Managing Change with an Ageing Workforce: Identifying Opportunities and Barriers: Results from the IW Personnel Panel 2019

The growing pressure on firms to adapt and change can spawn conflicts in the workforce. Around one in four personnel managers report frequent tensions among staff due to differing interests and values. In some 59 per cent of companies, difficulties often arise, particularly during transition processes, when employees are reluctant to give up the status quo. In 45 per cent of enterprises, the staff frequently lack the skills necessary for successful change management. Company-specific support measures are one possible solution. Around 66 per cent of companies in Germany respond to the different age-related needs of their workforce. They do this, for example, by creating a working environment conducive to learning or ensuring flexible and varied working conditions by regularly changing employees’ jobs and activities so that they can continue to learn. Companies that motivate and empower their workforce in this way are significantly less likely to report that their employees lack the ability or willingness to change.