Kasia Karpinska

What Factors Influence Training Opportunities for Older Workers? Three Factorial Surveys Exploring the Attitudes of HR Professionals

The core research questions addressed in this paper are: What factors influence human resource (HR) professionals in deciding whether to approve training proposals for older workers? What kind of training are they more likely to recommend for older employees and in which organizational contexts? We administered three factorial surveys to 66 HR professionals in Italy. Participants made specific training decisions based on profiles of hypothetical older workers. Multilevel analyses indicated that access to training decreases strongly with age, while highly skilled older employees with low absenteeism rates are more likely to enjoy training opportunities. In addition, older workers displaying positive performance are more likely to receive training than older workers who perform poorly, suggesting that training late in working life may serve as a reward for good performance rather than as a means of enhancing productivity. The older the HR professional evaluating training proposals, the higher the probability that older workers will be recommended for training.

Intergenerational ties across borders: a typology of the relationships between Polish migrants in the Netherlands and their ageing parents

ABSTRACT The question of how intergenerational relationships are maintained when family members reside in different countries has been gaining scholarly attention. However, those studies focus mostly on the so-called old migrant groups. The focus on the ‘new migrants’ from Central and Eastern Europe is still scarce. In this paper, we examine the transnational ties between Polish migrants in the Netherlands and their parents living in Poland. To identify types of transnational ties, we performed a latent class analysis using data on 970 men and women from the Families of Poles in the Netherlands (FPN) study. Following earlier studies on adult child–parent relationships in transnational context, we combined information on upward and downward emotional support, upward financial and practical support and frequency of contact (face-to-face and via communication technologies) and commitment to norms of filial obligation. Three types of transnational child–parent relationships were distinguished: harmonious, detached and obligatory. Multinomial regression analyses showed that that background characteristics of the adult children and their parents rather than the time elapsed since arrival in the Netherlands accounted for variability in relationship type. The relatively high probability of face-to-face contacts even in detached ties is characteristic of the strong commitment to family life among people of Polish descent.

SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN POST-COMMUNIST ECONOMIES

ABSTRACT According to the market transition theory the economic success of individuals in post-communist countries is affected by both individual characteristics and structural contexts. We investigate this claim using data on self-employment in four post-communist countries (Bulgaria, Russia, Estonia and Hungary) in 1996 and 2005. We find support for a relationship between context-characteristics and self-employment; especially countries with lower levels of corruption show higher odds of self-employment. Unexpectedly, as the transformation process proceeded, human capital did not become a more important predictor for self-employment.

Impact of Age Norms and Stereotypes on Managers’ Hiring Decisions of Retirees

Purpose: Our study investigates the role of managers in the re-employment of early retirees and asks what the effect is of managers’ age norms and stereotypes on managers’ employment decisions. Design/methodology/approach: A combination of a factorial study and a survey was conducted. First, information on the age norms and stereotypes was collected. Secondly, profiles of hypothetical retired job applicants were presented to the employers, who were asked to make a specific hiring decision. The information collected during both studies was combined in the analysis and multilevel models were estimated. Findings: The results indicate that higher age norms result in a higher propensity to hire an early retiree. Stereotypes, by contrast, do not influence managers’ decisions. Early retirees’ chances for re-employment are also related to their own circumstances (physical appearance and relevant experience) and organisational forces, as they are hired when organisations face labour force shortages. Research limitation/implications: With the use of vignettes study we deal with hypothetical hiring situation. Originality value: Although the effect of age norms and age stereotypes has been often suggested, not much empirical evidence was presented to support this notion. Our study estimates the effect of age norms and stereotypes on hiring decision.

Differences in Active Ageing Index in Eastern European Countries: A Comparison of Poland and the Czech Republic

The Active Ageing Index as a tool can be applied to contrast active aging outcomes across countries to both evaluate the current situation and identify the most desired directions for the policy changes. This chapter examines what welfare state policies affected active aging outcomes in Poland and the Czech Republic, the two countries sharing historical legacy, social background and process of transition to the EU structures and yet varying significantly in their active aging outcomes. While the Czech Republic ranks 13th in the overall Active Ageing Index for 2012, Poland occupies the bottom positions, in both overall and domain-specific indices. In this chapter, policies related to the most remarkable differences were pieced together to explain the difference in the active aging potential in both countries.

Managers' retention decisions regarding young intermediate-level educated employees

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the opportunities in the labour market for young employees with intermediate-level education by studying which young employees are most likely to be retained and under what conditions managers favour retention.,Retention decisions are examined by combining a vignette experiment and a survey study. Hypothetical profiles of 252 young employees were rated on their retention desirability by 21 managers, each working in a different organisation. Information on the managers’ characteristics and their organisations were collected in a survey.,Managers are generally not inclined to suggest retention. Their decisions are highly dependent on their own characteristics and organisational factors, even when young employees perform well and display desirable work-related behaviour.,While the small scale and explorative nature of this study limit its generalisability, this paper highlights the importance of combining information on employees, the organisation and managers; when studying (early) careers and employment decisions.,This study suggests that job retention is only in part within an individual’s control, and the future efforts to combat youth unemployment need to account for organisational and managerial characteristics.,The focus on the employer’s perspective is new to research on early careers, making it a starting point for further lines of exploration. Further, this study provides a comprehensive insight into factors that influence managers’ retention decisions by combining three sets of factors in a single research design.

Recruitment of Early Retirees: A Vignette Study of Managers’ Decisions

Retirement is characterized as a dynamic process that can designate different outcomes: from early retirement to re-entry to the labour force. Recent studies on the Dutch population show that a substantial number of early retirees re-enter the work force after early retirement. Yet others do not succeed, even though they want to return to the labour force. The question arises as what are the factors that affect managers’ likelihood of hiring early retirees. In this study we aim at explaining which individual and organisational characteristics affect managers’ decisions. To answer this question, a vignette study among Dutch managers and business students was conducted. Profiles of hypothetical early retirees were presented to the respondents who were asked to make specific employment decisions. The results show that hiring early retirees is of low priority to managers and students, and depends to a large extent on organisational forces such as personnel shortages and the age of the retiree. This study suggests that despite equal opportunities policies, age discrimination is still present on the Dutch labour market.