Ageing, changes, and quality of working life

Nathalie Greenan (1, 2) , Mathieu Narcy (1, 2, 3) , Serge Volkoff (2)

1 TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques
2 CEE - Centre d'études de l'emploi
3 ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique

The aim of this chapter is to examine whether company level changes affect differentially the quality of working life according to employees' age. We use data from a French linked employer-employee survey. The quality of working life is captured through three dimensions: the feeling of fair work recognition, the opportunity to learn new things at work and the feeling of work overload. We find that the impact of changes in the use of ICTs and management tools on the quality of work life of older workers have a less negative impact than expected. Our indicator of fair work recognition is the only one that is found sensitive to changes, with a lower frequency in changing firms compared with inert ones. This difference is not explained by differences in observable characteristics of older workers employed in the two types of firm. It is rather due to a differing contribution of employment relations and work organisation characteristics in shaping the balance between effort and reward in both contexts.

Mots clés: Organisational change; ICTs; older workers; quality of working life; fair work recognition; linked employer-employee survey; COI survey

Domaines: Economies et finances

Nathalie Greenan, Mathieu Narcy, Serge Volkoff. Ageing, changes, and quality of working life. 2012. ⟨halshs-00856252⟩