Simple work" is also central

Many companies strive to maintain and promote the potential of older employees in simple work in order to retain proven employees and their skills in the company. Companies see the health of older employees as the greatest risk - for the employees as well as for the company. This is shown by the results of a study conducted by the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW. The study contributes to closing the productivity and skills gaps associated with aging workforces and staff shortages.

Simple, but not undemanding

If a job is considered "simple," it does not mean that it is undemanding. Simple work" refers to activities for which no formal qualification is required. Employees learn these activities as part of an induction program. Simple work is predominantly performed by people without vocational qualifications, but also by people whose qualifications are not recognized in this country or who cannot access the labor market with their qualifications. The high proportion of women and migrants in simple work is striking. In many sectors, low-skilled work is associated with a relatively high average age.

No data are available for Switzerland on the total extent of simple labor. In comparable economies such as Germany, the share in the manufacturing sector is around 25 percent. Depending on the industry, the share varies greatly; in Switzerland, for example, it is estimated that 50 percent of employees in meat processing are in simple labor.

"Simple work is central"

"Employees in simple work were long considered a flexible labor resource, easily exchangeable and replaceable, but that has now changed," says Thomas Geisen of the School of Social Work FHNW, who is leading the study together with colleagues from the School of Business FHNW and the University of Teacher Education FHNW. The study shows that simple labor is seen by many companies as a central productive factor. "For us, simple work is central," say unanimously managers of the catering group SV Switzerland and the meat processor Bell Group. And a manager at Planet GDZ, which manufactures and sells drop-down seals for doors, states: "These are the employees who create value for us."

Simple labor will not disappear

The widespread assumption that simple labor will all but disappear as a result of rationalization and automation is unlikely to be confirmed. Rather, simple labor is changing as a result of technological change and shifts are taking place in production chains or between sectors, for example through outsourcing. For example, the decline in low-skilled work in industrial production is being offset by an increase in personal services.

Much routine, endangered health, little continuing education

The risk of health problems is seen by companies as the central challenge of retaining staff in old age. Older people working in simple jobs have often performed routine and mostly physically stressful tasks under difficult conditions at low pay for many years. Such stresses, as well as a lack of development and advancement opportunities, can have a negative impact on employee retention. "A look at the continuing education statistics shows that people without vocational qualifications in particular hardly ever take advantage of formal continuing education and qualification offerings," explains co-project leader Nathalie Amstutz from the FHNW School of Business.

Strategies to retain proven employees

Companies that are actively addressing the challenges of simple work are looking for answers in the areas of health promotion, further training and personnel management. Several of the companies surveyed have introduced job rotation to counteract one-sided stress and excessive monotony. Financial incentives and benefits are also offered. And HR managers already keep an eye on the longer retention of new employees when hiring staff for simple tasks: Recruiting staff who live in the region or bringing in former temporary employees are common strategies here.

The topic has hardly been researched so far

The FHNW study "Aging Workforces and Simple Work" is the first study on this topic in Switzerland; internationally, too, the topic has been researched only sporadically. Twenty companies from the manufacturing industry, the hotel and catering industry, and the social and healthcare sector participated in the study. In addition to the aforementioned companies Planet GDZ, SV Schweiz and Bell Group, Syngenta, ABB and the five-star hotel Les Trois Rois in Basel also participated. In addition, ten interviews were conducted with experts from associations, social insurance companies and trade unions.

The project "Aging Workforces and Simple Work" is part of the research and development program "Aging Society". This program is one of four Strategic Initiatives with which the FHNW tackles societal challenges of our time. The other three current topics: There is a lack of scientific and technical specialists (strategic initiative "EduNaT"), a sustainable approach to energy is needed (initiative "Energy Chance"), and the competitiveness of the economy must be strengthened (initiative "Entrepreneurship").

Source: University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, School of Business