“Organizations and the Aging Workforce” by Peter Berg (Michigan State University)

Peter Berg will present his book “Organizations and the Aging Workforce” (co-authored with Matthew Piszczek), which examines how organizations are responding to an aging workforce and the motivation behind their actions. The authors assess the practices organizations are implementing in the face of an aging workforce and how these practices contribute to organizational goals and impact workers across the life course. In addition, they consider the factors that affect the organizational response, and the conditions under which organizations establish practices to encourage successful aging by workers or engage in self-interested strategies that replace older workers with younger recruits. The analysis draws on extensive interviews with managers, supervisors, worker representatives and workers in the U.S. and German manufacturing industries. The book provides a comparative analysis that highlights the importance of institutions and actor strategies in shaping the response of organizations to aging.

Peter Berg is Professor of Employment Relations at the School of Human Resources and Labor Relations at Michigan State University. His current research examines the implications of an aging workforce for organizations in the United States and Germany. He studies how organizations are responding to an aging workforce and the types of practices they implement. Other research interests include work-life flexibility and flexible working time. He recently participated in a National Academy of Sciences consensus study on understanding the aging workforce and employment at older ages. Professor Berg is the author of numerous publications in a variety of academic journals, including ILRReveiw, Human Relations, and Work, Aging, and Retirement. He is also a co-author of the book Manufacturing Advantage: Why High Performance Work Systems Pay Off.  Professor Berg has been a Fulbright Scholar and conducted research or presented his work in over 20 countries around the world.

Stefan Stuth, head of the research data center at the German Center of Gerontology (DZA) will provide a short commentary on the book.

Lena Hipp (WZB Berlin) and Mareike Bünning (DZA) will moderate the discussion.

The data protection notice on photo and film recordings can be found here.

The venue is wheelchair accessible. Please let Swea Starke (swea.starke [at] wzb.eu) know if you need special assistance.