Employability development of French workers and job-seekers aged 45 and over – EmplOver45

There is an urgent and renewed need for research into older workers’ employability. To address this societal challenge, we adopt a theoretical conception of employability which consists in linking individual, organizational, and governmental levels. We are therefore putting forward an ambitious project proposal, which links psychological and managerial perspectives. We intend to contribute to both literatures by studying common shortcomings (over-45 employability factors and dynamics from a multi-level perspective, sustainable career paths for elder workers) and specific shortcomings (as regards psychology, links between employability and different areas of life, from a time perspective; as regards management, organizations, climates and managers which are inclusive on age-related issues). The overall objective of this project is to identify the individual (micro), organizational (meso), and social (macro) conditions that would promote positive employability development for the unemployed and employed workers over 45. This project has four main aims:
(a) To understand the development of employability over the age of 45;
(b) To study the antecedents of employability ;
(c) To examine the links between employability and different areas of life with a temporal perspective;
(d) To study inclusive organizational climates and practices for older workers, with a special focus on managers’ role.
To study this complex topic, we will adopt a quantitative longitudinal, a qualitative retrospective, and a case-studies approach in a set of 5 Work programs with an interdisciplinary perspective. The aim is to help promote sustained and productive employment for older workers by understanding the impact of the three levels under consideration on their employability development. This project should also help us to better understand which type of micro-, meso-, or macro-interventions might sustain this development and help older workers manage their career transitions.
We claim that this research project proposes an original and relevant approach to the employability of workers and job seekers over 45 that will add to the current scientific knowledge in the field. The findings of our studies will be disseminated through several academic conferences and publications on vocational psychology, work ; organizational psychology amongst others and on diversity management and age management. This project also aims to improve conditions so that careers can become sustainable by providing important insight for policy makers, helping them to design their public policies in terms of employment for workers over 45. In this respect, in addition to research partners, we will also disseminate our findings to practitioners and policy makers through mid-term and final workshops. Finally, this project will also lead to a booklet with practical recommendations against ageism in companies.