationships is slightly less important, ranking sixth on a seven-point scale. Having variety in work is less important than having challenging tasks. To be able to transfer competencies ranks tenth but still reflects, with an average of 5.83, the importance older managers give to succession planning. To be able to make a difference is as important as transferring competencies and knowledge. Less important for older managers are the needs to use new technologies, acquire new competencies, have employment security, have power, have lighter work loads and progress in their career. However, it is important to note that the average for the latent needs remains above four on a scale of seven.

Figure 1 : Work values, work rewards and un

Although managers seem to be able to fulfill their needs to a certain extent, there is a significant gap between the aspirations and the opportunity provided by the organization to satisfy each of these work values. According to Figure 1, the gap between the aspiration to work with a clear vision and the possibility of actually doing so is 1.93, that is, nearly a two-point difference on a seven-point scale. A second large gap can be found between the managers' need to work in a pleasant environment and the possibility of fulfilling this aspiration (1.73). The third source of dissatisfaction is the difficulty that managers have in balancing work and family (1.71). Several other gaps should be noted: the difficulty that managers experience in reducing their heavy workload (1.69); not being able to make a difference (1.60); and not seeing their efforts recognized (1.39).

The differences between aspirations and the possibility of fulfilling them that are related to the desire for self- actualization at work and being able to progress in their career, have challenging tasks, acquire new competencies, transfer competencies and feel useful are lower than the preceding dissatisfactions, varying between 1.19 and .74. Finally, managers seem to have satisfied aspirations related to having power and variety in their work, using new technologies, job security and interpersonal relationships at work.

The impact of unmet expectations on the anticipation to retire early or to extend employment

The results in Table 1 suggest that the predictive power of the model is stronger in explaining the anticipation of early retirement (R^sup 2^=0.163) than in explaining extending employment (.061).

Table 1. Multivariate Regression Results: Dimensions of Unmet Expectations explaining Early Retirement and Extending Employment

As indicated in Table 1, older managers did not anticipate retiring early when they were more satisfied with their ability to acquire new competencies, to transfer knowledge and when they felt satisfied with their interpersonal relationships at work. If they needed to balance work and family and could not achieve it, they anticipated retiring as early as possible. They also would want to retire early if they had a heavier work load, lacked variety in their work and if they were not satisfied with their work environment.

On the contrary, the older managers who would want to consider extending employment are the ones who are dissatisfied with their career progress and their ability to transfer knowledge. By remaining employed, they are probably looking forward to being able to better meet their expectations in that regard. They also anticipated extending employment when their expectations regarding their ability to balance work and their personal lives and when working with a clear vision seemed to be fulfilled.

The impact of unmet expectations after controlling for the effect of individual characteristics

Table 2 provides the results of the hierarchical regressions controlling for individual characteristics and explaining both the anticipation of early retirement and extending employment. Results indicate that older managers will be more likely to retire early if they have health problems, if they consider that work is not central to their lives and if they will be eligible for an attractive retirement pension. Most importantly, the smaller the difference between their retirement age and the retirement age of their spouse, the more they will consider early retirement. Respondents will consider extending employment if they are in good health, if they feel that work plays an important role in their lives, if their pension benefits are not attractive enough and if the gap between their retirement age and their spouse's retirement age is wider.

Interestingly, only two unmet expectations remain significant after controlling for individual characteristics which account in both cases for a larger proportion of the variance. The prospect of being able to work in a pleasant environment explains the willingness to retire earlier whereas the dissatisfaction with the ability to acquire new competencies encourages managers not to consider early retirement. Curiously, none of the unmet expectations dimensions remained significant to explain extending employment after controlling for individual characteristics.

Human resource practices reducing the perception of unmet expectations

Table 3 presents the regression results for 33 human resource practices associated with the management of older workers on each of the two unmet expectation dimensions that were identified as reducing eagerness to retire early. Results suggest that eight human resource practices may increase the perception of satisfaction of expectations about acquiring new competencies. Regular evaluation of potential and of training needs provides managers with the opportunity to be promoted, to participate in strategic committees and to share work with another colleague. Adapted training for older managers allows managers to better meet their expectations about acquiring competencies. Older managers will be able to fulfill their needs regarding acquiring new competencies if their pension is indexed, therefore making their investment in training worthwhile. Interestingly, the presence of a code of conduct adds to their dissatisfaction over the possibility of acquiring new competencies. One possible explanation is that such a code increases their expectations of fair and equitable treatment in the area of training, which could be difficult to achieve given the many stereotypes that exist within organizations regarding the advisability of offering training to individuals who are approaching retirement age.

