"Older workers are unmotivated," is a prejudice that is widespread in Germany. But is it justified? Dr. Tanja Rabl, economist at the University of Bayreuth, comes to a different conclusion in a new study: The age of employees is not significantly related to their motivation to actively participate in the company. By itself, being older is no cause for a decline in motivation and a lack of will to succeed.

However, an indirect connection between age and motivation can be demonstrated: If older employees repeatedly experience in their daily work that they are disadvantaged or belittled simply because of their age, the impression is reinforced that the management of their work has little support and understanding. Thus, the propensity to consider failures of own initiatives as probable and to fear. This, and not just the age, can weaken the performance-oriented commitment to the business.

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Education has great potential for coping with demographic change

On the initiative of the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Heidelberg and the Institute of German Business have studied the ability of older employees to learn and change. The scientists clearly state: Education offers make a decisive contribution to maintaining professional performance and motivation throughout the entire career. They also form a basis for preserving innovation.

The findings of the investigation make it clear what potential older employees represent for companies. Their task, in turn, is to use this potential. The educational concepts developed in the study make an important contribution to this. At two locations of Robert Bosch GmbH, employees between 45 and 63 were involved in the practical project, which should show that education in the company can not be started soon enough.

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On the state of risk management for business

As almost 60 percent of German companies, there is a risk management for business, the specific risks associated with business travel, actively manages. Only one in three companies binds risk management for business into the overall risk management of the company; one in five companies is a standalone system without integration. This resulted in a survey of the German Business Travel Association (VDR) organized travel managers. Head of the project is Prof. Dr. Ernst-Otto Thiesing from tourism management of Karl Scharfenberg Faculty Salzgitter at Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences. In a presentation at the 2. Forum security and travel within the travel fair CMT in Stuttgart he has now presented the results.

"The risks that travelers are confronted, limited by no means only to allegedly unsafe areas", said Prof. Dr. Ernst-Otto Thiesing. Nevertheless wanted only half of the companies that have so far refrained from applying risk management, introduce a. Cost considerations played a role whatsoever, but it lacks in time, know-how and the knowledge that risk management can and secure corporate existence -success and minimize risk costs.

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WSI collective agreement archive expands service offering

30 new professions at www.lohnspiegel.de - the information portal about wages and salaries is expanding its range. Who deserves what? The information portal answers this question reliable answer for years. The following professions are now new in the database:

Controller / in, Sales Assistant / in, quality controller / in, client advisor / in, copywriter / in, Optometrists / in, biotechnologists / in, metal grinder / in, Tierpfle-ger / in, publishing employees / r, taxi driver / in, pharmaceutical technicians / r Assis-tent / in, plasterer / in / plasterer / in, Aircraft mechanic / in, Personalbera- ter / in, florist / in, gardener / in, PR specialist, library assistant / in, house-pfleger / in, agricultural workers / in among others

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Who wears clothes in professional life, rising from the body sweat, probably deprives himself of his chances of promotion. Certain textiles take sweat now even particularly like, and distribute it within a few meters in the noses of our neighbors - bad if that's just the boss. Reason enough to take a close look at the smell optimize our clothing. To scientifically sound to judge negative or positive, outgoing textiles odors sensory, both extensive instrumental analyzes as well as professionally trained human sniffers (sniffer or panelists) are required. The further expansion of their odor analysis, the Hohenstein Institute are the aim of optimizing the smell of clothes now come a big step closer.

Manufacturer of body-worn clothing (z. B. sports and outdoor clothing, underwear or socks), workwear, protective clothing and home textiles and shoes and shoe inserts can now work with the help of the Hohenstein odor analysis targeted at the olfactory improve their products and fiber types, Vote design features and special equipment to each other. To this end, emphasizes Prof. Dr. Dirk Höfer, Head of the Institute for Hygiene and Biotechnology, "that both the new state of various materials can be examined as well as worn, washed or artificially acted on materials." Consequently, the incumbent at the Hohenstein Institutes procedures are not only for odor (antibacterial) or odor-emitting textiles (SPA Textiles) interesting, but z. B. for the detergent and cosmetic industry to perform a detailed analysis of the fragrance release. Since fragrances next microcapsule equipment raise usually about washing processes on textiles, independent product comparisons and effects of different washing processes can now be judged on the fabric odor.

