Economic activity of older people vs. intergenerational transfer of knowledge

Both official European Union documents and the research literature indicate that intergenerational transfer of knowledge should be an important measure of extending working life, and broadly active ageing. But in practice for Polish enterprises its importance is rather low. In Poland, the main actions related to active ageing in the area of the labour market concentrate on the economic activation of the unemployed (measures aimed at their employment), especially by the development of competences. Age management (ie. a dynamic set of rules, methods, instruments, etc. relating to workability and employability, contributing to economic and social productivity over their lifetimes and allowing workers of all ages to lead productive, meaningful and healthy lives, including the period of retirement) is still rarely applied in Polish enterprises.

The aim of this paper is an assessment of the role of intergenerational transfer of knowledge for extending working life, and broadly for active ageing. The approach is both theoretical and empirical. The empirical analysis was provided for Polish enterprises.

In the paper we used a unique employer dataset linked with information on companies in the area of employment and management of older employees. The empirical analysis includes synthetic measurement of intergenerational transfer of knowledge development. The analysis of intergenerational transfer of knowledge was carried out using t tests, ANOVA and exploratory factor analysis.

In the light of the study results, intergenerational transfer of knowledge should be one of the significant factors for extending working life. Due to the low economic activity rate of Poles, its implications are important. In light of our results, the development of intergenerational transfer of knowledge is on a quite high level, and one should note the significant relationship between this and the employment and management of older employees.

Keywords: transfer of knowledge, generations, older employees, active ageing.