Table 2. Hierarchical Regressions Results: Dimensions of unmet expectations explaining taking early retirement and extending working life after controlling for individual characteristics

Table 3. Multivariate Regression Results: Management practices influencing acquiring new competencies and working in a pleasant environment

A pleasant work environment can be attained by regularly briefing employees on performance, by sharing strategic information, by linking compensation to performance, by providing flexible hours and by giving older managers the opportunity to act as trainers, to benefit from adapted training, and be assigned to special projects. Curiously, providing older managers with management training increases their dissatisfaction regarding working in a pleasant environment. A possible explanation is that older managers may see such training as a lack of confidence in their managerial abilities.

Discussion

As the analyses clearly show, there will always be employees who want to take early retirement - those in poor health, whose spouse is retiring or who do not attach great importance to work. It would be ill-advised for an organization to put pressure on these individuals to stay in the organization longer. In general, they are less motivated and have poorer performance at work and thus both the organization and the individuals themselves would be better off \if the latter took early retirement. The results clearly show that decisions to retire, and even more particularly, decisions to extend one's working life, are largely due to individual characteristics (health, spouse's career, financial situation at retirement age, etc.). No professional consideration really seems to be able to motivate the managers in the health sector to extend their employment.

On the other hand, many employees retire early for the wrong reasons or because they have been urged to do so by the organization. We are not referring only to "golden handshake" plans and the lifting of actuarial penalties, but also to all those values that promote the idea that older employees have lower performance, that they must make room for young people, or that happiness can only be found outside the workplace. In the latter case, organizations have the means to change their practices and culture and to reverse the trend.

Two unmet expectations - the ability to develop new competencies and to work in a pleasant environment - have emerged as reasons for reducing the desire to take early retirement. These two dimensions undoubtedly have the greatest influence since they remained significant after controlling for individual characteristics. The question then is how to support these aspirations. What practices should be promoted that would allow these aspirations to be fulfilled and thus discourage individuals from retiring early? These considerations will frame the conclusions that we will attempt to bring out from the analyses made in the present study.

Unlike young people, whose values, attitudes and behaviors are quite highly regulated by the educational and job entry systems, employees who are 50 or older who have been in the labor market for several decades have had numerous and varied experiences that have given them a high level of self-knowledge and allowed them to develop precise and personalized life strategies. Like their values and attitudes, their career plans are therefore much more diversified than those of young people, which are aimed essentially at integration and growth. It is therefore essential that retirement management be carried out on a case-by-case basis within a more global approach to end-of-career management, one that takes into account not only the aspirations and needs of individuals, but also their experiences, competencies, potential and motivation, not to mention, of course, the needs of the organization.

Career management is inevitably the first area of human resource practice that should be considered by organizations since one of the most effective ways to re-inject dynamism into careers is to have employees play new roles or to offer them new challenges. This form of subjective career enrichment or advancement, which is particularly appreciated by older employees, is aimed at keeping them employed longer. Taking on the role of trainer or being assigned to special projects can give older managers a sense of fulfillment in their professional life, allowing them to work in a pleasant environment which recognizes their experience and competencies. Meeting these requirements does not depend on a specific policy or program but should take place within end-of- career planning. Using evaluation of potential or the career interview, the superior identifies, with the employee, new assignments that the latter could see him or herself taking on and new roles that he or she could play. Of course, during this process, the superior must harmonize service needs with the employee's aspirations. However, this is not an authoritarian exercise of work distribution but an effort to reconcile expectations with organizational needs.

The efforts of older employees who perform well to progress in their career should not be hindered. It would be a serious mistake for organizations to exclude them from promotion processes as long as they remain competent and healthy and want to put effort into their work. The possibility of progressing in their career allows managers to contemplate delaying their retirement. These findings run counter to preconceived notions found in texts that suggest, for example, that older employees lack ambition and most choose to slow down the pace of work in order to achieve a better work-family balance. Our results clearly show that some of them for whom such considerations are no longer relevant because, for example, they have fewer family obligations, wish to remain in their jobs longer in the pursuit of a pleasant work environment in which they can develop.

