Work60plus

Project lead
Prof. Dr. Michael Scharpf
Prof. Dr. Bernd-Joachim Ertelt

Project staff 
Anke Reuter (B.A.)

Third-party funding provider
European Social Fund of the European Union

Project duration
April 2021 – March 2023

Coordinating institution
Białystok Foundation for Professional Training

Project partners

•  Centre for Continuing Education, Polen
•  Social Insurance Institution, Poland
•  Institute of Labour and Social Studies, Poland
•  Employment Service under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuania

All over Europe, there a several million people who belong to the generation of over 60s who are able to work. (60plus). The sustainable integration of this generation into the active labour market is of great importance in terms of using the fact that they can work and in supporting them as over 60s in their employment. However, many employers shy away from employing those who are a little older, and the employees themselves also have problems clearly articulating their requirements and experience. So far, there are very few approaches which consider work with the older generation from different perspectives as well as in a holistic manner (ergonomics, flexibility and skills).

The project work60plus pursues the goal of improving the employment of those at (early) retirement age in small and medium-sized companies at European level. What is innovative is the simultaneous consideration of both the employee side (employee60plus) and the employer side (firm60plus). The result is a concept that is geared towards both sides, which supports the continuation of gainful employment at an older age. Both employees and employers should be enabled to identify and implement the conditions needed for a successful cooperation. Central aspects are the skills of the employee (education, experience, etc.), the working ergonomics (equipment, tasks, etc.) and flexibility of work (working time models, workplace, etc.), which are examined as indicators for a solid working relationship. Ultimately, manuals are created with several training units which explain the necessary adaptations for employees and employers working together and raise awareness of the indicators for work60plus .

At the beginning of the year 2022, the project is in an internal test phase for the tools which have been developed. The latter were developed jointly last year and consider the employee's individual competencies, workplace ergonomics and workplace flexibility from the perspective of specific indicators. These indicators serve the older employees and the employers as orientation in recognising room for improvement and discussing this together. Employees and employers respectively can use a checklist of indicators to determine the extent to which support is needed for motor tasks. The next step is to test these tools under real-life conditions.

The project is organised and run by the Polish coordinator "BFKK – Białystok Foundation for Professional Training" . The universities involved and companies work hand in hand to achieve the best possible integration of practical experience and academic insight.