Development (f)or Maintenance? An Empirical Study on the Use of and Need for HR Practices to Retain Older Workers in Health Care Organizations

• Author: Ben J. M. Emans,Klaske N. Veth,Annet H. De Lange,Hubert P. L. M. Korzilius,Beatrice I. J. M. Van der Heijden
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21200
• Date: 01 March 2015
• Published date: 01 March 2015

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, vol. 26, no. 1, Spring 2015 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21200 53

Development (f)or Maintenance?

An Empirical Study on the Use

of and Need for HR Practices to

Retain Older Workers in Health

Care Organizations

Klaske N. Veth, Ben J. M. Emans, Beatrice I. J. M. Van der

Heijden, Hubert P. L. M. Korzilius, Annet H. De Lange

The aims of this article are to (a) examine the prevalence of HR

(HRM and HRD) practices to retain older workers in health care

organizations; (b) evaluate those HR practices that are specifi cally

designed to facilitate the retention of older workers; and (c) classify those

HR practices against the needs of older workers, line managers, and

HR professionals. To achieve these aims, 51 interviews were conducted

with older workers, line managers, and HR professionals working in

15 Dutch hospitals and care service organizations in late 2010. The

study had a mixed-methods setup in that the collected information

was partly quantitative (fi gures about the prevalence and outcomes of

practices), and partly qualitative (incorporating illustrative refl ections

or observations offered by interviewees), the latter complementing

the former. Maintenance HR practices (practices that are focused on

retaining older workers in their current jobs) appeared to be by far

more prevalent compared to development HR practices (practices that

are focused on advancement, growth and accomplishment, and that

encourage individual workers to achieve new and challenging levels

of functioning). In general, both types of HR practices were evaluated

as successful by older workers, line managers, and HR professionals.

Unexpectedly, the successful evaluations of the maintenance practices

appeared to be attributed to developmental rather than maintenance

processes. Furthermore, the needs of older workers appeared to be

strongly related to both development practices and, although to a lesser

degree, maintenance practices. The article concludes with relevant

directions for future research.

54 Veth, Emans, Van der Heijden, Korzilius, Lange

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq

Key Words: career development, human capital, maintenance and

development HR (HRM/HRD) practices, older workers, employee

engagement, mentoring and coaching, mixed-methods study, empirical

study

In the face of the rapid aging and “dejuvenization” of the working population

across most of the developed world in the 21st century (Hedge & Borman,

2012; Schalk et al., 2010; Shultz & Adams, 2009; Van der Heijden et al.,

2010), there is a need to promote better employment opportunities for older

people (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD],

2012). Internationally, the most populous age group has shifted from the

20–24 group in 1980 to the 30–34 group in 1990, and, subsequently, to the

40–44 group in 2010 (Steemers, 2010). In a similar vein, in European Union

member states an average increase of 12% in the proportion accounted for

by the 50–59 age group has been predicted over the next 10 years (Inceoglu,

Segers, & Bartram, 2012, p. 300).

Therefore, due to the expected workforce shortage, better and longer

working careers are urgently needed to fi nance and support the longer life of

European citizens (Ilmarinen, 2005, 2009). In the 21st century, the number

of young empolyees will be too few to replace those who retire, which could

be detrimental for the economic growth. The issue at stake here is doing more

with fewer workers and, at the same time, with a workforce consisting of rela-

tively more older workers (G. A. Collins, 2003). Though retention of older

workers might not be an appropriate strategy in some types of organizations,

due to specifi c skill and capability requirements that are age dependent, it may

be assumed that, in general, a greater utilization of the workforce segment of

older workers will be an important approach for organizations to cope with

the shortage of younger workers (M. A. Collins, Hair, & Rocco, 2009; Ng

& Feldman, 2008). It is an approach that, fi rst and foremost, constitutes a

challenge for those who are responsible for the human resource management

(HRM) and human resource development (HRD) policy in organizations.

Research has shown that organizations, through applying HRM and HRD

practices, offer resources and opportunities to prolong the work life of their

employees (Kuvaas, 2008), and thereby add to organizational performance

(White & Bryson, 2013). More specifi cally, earlier research showed that those

practices affect worker’s attitudes and behavior (Ostroff & Bowen, 2000).

Nonetheless, empirical evidence about HRM and HRD practices that are spe-

cifi cally suited for the older worker is largely lacking (Armstrong-Stassen,

2008; Kooij, Jansen, Dikkers, & De Lange, 2010). In previous research, ergo-

nomic adjustments of the workplace and continuous career development were

shown to have motivational value for older workers (Kooij, De Lange, Jansen,

& Dikkers, 2008), as was the provision of training and development practices

that were set up to ensure that older workers have interesting and challenging