The second area of human resource practices to consider is training. According to the literature, it is essential for older managers, like younger ones, to develop competencies. It is becoming particularly necessary for the former to become acquainted with new technologies, update technical knowledge, increase their capacity to work in teams or networks, and better understand the new organizational environment. However, older managers appear to have a certain mistrust of training since none of the training practices allows them to acquire new competencies or provide the opportunity to work in a pleasant environment. It must therefore be concluded that training programs will have limited effectiveness unless they are adapted to the needs of these managers to fulfill their aspirations and keep them on the job. However, more than the acquisition of new knowledge, it is the transfer of their own knowledge that motivates these managers to remain in their jobs longer. In fact, it is this mission rather than a training project that older managers give themselves before leaving.

Time management is the third main area of human resource practices in a strategy to prevent early retirement. Flexible time management integrates very well into early 21st century management, which has generated many individualized or "flex" practices. Among them, flextime has proven to have the greatest effect on the extension of employment, giving older managers considerable latitude and thus allowing them to fulfill their desire to make a difference, self-actualize at work and work in a pleasant environment. Interestingly, sharing work with colleagues is perceived as an opportunity to acquire new competencies.

The fourth area of human resource practices concerns forms of recognition. This is based on the fact that many respondents expressed needs in the areas of recognition, job atmosphere or ethical environment in relation to the possibility of extending working life. Among highly qualified employees, this need for recognition is very strong and constitutes an essential lever for maintaining the dynamics of participation and involvement. Linking compensation to performance seems to be a practice that is likely to provide greater recognition of managers' contributions. However, it is seldom used in health care institutions. The appraisal interview may be the ideal time to demonstrate this recognition. It is up to the superior to provide this recognition and give information to managers on their performance, which helps to create the pleasant environment that the respondents identified as an essential condition for reconsidering early retirement.

The fifth area of human resource practices, communication of information, is without a doubt one of the most obvious ways to encourage employee involvement. Given recent developments in the health sector as well as the many major reorganizations that institutions have had to implement in recent years, providing employees with information amounts to making them aware of clients' needs, organizational constraints and operational and strategic actions to be undertaken. Very often decision makers merely inform managers of recent developments. Unfortunately, this type of communication is insufficient and does not generate employee involvement or motivation. Rather, what makes a difference is direct communication incorporating feedback that takes into account employees' suggestions and experience in the field concerned. Moreover, participation in strategic committees, a practice that is a privileged means of sharing information increases the capacity to acquire new competencies. The means of transmitting information may take various forms. Those favored in the literature incorporate direct feedback and take employees' interventions into account.

Similarly, certain managers require transparency and ethical treatment and distrust political games. In this regard, the use of ethical codes, interpreted as a way to decrease the disrespectful or immoral conduct of superiors, has paradoxically been viewed as an impediment to the possibility of increasing one's competencies. A possible explanation is that the presence of such a code increases awareness of the prohibition against the discrimination of older persons and the obligation to ensure that they enjoy equal opportunity within the enterprise. However, as one might guess, in the current context, these considerations pertain more to discourse than to reality, which has an opposite effect to that expected.

The results of this study appear to have two key implications for HR practices regarding older workers. First of all, organizations must demonstrate a real willingness to retain an older workforce and do what is needed to achieve this. Although our results explained the reasons for delaying retirement age, they could not explain the measures that could actually encourage older employees to extend their work life. For those who show some flexibility about when to retire, our results clearly demonstrate that managers will not be prepared to postpone their retirement if this means simply continuing to work for a longer period. Rather, they count on continuing to acquire new competencies and therefore having a career plan that will put their experience to use and allow them to continue to progress in their career while deriving a ce\rtain pleasure from extending their employment.

Secondly, for health care managers, it is clear that extending employment is still an issue that is more likely to be explained solely by individual characteristics. It may also be presumed that the health care managers are even more aware of retirement issues given the culture of retirement that has been established in recent years in the health sector. They would be more inclined to delay retirement age than to consider a formal extension of their working life. However, bridge employment may be viewed as an excellent solution for some staffing problems since it would allow the institutions to rely on an experienced and knowledgeable workforce instead of contingent workers.

To conclude, several limitations of this study should be mentioned. The ability to generalize our findings may be somewhat limited by the nature of the sample. Participants in this study are senior managers working in the health sector that, until recently, has gone through major restructuring and organizational changes. The perceptions of some of the work values and work rewards might have been influenced by the particular concerns of this sample. Future research should therefore examine a more heterogeneous sample and comparative studies should be conducted in different organizational and cultural environments. Finally, other important issues such as the impact of plans to retire on work performance and commitment to the organization are beyond the scope of this article. They nonetheless deserve attention and should be investigated.

