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The Swedish healthcare sector is currently experiencing recruitment difficulties combined with increasing demand for healthcare services. This study accordingly seeks knowledge of the obstacles to and opportunities for retaining older employees in the Swedish healthcare sector. Results of interviews with line managers and human resource (HR) partners indicate that the informants have positive attitudes toward older healthcare workers in general, particularly acknowledging their contributions based on long experience and skill. However, line managers' high workload, the absence of age-management strategies, and universal HR policies not conducive to older workers' individual needs are considered obstacles to retention on an organizational level. To retain older healthcare workers and maintain their ability and motivation, the healthcare sector and especially HR strategies need to be more proactive in addressing these issues, and formalized policies are required in order to benefit from the potential labor reserve that older employees constitute. KEYWORDS Age management / Line managers / HRM / Swedish healthcare / Active aging policy / Aging workforce / Retirement

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Despite working life prolongation having been at the center of the policy agenda in Europe for the last two decades, organizations’ engagement in formal age-management activities intended to strengthen older workers’ motivation and work ability appears limited. Given policies to extend working lives, negotiated individualized work arrangements—often called idiosyncratic deals (I-deals)—can be an informal and complementary approach to formalized age-management practices, improving the person–job fit and helping older workers extend their working lives. Nevertheless, research on I-deals and retirement preferences remains scarce in the Nordic context, where collective agreements regulate conditions of employment and the employer–employee relationship. Using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, this study examines five areas of I-deals (i.e., Task and Work Responsibilities, Workload Reduction, Schedule Flexibility, Location Flexibility, and Financial Incentives) and their relationships with retirement preferences among Swedish public-sector employees aged 55 years or older (n = 4,499). Findings show that I-deals are generally less prevalent among women and older employees, as well as among those with poor health, in lower socioeconomic positions, and with shorter organizational tenure. Regarding retirement preferences, we found Task and Work Responsibilities to be related to later preferred retirement age, while, surprisingly, the opposite was observed for Workload Reduction, probably because individuals who received workload reductions also reported poorer health. Comparatively, factors such as matching employees’ competence, experience, and growth opportunities seem to be the most important for public-sector employees’ retirement preferences.

Purpose This study aims to describe and evaluate the impact of a participatory age-management intervention on the knowledge, awareness and engagement of line managers and their HR partners from six health-care organizations in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach The learning workshops consisted of lectures, discussions, feedback and exchange of experiences with colleagues and invited experts. A total of 19 participants were interviewed six months after the final workshop, and qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the transcribed interviews. Findings The intervention design produced promising results in improving line managers’ and HR partners’ knowledge and increasing awareness and engagement. On some occasions, the participants also initiated changes in organizational policies and practices. However, the intervention primarily became a personal learning experience as participants lacked resources and mandates to initiate change in their daily work. To stimulate engagement and change at the organizational level, the authors believe that an intervention must receive support from higher managers, be anchored at the workplace and be aligned with the organization’s goals; moreover, participants must be provided with sufficient resources and mandates to coordinate the implementation of age-management strategies. Practical implications Prolonged working life policies and skill shortages are affecting organizations and societies, and for many employers, there are strong reasons for developing strategies to attract, recruit and retain older workers. Originality/value This study offers lessons and guidance for future workplace interventions to attract, recruit and retain older workers.