Productivity of Older Workers: Perceptions of Employers and Employees |
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| Authors: | Hendrik P Van Dalen Kène Henkens Joop Schippers |
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| Institution: | 1. Professor of Macroeconomics, Tilburg University and CentER;2. and Senior Research Associate, The Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), The Hague.;3. Sociologist and Head, Social Demography Department, The Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), The Hague;4. and Professor of the Sociology of Retirement, Tilburg University.;5. Professor of Labor Economics and the Economics of Equal Opportunity, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. |
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| Abstract: | What determines the perceived productivity of the older worker and how does this perception compare to the perception of the productivity of the younger worker? In this study we present evidence based on data from Dutch employers and employees. Productivity perceptions are affected by one's age and one's position in the hierarchy. The young favor the young, the old favor the old, and employers value the productivity of workers less than employees do. However, there are also remarkable similarities across employers and employees. By distinguishing the various dimensions that underlie the productivity of younger and older workers, we tested whether soft qualities and abilities—e.g., reliability and commitment—are just as important as hard qualities—cognitive and physically based skills—in the eyes of both employers and employees. It appears that both employers and employees, young and old, view hard skills as far more important than soft skills. |
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