Notes

I Statistics Canada. 2002. Profile of the Canadian Population by age and sex: Canada ages, Catalogue no 96F0030XIE2001002. Auer, P. & Fortuny, M. 2002. Ageing of the Labour Force in OECD Countries: Economic and Social Consequences, Geneva: International Labor Office. www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/publ/ep00-2.htm

2 Saba, T., Guerin, G., & WiIs, T. (1998). Managing older professionals in Public Agencies in Quebec, Public Productivity & Management Review, 22: 15-34.

3 Rix, S. 1990. Older workers: Choices & challenges. CA: ABC- CLIO. Fyock, C.D. 1991. Teaching older workers new tricks. Training & Development Journal, 45: 21-24. Lefkovitch, J. 1992. Older workers: Why & how to capitalize on their powers. Employment Relations Today, Spring: 63-79. Zetlin, M. 1992. Older & wiser: Tips to motivate the 50's crowd.-Management Review, August: 30-33.

4 Stein, D., Rocco TS. & Goldenetz, K.A. 2000. Age and the university workplace: A case study of remaining, retiring, or returning older workers, Human Resource Development Quarterly, 11: 61-80. Doverspike, D., Taylor M.A., Shultz K.S. and McKay RF. 2000. Responding to the challenge of a changing workforce: Recruiting nontraditional demographic groups. Public Personnel Management, . 29:. 4, p. 445-459.

5 Johnson, R.W, & Neumark, D. 1997. Age discrimination, job separations, and employment status of older workers, Journal of Human Resources, 32: 779-811. Patrickson, M., & Hartmann, L. 1995. Australia's aging population: Implications for human resource management. International Journal of Manpower, 16: 34-47.

6 casey, B. 1992. Redundancy and early retirement: The interaction of public and private policy in Britain, Germany and the U.S.A. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 30: 425-443.Kay, S. 1993. Age no barrier, perception is. Computenvorld, 27: 85. Sterns, H.L. & Miklos, S.M. 1995. The aging worker in a changing environment: Organizational and individual issues. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 47: 248-268.

7 Yearta, S.K., & Warr, E 1995. Does age matter? Journal of Management Development, 14: 28-36.

8 Agarwal, N.C. & DeGroote M.G. 1998. Retirement of older workers: Issues and policies HR, Human Resource Planning, vol. 21: 42-52.

9 Saba et al., 1998.

10 Wright, H., & Hamilton, R. 1978. Work satisfaction & age: Some evidence for the job change-hypothesis, Social Forces, 59: 1140- 1158. Overman, S. 1993. Hired to take charge temporarily. HRMagazine, 38: 52-53. Holmes, T. & Cartwright, S. 1993. Career change: Myth or reality? Employee Relations, 15: 3753.

11 Doeringer, RB. 1990. Economic security, Labor Market Flexibility and Bridges to Retirement. In RB. Doeringer (Eds), Bridges to retirement, Ithaca: Cornell University ILR Press.

12 Kirn, S., & Feldman, D.C. 2000. Working in retirement: The antecedents of bridge employment and its consequences for quality of life in retirement, Academy of Management Journal, 43: 11951210.

13 Stein et ai, 2000.

14 Rosen, B. & Jerdee, T. 1986. Retirement policies for the 21st century. Human Resource Management, 25: 405-420. Rosen, B. & Jerdee, T 1989. Retirement policies: Evidence of the need for change. Human Resource Management, 28: 87-103.

II Sheppard, H. 1988. Work continuity versus retirement: Reasons for continuing work. In R. Morris, S. Bass (Eds.). Retirement Reconsidered: Economic & Social Roles for Older People. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

16 Feldman, D.C. 1994. The decision to retire early: A review and conceptualization, Academy of Management Review, 19: 285 -315.

17 Sheppard, 1988.

18 Crampton, S., Hodge J., & Mishra J. 1996. Transition - Ready or not: The aging of America's workforce, Public Personnel Management, 25: 243-256.

19 Tschirhart, M. 1998. Understanding the older stipendcd volunteer: Age-related differences among AmcriCorps members, Public Productivity & Management Review, 22: 35-48.

