Main-d’œuvre vieillissante
Le vieillissement de la population européenne pose de nombreux défis aux décideurs politiques en matière d’emploi, de conditions de travail, de niveau de vie et de bien-être. Elle a suscité des inquiétudes quant à la viabilité des systèmes de retraite et à l’offre de main-d’œuvre. La promotion des possibilités d’emploi pour une main-d’œuvre vieillissante nécessite une nouvelle réflexion au niveau de l’entreprise, au niveau national et au niveau de l’UE.
Trouvez le contenu le plus récent sur ce thème ci-dessous.
L’Europe doit s’adapter au vieillissement de sa main-d’œuvre
Alors que les taux de natalité du continent diminuent et que sa population vieillit, les décideurs politiques sont confrontés à la tâche urgente de retenir les travailleurs expérimentés et d’adapter les lieux de travail pour répondre aux besoins d’une population plus âgée.Comment l’Europe peut-elle s’adapter au vieillissement de la main-d’œuvre ?
Comment l’Europe peut-elle s’adapter au vieillissement de la main-d’œuvre ? Quels sont les obstacles auxquels font face les travailleurs âgés sur le lieu de travail ? Comment l’évolution des technologies et la qualité de l’emploi influencent-elles le maintien en poste des travailleurs âgés sur le marché du travail ? Cet épisode tente de répondre à ces questions dans le contexte de l’évolution démographique en Europe et de la nécessité de rendre le travail plus durable.Keeping older workers in the labour force
Europe’s population is ageing and has experienced natural decline since 2014, cushioned only by net migration. The working-age population is shrinking as the number of older individuals grows, a trend expected to continue with the retirement of the baby boom generation. This shift presents challenges for policymakers in relation to employment, living standards and welfare sustainability across EU Member States.
This report aims to answer the question of how to keep older workers in employment as long as possible. It provides a comprehensive analysis of employment developments. It examines job quality differences across various age groups and analyses differences in job quality within the group of older workers. The report also explores the push and pull factors influencing employment trends across Europe and delves into the policies and practices implemented by Member States to keep older workers in the workforce. It highlights the critical role of social partners in shaping these outcomes and, finally, provides general pointers for policymakers to consider.
Eurofound possède une longue expérience dans les problèmes auxquels est confrontée la main-d’œuvre vieillissante. Depuis les années 1990, les recherches se sont concentrées sur la participation au marché du travail, les performances au travail, les conditions de travail et les préférences de travail des travailleurs âgés dans le contexte politique de l’évolution du profil démographique de l’Europe. Les travaux ont également porté sur le soutien public et les initiatives au niveau des entreprises en faveur de l’emploi des travailleurs âgés. Il s’est penché sur les travailleuses âgées, mettant en évidence l’augmentation des taux d’emploi de ce groupe et leur proportion croissante de la main-d’œuvre, en particulier dans le groupe d’âge des 55 à 64 ans.
Malgré une croissance substantielle des taux d’emploi des travailleurs âgés au cours de la dernière décennie dans de nombreux pays de l’UE, le rapport conjoint sur l’emploi 2017 de la Commission européenne souligne le potentiel d’augmentation supplémentaire de ces taux. En 2016, le taux d’emploi des travailleurs âgés de 55 à 64 ans dans l’UE s’élevait à 55,3 %, contre 66,6 % pour l’ensemble des travailleurs âgés de 15 à 64 ans. L’augmentation la plus marquée a été observée chez les femmes âgées.
Le socle européen des droits sociaux fournit un cadre pour aider les marchés du travail à s’adapter aux nouveaux défis tout en promouvant l’équité et la solidarité entre les générations. Elle met l’accent sur le droit à un environnement de travail adapté aux besoins professionnels des travailleurs afin de leur permettre de prolonger leur participation au marché du travail. En outre, le récent accord autonome des partenaires sociaux européens sur le vieillissement actif et l’approche intergénérationnelle s’engage à faciliter la participation active des travailleurs âgés et leur longévité sur le marché du travail.
Commission européenne : Rapport conjoint sur l’emploi 2017opens in new tab
Commission européenne : Socle européen des droits sociauxopens in new tab
Partenaires sociaux européens : accord-cadre autonome sur le vieillissement actif et une approche intergénérationnelleopens in new tab
Voici une sélection des publications les plus importantes pour ce thème.
31 March 2025
Keeping older workers in the labour force
Europe’s population is ageing and has experienced natural decline since 2014, cushioned only by net migration. The working-age population is shrinking as the number of older individuals grows, a trend expected to continue with the retirement of the baby boom generation. This shift presents challenges for policymakers in relation to employment, living standards and welfare sustainability across EU Member States.
This report aims to answer the question of how to keep older workers in employment as long as possible. It provides a comprehensive analysis of employment developments. It examines job quality differences across various age groups and analyses differences in job quality within the group of older workers. The report also explores the push and pull factors influencing employment trends across Europe and delves into the policies and practices implemented by Member States to keep older workers in the workforce. It highlights the critical role of social partners in shaping these outcomes and, finally, provides general pointers for policymakers to consider.
19 December 2023
Intergenerational inequalities: How to close the gaps?
The various economic and social shocks of the past decade and a half – most recently the COVID-19 pandemic – have ongoing consequences for the living standards and prospects of Europeans, and sometimes these outcomes have been uneven across age groups. Social policies – such as those in the areas of social protection and housing – in some cases have benefited certain age groups over others. The upshot both of crises and of policies is that inequalities between the generations have widened in important areas.
This policy brief examines some of the intergenerational social trends that either were persistent or changed considerably over the last decade and a half, sometimes contrary to expectations. It focuses on significant developments that have received somewhat less attention in policy planning in the areas of income, housing, work and employment, and health. The intention is to develop a clearer sense of the direction of social change and bring medium- and long-term perspectives into policy thinking.
