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Gunter Grittmann
Head of Information and Communication
E-mail: grittmann@zew.de
Phone: +49 (0)621-1235-132
Fax: +49 (0)621-1235-255
Kathrin Böhmer
Public Relations Officer
E-mail: boehmer@zew.de
Phone: +49 (0)621-1235-103
Fax: +49 (0)621-1235-225
Some firms in Germany still prefer hiring young male applicants to young women; and they hardly hire older job hunters either. The main reason for this personnel strategy, which is not very sustainable in view of the demographic change and the feared shortage of skilled workers, are strong seniority wage increases in these firms. These result from the fact that in the first few years in the firm employees are paid below their productivity and in the last few years above their productivity. These "twisted" wages lead to a strong and long loyalty of motivated employees to the firm, but simultaneously make the hiring of young women and older job hunters unattractive. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. read more
The percentage of older staff members in the total number of employees in German companies has been continually increasing for the last few years. To avoid losses in productivity, many firms already rely on personnel measures, specifically designed for older employees. There is a good reason for this. Older staff members are considerably more productive when working in teams with younger colleagues and when having an age-appropriate equipment of their work place and tasks appropriate for their strengths. These are the main findings of a study conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW). read more