What the world needs now is sustainable work systems

Introduction The working population in Europe is ageing. For example, in Germany people over 65 are projected to make up 30 percent of the population by 2035. One of the measures to guarantee the availability of workforce in this situation is to increase the retirement age – and this is what the German Parliament decided in March 2007. The retirement age was lifted from 65 to 67. There is an urgent need to support individual employees so that they will be able to continue to work to this age. It is an especially difficult challenge to ensure the sustainable work capacity of employees in shift work and in physically demanding manufacturing jobs. Two major German car manufacturers have initiated a research and development project with researchers from the University of Kassel. The project explores working conditions, organizational designs, technological solutions, and human resources management practices that can support the ageing workforce. The sustainability of human resources is dependent on the way work and organizations are designed. One day, there will be a 66-year-old worker assembling your next car (see Chapter 5).