28 January 2022
COVID-19 and older people: Impact on their lives, support and care
This report captures the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the quality of life of older citizens, including the impact on their well-being, finances, employment and social inclusion. It explores the effects on the use of care services and older people’s reliance on other support. The report presents policy measures that have been implemented in EU Member States to support older people along all of the above-mentioned dimensions. These include measures to support independent living and schemes to support the labour market integration of older people or to prevent unemployment, all of which play a role in the quality of life of older citizens.
26 February 2021
Working conditions and sustainable work: An analysis using the job quality framework
This flagship report summarises the key findings of Eurofound’s research on working conditions conducted over the programming period 2017–2020. It maps the progress achieved since 2000 in improving working conditions and examines whether all workers have benefited equally from positive change. It highlights which groups are the most at risk of experiencing poor working conditions and being left behind. Given the changes in the world of work, emerging challenges for good job quality are identified. The report also provides evidence for measures that could lead to the further improvement of work and the achievement of fair working conditions for all in the EU. The analysis shows that, overall, job quality in the EU is improving, if slowly. Not all workers are benefiting to the same extent, however. Furthermore, gender, age and contractual status have a significant bearing on a person’s working conditions. And while digitalisation helps to address some job quality issues, it also creates new challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated trends, reinforcing concerns and highlighting the importance of achieving job quality for all.
13 May 2019
Working conditions and workers' health
This report uses European Working Conditions Survey data to examine working conditions and their implications for worker’s health. Ensuring the sustainability of work in the context of ageing populations implies a greater number of people in employment who can remain in the workforce for longer. The report examines the interplay between work demands – which carry an increased risk of exhaustion – and work resources – which support workers in greater engagement and well-being. The findings indicate that physical risks have not increased but remain important, while emotional demands have increased, underlining the growing importance of psychosocial risks at work. Changes over time suggest that although the risk of poor health is concentrated in certain occupations, those occupations traditionally considered to be protected are increasingly exposed to risks that are likely to affect workers’ health and well-being.
15 November 2018
Not finished at 50: Keeping older workers in work
23 January 2018
European Quality of Life Survey 2016
Nearly 37,000 people in 33 European countries (28 EU Member States and 5 candidate countries) were interviewed in the last quarter of 2016 for the fourth wave of the European Quality of Life Survey. This overview report presents the findings for the EU Member States. It uses information from previous survey rounds, as well as other research, to look at trends in quality of life against a background of the changing social and economic profile of European societies. Ten years after the global economic crisis, it examines well-being and quality of life broadly, to include quality of society and public services. The findings indicate that differences between countries on many aspects are still prevalent – but with more nuanced narratives. Each Member State exhibits certain strengths in particular aspects of well-being, but multiple disadvantages are still more pronounced in some societies than in others; and in all countries significant social inequalities persist.
21 December 2017
Working conditions of workers of different ages
Demographic change is changing the face of working life across the EU. The increased demand on a shrinking pool of workers to provide for the social needs of an ageing population is leading to increases in the employment rate of older workers and a lengthening of working life. Policy reforms have – on the whole – focused on raising the statutory retirement age and providing financial incentives for older workers to remain in work beyond retirement age. However, a range of other factors also influence workers’ decision to continue working into old age – including health and well-being, work–life balance, career prospects and job security, and working conditions such as autonomy, hours of work and psychosocial aspects of the workplace. This report analyses these factors in depth for the 28 EU Member States, using data from the latest European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS 2015) and in the context of Eurofound’s concept of ‘sustainable work over the life course’.
Les chercheurs d'Eurofound fournissent des informations spécialisées et peuvent être contactés pour des questions ou des demandes des médias.
Franz Ferdinand Eiffe
Research managerFranz Eiffe est chargé de recherche au sein de l’unité Vie professionnelle d’Eurofound. Il est impliqué dans des projets sur le travail durable, les analyses quantitatives et la convergence ascendante dans l’UE, ainsi que dans la préparation de la quatrième enquête sur les entreprises européennes. Avant de rejoindre Eurofound en 2016, il était chef de l’unité « Analyse » de Statistics Austria à Vienne et chef de projet « Comment va l’Autriche ? Mesurer la richesse et le progrès au-delà du PIB ». Il est titulaire d’un doctorat en économie de l’Université d’économie de Vienne (WU), où il a également travaillé en tant qu’associé de recherche de 2005 à 2009 et chargé de cours jusqu’en 2016.
Hans Dubois
Senior research managerHans Dubois est directeur de recherche principal au sein de l’unité Politiques sociales d’Eurofound. Ses sujets de recherche comprennent le logement, le surendettement, les soins de santé, les soins de longue durée, les prestations sociales, la retraite et la qualité de vie sur le territoire. Avant de rejoindre Eurofound, il était professeur assistant à l’Université Kozminski (Varsovie). Il a obtenu un doctorat en administration et gestion des affaires à l’Université Bocconi (Milan), après avoir travaillé comme chargé de recherche à l’Observatoire européen des systèmes et des politiques de santé (Madrid).
Oscar Vargas Llave
Senior research managerOscar Vargas Llave is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound and manages projects on changes in the world of work and the impact on working conditions and related policies: organisation of working time, remote work, the right to disconnect, health and well-being and ageing. Before joining Eurofound in December 2009, he worked as project coordinator in the field of health and safety and was responsible for the Professional Card Scheme for the Construction Sector in Spain at the non-profit Fundación Laboral de la Construcción in Madrid. He has a background in industrial sociology (Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca), and also holds a Diploma in Social Science Research Methods from the University of Cardiff and a Master’s degree in Health and Safety from the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Cette section donne accès à tout le contenu qui a été publié sur le thème.
