Akteure und Akteurskonstellationen alter(n)sgerechter Arbeitspolitik

Although the ‘demographic challenge’ is widely discussed amongst the general public and in the corporate world age management is on the agenda, with companies being expected to adjust their personnel and work policies towards an ageing work force, at company level putting theory into practice seems to be happening only slowly. This is especially true in the field of age- and ageing-adjusted work organisation. One important reason is that the different corporate actors have specific perspectives on age, ageing and labour related policies. The article discusses the role and the influence of human resource management, division management and work councils on corporate age and ageing policies. It argues that the specific corporate actor constellations as well as dominant actor coalitions often appear as a structural blockade for the implementation of age- and ageing-related work policies. Single policies can be set up by single actors. However, a successful corporate reaction to demographic change requires a broader approach containing different complementary policies. To realize such a broader approach it takes specific actor coalitions. The article concludes with some recommendations for age-management politics in the field of work organisation.