Work Design and Older Workers: A Qualitative Comparison Between two Established Models in a Norwegian Knowledge-Intensive Company

1 Work Design and Older Workers: A Qualitative Comparison Between two Established Models in a Norwegian Knowledge-­‐Intensive Company . 2 The Current Study – Background and Contribution . 3 Work Characteristics . 4 Motivation-­‐Hygiene Theory . 5 Healthy Work Organization . 6 Hypotheses . 7 Unique Categories for Older Workers . 8 Methods . 9 The Research Project . 9 Data Treatment and Statistics . 12 Ethical Considerations . 13 Results . 13 Descriptive Statistics . 13 Reliability . 22 Statistical Differences . 22 Testing the Hypotheses . 23 Secondary Goal – to Uncover Unique Categories for Older Workers . 24 Discussion . 24 Main Findings . 24 General Discussion . 26 Limitations . 32 Conclusion . 35 References . 36 Appendix A -­‐ The SWOT Interview Guide . 42 Appendix B – Letter of Consent . 43 Appendix C – Coding Scheme . 44 Work design and older workers Moxnes Vår 2013 1 Abstract The aim of this study is twofold. First to compare an inductive (bottom-up) approach against two established models of work design; Herzberg et al.’s motivation-hygiene theory (HRZ) and Wilson et al.’s healthy work organization model (WIL). Second, to suggest work characteristics to be included in a life-span model of work design accounting for older workers and their needs. The subjects (N=11) were employees (age 60+) in a large Norwegian knowledge-intensive company. Interviews were semi-structured based on openended questions in the SWOT format. A content analysis first produced a bottom-up model containing 23 main categories. In addition, the present author coded the statements on the different levels within the SWOT and IGLOS frameworks, and lastly on the two established models of work design. HRZ and WIL were able to explain almost all of the statements from the interviews, indicating that the two models are relevant for measuring work characteristics among older workers in a Norwegian knowledge-intensive organization. Contrary to what was hypothesized, HRZ was able to explain a larger proportion of the statements from the interviews than WIL. Based on an inductive approach the current study was also able to uncover two unique categories that were not explained by HRZ or WIL. Our results indicate that future research should employ a life-span approach to work design and take into consideration older workers and their needs. Due to serious methodological limitations, it is important to state that the findings acquired in the current study cannot be generalized without further research. Work design and older workers Moxnes Vår 2013 2 Work Design and Older Workers: A Qualitative Comparison Between two Established Models in a Norwegian Knowledge-Intensive Company My father, aged 71, is still working full time as an academic. He seems to be one of a growing number of older workers in this country with no intention to retire, some now actively opposing the mandatory retirement age, varying between 67 and 70 years. My father's motivation to keep working might be specific for academics, however it interesting to see what principles apply in other knowledge-intensive organizations, such as the one in the current study. Because of an aging workforce, it is important to expand our understanding of the factors that influence the decision to retire. The government in Norway, as well as many European countries, has a pronounced policy to increase the retirement age. This policy is motivated by the current and future challenges faced by our society, as the population grows older. In particular, the age group 60–66 years is growing rapidly in Norway (St.meld. nr. 6, 2006–2007). In addition, people live longer and healthier lives. If society can motivate this age group to delay their retirement, this will help secure economic growth and welfare in the future. The decision to retire is influenced by a complex array of factors, including pension systems, family life, health, work environment, job content, and organizational policy (for a review, see Feldman, 1994; Sterns & Miklos, 1995; Walker, 2005). One aim of the current study is to use the data from open-ended interviews to identify work characteristics that are important for older workers. In general, the study of work characteristics is rich and developed, but the study of work characteristics in relation to older workers is not. This topic of study is new, and developments of specific models within this domain are lacking. The main goal of the current study is to compare two established models of work design with the work characteristics that emerge from the open-ended interviews. A second goal of the study is to suggest work characteristics to be included in a life-span model of work design accounting for older workers and their needs. The interviews are based on SWOT questions addressing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This framework is a useful tool for organizational analysis and planning (Helms & Nixon, 2010), and a growing number of scholars are utilizing this framework within work environment studies (e.g., Hoff, 2009b, 2009c; Lone et al., 2013). The advantage of using the SWOT approach is that the interviewer brings up no predefined Work design and older workers Moxnes Vår 2013 3 categories other than the theme of the interview itself. This decreases the chance of the researcher influencing the topics that emerge during the interviews. In addition to coding the statements from the interviews on different levels of SWOT, organization level will be added as a variable. Lone et al. (2013) showed that organizational aspects are important for knowledge workers when asked to reflect upon their work environment. Each statement will be coded on each of the five levels: individual, group, leadership, organization, and society (IGLOS). According to West, Hirst, Richter, and Shipton (2004), attention to the different organizational levels will foster a thorough understanding of organizational strengths and weaknesses. Studies also indicate that the experience of one’s work environmen