Melody Almroth

We propose an interdisciplinary research network to push the boundaries of knowledge about the sustainability of late work in Sweden’s ageing population. It addresses health and skills for late work participation in an inequality-sensitive perspective on the transformation of work and productivity, shifts in policies and the ongoing life-course changes in ageing Sweden with an ambition for impact.The network is based on two complementary programmes that are rooted in demographic, social and technological changes which have influenced the realms of work in potentially unequal ways. It is not only the availability of qualified labour but the sustainability of public finances, the inclusiveness of the society, the economic productivity in global competitions as well as generational and gender equity that describe major concerns and, hence, central policy goals in ageing societies. Societies require interdisciplinary knowledge on education and lifelong learning, health care systems, workplaces, employers, working conditions and their effects on people’s work participation.Acknowledging the need for an equal and inclusive prolongation of working lives, it needs an interdisciplinary network beyond single research programmes to generate added value by collaboration, dissemination and training. By initiating a series of events with programme internal workshops, seminars with invited experts and policy stakeholders from Sweden and Europe as well as public workshops and webinars, our network will foster interdisciplinarity, internationalisation and impact. Our training and mentoring activities with a collaborative PhD forum, a training school and a master class will support junior researchers’ careers, intensify intergenerational exchange and provide early-stage researchers (ESR) opportunities for active roles in planning and execution of activities. Moreover, we will advance capabilities for impact by joint dissemination and exploitation in Sweden and Europe.

The retirement age is being raised gradually to counteract the financial consequences of an increasingly older population. However, with increasing age, and in particular after 50 years of age, an increasing number of persons are excluded from the labour market due to health problems. There are also increasing difficulties for young people and people in marginalized labor market positions to establish in the labor market. The research program addresses major challenges to create opportunities for a sustainable working life for all groups on the labor market by strengthening and updating the research on risk factors for poor health, and labor market marginalization and exclusion over the life-span among young, middle aged, and older male and female workers.The aims of the program are to extend knowledge on risk factors for labor market marginalisation and exclusion over the life course (WP1-3), and to identify policies and measures at workplaces that support a long working life (WP4). In four work packages we will study:WP1. Effects of long-term and accumulated poor working conditions on preterm labor-market exit, and potentially risk-reducing effects of occupational change and reduced occupational exposure WP2 Working-life expectancy among different occupational and socioeconomic groups WP3. Determinants and consequences of labor market marginalization over the life courseWP4. Work organizational structures promoting a sustainable working life for all The program is based on research and research collaborations that we have been involved in for many years, in an established environment now under expansion and development. The research team consists of both established and junior researchers from Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, and the USA. A large, compiled register-based cohort (SWIP) that includes the entire Swedish population, born around 1990 or earlier, will be used in WP1-3. Data from surveys and qualitative interviews will also be collected (WP4).