Labour Conditions and Cognitive Resources of Older Workers - The Effects of Labour and Human Resource Policy

The goal of this subproject is to analyse the effects of labour and human resources policy on the development and use of cognitive resources by older workers. It focuses on labour policy for the integration of older long-term unemployed persons (e.g. 1€ jobs and JobPerspektive) and human resource policy (e.g. 'Diversity Management').

Thereby, the individual level thesis of a 'cognitive reserve' is supplemented by a structural level perspective that explores the preventative and protective effects of workplace conditions. The project's central question examines whether the 'cognitive reserve' is determined in greater part by an individual's work biography or by the organisational context in which these occupational activites occur. This approach is put to use by investigating the structural flexibility of working conditions as well as the effects that rules of action and attribution evoke - in order to find ways to maximize the ability of older workers to flexibly and effectively utilize their cognitive resources.

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