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In 2008 49 percent of businesses used in the search for suitable staff personal contacts of its employees. For micro-enterprises with fewer than ten employees, the figure was 53 percent. For large enterprises with 200 or more employees on the other hand less than a third used social networks. This is the result of a study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB).

In large farms formal structures are often established in filling vacancies, according to the IAB. By contrast, information could be incorporated easily informally in small businesses through greater social proximity. Overall 29 percent of new hires came about through networks.

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Given the demographic changes companies need to adapt to an aging workforce. Adequate organization of working time helps to maintain health and working capacity of employees. In Project KRONOS KIT researchers have examined working time models that are the process of aging needs. Based on the results, they recommend among other shift patterns with fast forward rotation and customized long-term accounts with credit balances can be used according to the needs of workers.

Part-time work, short breaks, age-appropriate shift patterns and long-term accounts are among the instruments, dealt with by the research group led by Professor Peter Knauth at the Institute of Industrial Management and Industrial Production (IIP) of KIT in the context of KRONOS. In the now completed study on "working life models - opportunities and risks for the company and the employee" is a sub-project of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Priority program "Age work systems". The KRONOS final report has just been published in Universitätsverlag Karlsruhe.

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The phenomenon is not new: Despite strong demand from young people every year numerous training places remain unfilled. The proportion of companies with unfilled training courses varies between 10 and 20 percent - with partly rising. How can this mismatch between high demand of young people and cast difficulties of enterprises explain? And - more importantly - how can this be overcome in the future? The companies call mainly lack of capacity and lack of motivation of young people as reasons why they could not find a suitable candidate. But that is enough to justify?

The Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB) has found in a survey of more than 1.000 establishments that, reasons are also on the part of companies, ie the providers of apprenticeships that training places remain unfilled.

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Bertelsmann Foundation good working atmosphere reduces costs

42 percent of dependent and self-employed indicates to have gone in the past twelve months twice or more sick to work. Experts talk in this context of presenteeism. Two thirds of respondents do so mainly out of duty and otherwise work remains lying. This shows the current Health Monitor Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Single people are particularly affected by presenterism. Singles (78 percent) reported going to work sick significantly more often than couples and families (69 percent). One reason could be the different tendencies towards disease denial. However, the assumption that it is mainly the self-employed who work sick particularly often cannot be confirmed. The opposite is the case. The proportion of self-employed (52 percent) is significantly smaller than the proportion of employees (74 percent).

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WSI collective agreement archive takes stock

The collective agreements in 1. Half 2009 are well above the current inflation rate and, unless they fully applied who-the to significant increases in real wages. This results from the current half-year results *, which presents the collective archive of the Economic and Social Research Institute (WSI) in the Hans Böckler Foundation.

The in 1. Half concluded collective agreements include for 2009 mainly wage increases between 2,5 and 3,0 percent. In the financial statements are in the public sector and in the energy industry. (. Eg trade) In other industries, the financial statements, however, are significantly lower-like (see the summary of selected financial statements in the notes. Link to PM with Appendix below).

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Businesses, policy and care facilities are required

Family life today is diverse. Often families have the traditional division of labor behind them, in the women's role was attributed unquestionably "indemnify the back." Its working men This brings new freedoms and opportunities, but also stresses: For the same time the working world is changing rapidly, mothers and fathers who are becoming increasingly blurred flexible working hours and mobile working places, the boundaries between work and leisure.

The personnel management in enterprises and public infrastructure are lagging these developments but still significantly behind. As a result, parents do not skimp on commitment to their children. But often, the life strategies that work and family life are to be reconciled, anything but sustainable models for successful reconciliation. These are the findings of a recent, funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation study of the German Youth Institute (DJI) and the Technical University of Chemnitz, which will be presented today at a conference at the DJI in Munich *.

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