211 Karp, D. 1987. Professionals beyond midlife: Some observations on work satisfaction in the fifty-to-sixty decade. Journal of Aging Studies, 1: 209-223.

21 Kelly, J. 1990. Employers must recognize that older people want to work. Personnel Journal, January, 44-47.

22 Rix, 1990. Chusmir, L. 1990. A shift in value is squeezing older people. Personnel Journal, January, 48-52. Lewis, J. & McLaverty, C. 1991. Facing up to the needs of the older manager. Personnel Management, January: 32-35.

23 Wright & Hamilton, 1978. Duran, C. & Kleiner, B.H. 1992. Managing older employees. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 13: i-ii. Ramsey, R.D. 1993. What it takes to supervise older workers. Supervision, 54: 9-10.

2A Zctlin (1992)

25 Sheppard (1988)

26 Kelly 1990

27 Lewis & McLaverty. 1991

28 Sterns, H. 1986. Training & retraining adult & older adult workers. InJ. Birren, R Robinson & J.E. Livingston (Eds). Age, Health & Employment. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Chusmir, 1990.

29 RoSOW1J. 1990. Extending working life. In I. Bluestone, R. Montgomery & J. Owen (Eds). The Aging of the American Workforce- .Problems, Programs, Policies, Detroit, Wayne State University Press.

30 Sheppard, 1988. Sicgel, S.R. 1993. Relationships between current performance & likelihood of promotion for old versus young workers. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 4: 3950.

11 Doering, M., Rhodes, S. & Schuster, M. 1983. The aging worker, Thousand Oaks: Sage. Dychtwald, K. 1990. The age wave. Training & Developement Journal, February, 24-30. Pennington, J. & Downs, S. 1993. Fork truck training for older workers. Industrial & Commercial Training, 25: 22-28. Elliott, J.R. 1995. Human resource management's role in the future aging of the workforce. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 15: 5-17.

12 Kelly, 1990.

33 Leibowitz, K. & Farren, C. 1990. Managing career gridlock. Training & Development Journal, April: 29-35.

34 Wright & Hamilton, 1978.

35 Rix, 1990.

36 Dibden, J. & Hibbett, A. 1993. Older workers: An overview of recent research. Great Britain Dept. of Employment -Employment Gazette, 101: 237250.

37 Rosow, 1990; Kelly, 1990; Lewis & McLaverty, 1991.

58 Weckerle, J.R., Shultz, K.S. 1999. Influences on the bridge employment decision among older USA workers,Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72: 317-329.

39 Feldman, D.C. & Seongsu, K. 2000. Bridge employment during retirement: A field study of individual and organizational experiences with post-retirement employment HR, Human Resource Planning, 23:14-25.

40 Saba et al,. 1998. Hale, N. 1990. The older worker: Effective strategies for management & human resource development, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. West, J.H, & Berman, E.M. 1996. A national survey: Managerial responses to an aging municipal workforce, Review of Public Personnel Administration, 16: 38-58.

41 Maurer, T. 2001. Career-relevant learning and development, worker age, and beliefs about self-efficacy for development, Journal of Management, 27:123-140. Maurer (2001)

42 Kanungo, R.N. 1982. Measurement of job and work Involvement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67: 341-349.

Authors

Taiiia Saba

Associate Professor

School of Industrial Relations

University of Montreal

PO. Box 6128, succursale Centre-Ville

Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7

Tel: (514) 343-5992

Fax: (514) 343-5764

Email: tania.saba@umontreal.ca

Tania Saba is associate professor in the School of Industrial Relations at the University of Montreal. She was a visiting fellow at Cornell University in 1995-1996. Her research interests include international dimensions of HR, psychological contract, career management and older worker's management in the private and public sectors. She has published in academic and professional journals, and has contributed to many books on human resource management.

Gilles Guerin

Professor

School of Industrial Relations

University of Montreal

PO. Box 6128, succursale Centre-Ville

Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7

Tel: (514) 343-7333

Fax: (514) 343-5764

Email: gilles.guerin@umontrcal.ca

Gilles Guerin is full professor in the School of Industrial Relations at the University of Montreal. His research interests include career management in the private and public sectors, high involvement management, organizational changes, older worker's management and the organi/ation of the human resource function. He has published extensively in academic and professional journals, and has contributed to many books on human resource management.

Copyright International Public Management Association for Human Resources Summer 2005

Source: Public Personnel Management

More News in this Category