1. Miodraga Petkovska-Stefanovska
Aging has recently become a popular issue that challenges global, national and local actors and affects various areas of social, economic and political life (Bijak et al, 2007). Apart from its macroeconomic implications, the effects of workforce aging are increasingly encountered by entrepreneurs due to the aging workforce and the need to adapt to older customers (Znidarsic and Dimovski, 2009). Although a number of studies explore the effects of aging in developed economies, no detailed information on transition economies have been published until now and no companies have been assessed in addressing this need. Yet the sustainability of entrepreneurship depends on the existing supply of skills necessary for their industry. Therefore a key question for the future is how successfully entrepreneurs can adjust to this unprecedented change in the composition of their workforces?
The goal of this paper is to investigate the awareness and practices among entrepreneurs on the issue of an ageing workforce in Republic of Macedonia (RM), considered as a proxy for ex-Yugoslav countries, and its implications for both the labor market and individual employers. More specifically the research seeks to identify the stereotypes associated with older workers and existing awareness and employment practices in private companies. RM is taken as a study example since its biggest exporters employ skilled workforce who is no longer “produced” on the market.
The research in the thesis combines a qualitative-quantitative approach. In quantitative terms an analysis is conducted on the basis of demographic data collected from Eurostat, CoE, ILO and national statistical offices. This data is used to calculate the old-age dependency ration and labor market support ration (LMSR)in ex-Yugoslav transition economies. Both are measures that quantify the impact of aging on labor force structures (Bijak et al, 2007). Within quantitative research, two types of questionnaires were used: (1) the first one designed for workers (289 workers) and (2) the second for companies (18 SMEs from Skopje area covering 1457 employees). The participants in the research were selected by simple random sampling method. For the qualitative part of the survey 20 key informant interviews, 21 in-depth interviews and seven observations were conducted. Based on the research findings, this paper sets out recommendations about how the present approach towards workforce aging could be transformed into an effective engine promoting age diversity innovative practices in small and medium companies operating in transition economies.
Although the problems that the issue of an aging workforce poses are not critical yet, it still intimidates many areas of life. The remedies for its negative effects should be sought among nondemographic policies within individual organizations or will at least be implemented by these organizations (Coleman 2002; Remery et al., 2003).
Ključne reči :
Tematska oblast:
Uvodni rad:
Da
Datum:
18.05.2011.
Br. otvaranja:
734
