In recent years, work environments have changed significantly. The shift towards work that is not being bound to any particular time or place has compelled the development of alternative ways of working. At the same time, population ageing presents new challenges, as the future workforce increasingly consists of older knowledge workers. Doctoral thesis by Minna Sandelin examines these changes and challenges from the perspective of knowledge workers over the age of 50, as well as from the viewpoints of management and experts.
In Finland and globally, research on work environments has traditionally focused on physical work environments. With advances in technology, virtual work environments have also begun to receive academic attention. Recently, the importance of social work environment has been highlighted, particularly in terms of productivity and sense of community. These dimensions have often been studied separately, and only rarely together. The aim of the thesis is to integrate these three dimensions and to identify the factors that support older employees’ work and improve their work environment.
The thesis adopted a qualitative research approach and a multiple case study design to examine experiences of knowledge workers over the age of 50 by using a visual probe method; and, by conducting interviews with management and experts in four knowledge-based organisations in Finland.
The results reveal many valuable employee experiences and highlight several strategies used by management to design and manage work environments. It seems that employees are satisfied with the physical ergonomics in their respective offices but are concerned about ergonomic solutions for remote and hybrid work. One of the most notable findings is the need to place greater emphasis on cognitive ergonomics to aid the ability to perform different tasks that require intellectual and other kinds of mental effort such as memory, learning, thinking and information processing. In addition, the importance of social spaces and collaboration-supporting events in the transfer of expertise and tacit knowledge should be better acknowledged. Further, flexible working hours and possibility of remote work support the need for recovery from work and, in particular, the increasing need of older employees to act as caregivers for their elderly parents. The results also show that by understanding work environment simply as a physical entity limits the potential of designing and managing age-friendly work environments. The findings highlight the need to manage across organisational boundaries through more integrated workplace management.
The thesis contributes to the transdisciplinary workplace research and management with experience research approach. The phenomena the thesis focuses on is new and there has been little work done on studying the work environment for older workers. The thesis enhances understanding of the factors that support the work of older knowledge workers and improve their work environment. Such insights are valuable because future workforce will increasingly be made up of ageing knowledge workers in many of the developed countries. While the study confirms many factors related to the physical work environment, it also reveals that the concept of the workplace is not just a network of physical places but a broader experience–and that the physical work environment is only one aspect of the overall experience of a worker.
The thesis gives voice to employees over 50 years of age and offers valuable knowledge for organisations regarding the design and management of age-friendly work environments; this knowledge will benefit the entire workforce, not just older workers. In addition, this research brings to the fore perspectives on employee experiences and the design and management of work environments in public discussions concerning the careers and extended working lives of older employees.
The thesis can be accessed here: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/items/c9c5019c-e6e6-4e66-8713-b71d1eb878d0
