The place of age in organisational policymaking: evidence from an Australian qualitative study

This report presents findings of qualitative research in four case study organizations as part of a larger study, Redesigning Work for an Ageing Society (RW4AS) Project, being undertaken by Business Work and Ageing Centre for Research, Swinburne University. The study will identify factors transforming the nature of work and posing risks to the work ability of an ageing workforce, examine existing policies and practice in managing workforce ageing in pubIic and private organizations and test the applicability of the Work Ability model to Australian circumstances. The research found that changes engendered by globalization shaped the organization of work and the pressures experienced by individual workers. All the organizations function in a globalised, highly competitive market, are adopting new technologies and are increasingly reliant on work intensification and casualisation of labour. They had not come to terms with the need to retain their ageing workers as manifested by short term policy responses rather than proactive strategies. The areas in which ageing workers experienced difficulties, such as their competence with new technologies, changing work structures and occupational health risks indicate alignments between work ability domains and managing the vulnerabilities of ageing Australian workers in changing organizational environments