UK Employers Top European Rankings For Wellbeing Of Older Workers | Incentive & Motivation

UK employers lead Europe in their concern for the wellbeing of staff aged 55 and over.  This was the key finding of the 2015 Edenred-IPSOS barometer, which surveyed 13,600 European employees, across 13 countries, on the wellbeing and motivation of older employees.

67% of UK employees aged 55 and over believe their line manager genuinely cares about employee wellbeing, the highest score in Europe.  Other high-ranking countries include the Netherlands and Finland (=65%) and Sweden (61%).  The lowest ranked countries were Belgium and Italy (=45%) and France (39%).

The UK also ranks favourably as the third largest employer of workers aged 55 plus in Europe, sharing this position with the Netherlands (60%), close behind Germany (64%) but someway off Sweden (74%).

While this is good news for the UK other findings from the survey suggest there is no room for complacency.  Ranked ninth for happiness at work the UK lags 30 points behind the highest-ranking country, the Netherlands.

Similarly there is room for improving quality of life at work.  The UK ranks joint fifth with Germany (53%), ahead of France but behind Sweden and Finland.

Looking at the overall survey results the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland treat their workers the best, consistently achieving the highest employee satisfaction ratings.  Workers from these countries said their employer provides training to develop transferable skills, which are critical to ongoing employability.  Employees also said their organization manages older talent well.

Andy Philpott, Sales Director, Edenred says:
“The wellbeing of older workers is crucial to the success of the UK economy which has the third highest number of older workers in Europe.

With an ageing population UK employers must wake up to the fact that we are dangerously dependent on an older workforce.  The future success of organizations depends on their ability to understand and meet the needs of older workers or risk losing them to a competitor who does.”