Is the Obsolescence of the Skills of Older Employees an Inevitable Consequence of Digitalization?

Cros, Florence; Chaumon, Marc-Éric Bobillier; Cuvillier, Bruno

doi:10.1002/9781119808343.ch13

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 17 publications

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“…Therefore, the pandemic can be seen as a push factor in acquiring computer skills in later working life, especially for women. However, to overcome the digital gap among older workers, it is important to invest in training to increase digital capital, even after the pandemic (Cros et al, 2021 ). This also includes a further expansion of the internet infrastructure to guarantee adequate use for everyone—even beyond a pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digitally Savvy at the Home Office: Computer Skills of Older Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic Across Europe

König

Seifert

2022

Front. Sociol.

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Digital skills can be a valuable resource in work life, especially in such times as the current COVID-19 pandemic, during which working from home has become new reality. Although increasing numbers of older employees (aged 50 years and above) are using digital technologies to work remotely, many of these older adults still have generally lower digital skills. Whether the pandemic will be a push factor for the acquisition of computer skills in late working life remains unclear. This study investigated the explanatory factors of the computer skills gained by older workers who were working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, using representative data for 28 countries from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The analysis of the survey responses of 11,042 employed persons aged 50 years and older revealed that, 13% worked only at home due to the pandemic, while 15% said they worked at home and in their usual workplace. The descriptives indicate that full-time homeworking is more of an option among those with tertiary education and who already have some computer skills. Of the older employees who worked only at home, 36% reported an improvement in their computer skills, whereas of the older workers who worked at home and at their usual workplaces, only 29% reported such an improvement. Our results based on logistic regressions suggest that significantly more women, younger employees, respondents with tertiary educational qualifications, and those whose work was not affected by unemployment or even business closure acquired new computer skills, regardless of whether they were working permanently or only partly from home. The study underlines the importance of investigating the possible digital skills gained from the home office situation resulting from the pandemic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%