a subject little covered in companies

Arranging the end of your career is still not a priority subject in companies. And when it is brought up, not much actually happens. This is what a survey published this week reveals.

You would have thought that companies were going to be second to none on the subject of seniors. Especially with the pension reform which gradually increases the legal retirement age and therefore the length of working life. But this is not the case according to the Syndex firm’s investigation into the state of social dialogue in private companies with more than 50 employees.

In this study, half of the staff representatives declare that the situation of seniors has not yet been discussed at a meeting of the Economic and Social Committee (CSE) in their company. Among the 50% who say the subject has been discussed, only 20% say action has been taken.

franceinfo: Are there any differences depending on the size of the companies ?

Sarah Lemoine: Yes, unsurprisingly, the issue of seniors in CSEs is only addressed in 39% of SMEs. Compared to 55% in large groups of more than 5,000 employees.

What measures are currently used by companies to organize end-of-career plans?

There are actually quite few of them according to the study, and when they do exist, they are rather classic, even a little cosmetic. 58% of companies have set up a time savings account which allows employees to retire a few weeks or months earlier, thanks to potentially saved leave. 41% of organizations allow seniors to telework.

Only a large quarter arranges workstations and working hours. 18% have a mentoring program. And only 12% work closely with occupational health to detect possible risks.

So are we far from general mobilization?

According to Claire Morel, from the Syndex firm, this low result is explained by the difficulty companies have in discussing the organization of work in general, and that of seniors in particular. “Arranging the end of senior careers involves changes in process and management. There is also financial reluctance, when these changes result in additional costs.”

Finally, there is a form of wait-and-see attitude, since negotiations are underway on the employment of seniors, at the national level, between unions and employers.