Abstract
In the examination of older employees’ employability, one can distinguish between internal and external employability. Internal employability can be measured by individual employment stability, and external employability occurs when employees replace one employment relationship with another. Most studies focus on the personal skills and characteristics that are necessary to maintain employability. However, external factors also contribute to individual employability. Therefore, this study examines which organisational attributes of firms contribute to older employees’ employability in Germany. Taking firm and individual characteristics into account, the results of discrete-time survival models show that in specific organisational structures, older employees have higher internal employability. Accordingly, older employees are more likely to maintain employment in the service sector and in recruiting organisations facing (skilled) labour shortages. However, the results also indicate that financially investing organisations facilitate early labour market exits. With regard to older employees’ external employability, the results show only little evidence indicating an association between organisational attributes of firms and the likelihood of job change.
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As a sensitivity analysis, the models were also calculated without the covariates “share of older employees”, “average age at firm exit”, “recruitment-labour release ratio” and “further education for older employees”. However, the risk rations do not change remarkably, and only the positive association between “higher demand for skilled labour” and internal employability among older women becomes statistical significant. With regard to external employability, the “share of temporary workers” among men becomes significant (assumingly indicating that high shares of older workers are associated with low shares of temporary employment).
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Tisch, A. Firms’ contribution to the internal and external employability of older employees: evidence from Germany. Eur J Ageing 12, 29–38 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-014-0323-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-014-0323-y