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Workforce Management and the Retention of Older Staff: Macro and Organisational-Level Processes in the United Kingdom and South Korea

Managing the Ageing Workforce in the East and the West

ISBN: 978-1-78714-639-6, eISBN: 978-1-78714-638-9

Publication date: 7 November 2017

Abstract

We discuss workforce management, related to those aged 50+ , in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea. With international competitiveness becoming increasingly crucial, retaining the ‘right’ mix of employees to achieve strategic organisational goals is likely to determine organisational success. However, we argue that workforce management is not only influenced by organisational-level strategy but also by national institutional and sectoral policies. Decisions on whether and how to retain older workers are therefore (co-)determined by institutional incentives and barriers to doing so.

We find that British and Korean governments have legislated in favour of extended working lives and, hence, the retention of ageing workforces. In the United Kingdom, pension eligibility ages are being increased and in Korea mandatory retirement age has been raised to age 60. While changes to the UK pension systems leave individuals with the (financial) risks associated with extended working lives, the Korean government tries to protect individuals from financial hardship by enabling them to remain longer in their primary career. However, whether and how government regulation plays out depends on how organisations react to it. The Korean discussion, in fact, shows that there might be leeway: organisations might continue to externalise their employees early framed as honourable, or voluntary, early retirement, which might not be in the interest of the individual but very much in the interest of the organisation. It therefore appears as if the retention of ageing staff is not (yet) considered to be of strategic importance by many organisations in these countries.

Keywords

Citation

Weyman, A., Klassen, T. and Schröder, H. (2017), "Workforce Management and the Retention of Older Staff: Macro and Organisational-Level Processes in the United Kingdom and South Korea", Flynn, M., Li, Y. and Chiva, A. (Ed.) Managing the Ageing Workforce in the East and the West (The Changing Context of Managing People), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 111-139. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78714-638-920171006

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

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