Age-aware personnel policy in the care sector.

Purpose of the study. Negative images exist when it comes to older employees and their productivity and flexibility. Older employees are seen more positive when it concerns their reliability and loyalty. The negative and stereotype images have a major influence on the personnel policy for older employees. This study investigates what kind of image Flemish nursing home management have concerning older employees and what the influence is on the implementation of measures for nursing staff older than 45.

Methods. The sample consisted of 742 Flemisch nursing home managers. They all received a questionnaire including questions about the stereotypes of older employees and questions about the implementation of specific measures. The response rate was 35,79%.

Results. Older nursing staff is considered as reliable and loyal and not as less productive. If the image is positive, management will implement more measures (f.i. activation policies as training, performance appraisal, ergonomic adjustments) for older employees in the nursing home. Moreover, this study also shows that the age and sex of the management and the type of nursing home (public or not) influence strongly the images of older staff and the implementation of measures for them.

Conclusions. The image about productivity of older nursing staff is differentiated and plays an important role in the way how intensively activation policies are conducted.