The role of social work in co-creating conditions for the employment of the elderly

V magistrskem delu raziskujem, kakšno vlogo bi lahko imelo socialno delo pri soustvarjanju pogojev za zaposlovanje starejših delavcev in delavk. V teoretičnem uvodu najprej opredelim, kdo so starejši delavci, kratko predstavim njihov položaj na trgu dela in delovnopravno varstvo. Posebno pozornost namenim ukrepom, ki podpirajo podaljševanje delovne aktivnosti. V zvezi s tem me zanima tudi vloga socialnega dela v podjetjih in drugih organizacijah. Obravnavam metode in koncepte socialnega dela, ki pomagajo socialnim delavkam in delavcem pri delu s starejšimi zaposlenimi. V empiričnem delu sem na podlagi intervjujev s socialnimi delavkami, ki so zaposlene v podjetjih, na centrih za socialno delo in zavodih za zaposlovanje, ugotavljala, kako vlogo socialnega dela na tem področju dojemajo socialne delavke, zaposlene v omenjenih institucijah. Zanimalo me je stališče socialnih delavk do starejših delavcev, kako naslavljajo problematiko diskriminacije na podlagi starosti, kako prepoznavajo težave starejših delavcev in sodelovanje z različnimi institucijami ter sodelovanje znotraj podjetij glede starejših zaposlenih. Osredotočila sem se tudi na poznavanje ukrepov v podporo starejšim delavcev, zanimalo me je, ali se ti ukrepi izvajajo v podjetjih. Ugotovila sem, da se socialne delavke pri svojem delu vsakodnevno srečujejo s starejšimi delavci, ki se pogosto soočajo z zdravstvenimi, fizičnimi, psihičnimi težavami, imajo težave s prilagajanjem na novo tehnologijo. Socialne delavke v podjetjih ne obravnavajo pogosto primerov diskriminacije. Rezultati pa kažejo, da socialne delavke veliko sodelujejo z drugimi institucijami, kot so centri za socialno delo, zavod za pokojninsko in invalidsko zavarovanje, zavod za zaposlovanje in drugi. Malo pa je sodelovanja med kadrovskimi službami, zlasti zaradi majhne zastopanosti socialnih delavcev v podjetjih. Potreba po socialnem delu s starejšimi delavci je, saj lahko po mnenju socialnih delavk veliko prispevajo k razreševanju stisk, uvajanju ukrepov in spodbujanju zaposlovanja starejših. Za nadaljnje raziskovanje predlagam še intervjuje s starejšimi delavci in delavkami in promoviranje socialnega dela v delovnem okolju na fakultetiIn my master\u27s thesis I explore the role that social work could have in co-creating the conditions for the employment of the elderly workers. In the theoretical introduction, I first define who older workers are, next I briefly present their position on the labor market and labor protection. I pay special attention to measures that support the prolongation of employment. I am also interested in the role of social work in companies and other organizations. I discuss methods and concepts of social work that help social workers in working with older employees. Based on the interviews with social workers employed in companies, social work centers and employment services, I found out how the role of social work in this area is perceived by social workers. I was interested in how social workers see the older workers, how they address the issue of discrimination based on age, how they identify the problems of older workers and cooperation with various institutions and cooperation within companies regarding older employees. I also focused on how well social workers know the measures in support of the older workers. I was interested whether these measures are implemented in companies. I have found out that social workers work with older workers daily. Older works often face health, mental, physical problems they also have difficulty adapting to new technology. Social workers in companies often do not deal with cases of discrimination. However, the results show that social workers cooperate a lot with other institutions, such as social work centers, the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute, the Employment Service and others. But there is only a little cooperation between human resources, due to the lack of social workers in companies. According to the social workers opinion, they see their role as very important. They can make a significant contribution to resolving problems, promoting the employment of the elderly. For the future research I suggest interviews with older workers and the promotion of social work in the work environment at the faculty