Managing an Aging Workforce and a Tight Labor Market: Views Held by Dutch Employers

As in most other Western countries the population of the Netherlands is aging, and this is having major implications for the labor market. The consequences have a quantitative and a qualitative dimension and are felt both at a macro level and within individual organizations. The quantitative dimensions addresses issues such as whether there are, and will be enough employees to fill all jobs, and what the consequences of the new labor market conditions will be, for wage structures and wage trends. The qualitative dimension deals with the question whether suitable candidates can be found for available jobs. This issue affects the labor force as a whole, but should in principle also be addressed by each individual employer. This article presents the results of a large-scale survey among employers, setting forth how they look upon the trend of an aging workforce and its implications, and how they are responding to and anticipating these trends.