Conditions of work and keeping senior workers in employment: the stakes of “decompartmentalizing” approaches and practices. Some lessons from monographs produced by French companies
Like many western countries, France has been confronted for the past 30 years with aging in its population in general, and in its active population in particular. Aiming to maintain balance in retirement systems, several directives formulated by the European Union, translated in each member country in the form of nationwide agreements or plans, have sought to postpone the age of retirement and to promote the employment of elder workers. However, the inquiries carried out to date suggest that the attitudes and practices within companies do not evolve quickly, and that it would be advisable to consider the conditions of work as a means to ensure keeping senior workers in employment. This paper presents the results of an empirical study carried out in France by request from the Council on Orientation of Conditions of Work (COCT), within thirteen companies of various sizes and from various fields of activity, that have included in their “senior workers” agreements or action plans some dimensions related to conditions of work. Monographs produced in this way aim to inform public policy, following a comprehensive approach promoting an integrative approach of the issue of keeping senior workers in employment. These monographs allow us to point out the limitations of categories that one might be tempted to use (“senior workers”, “conditions of work”, etc.) as well as the related risks of compartmentalization. They also allow us to highlight the vitality of decompartmentalized approaches, their effects, and the lessons to be learned for public policy.