Project KFA

Demographic change

In view of the demographic decline in the labor force and the steady increase in older workers in Saxony (see Demography Monitor, Saxony), the question arises as to which factors can promote the long-term preservation of the capacity, workability and health of young and especially older workers up to the statutory retirement age.

Project goal

The project, entitled "Communication and Leadership in Age-Mixed Teams (KFA): Dialogic Analysis and Potential Interventions in SMEs" aims to develop potential interventions for the prevention and management of conflicts in age-mixed teams for SMEs and KUs.

Workshops

In workshops with employees of Saxon companies, problematic communication situations or conflicts based on the cooperation of young and old employees at work are identified, possible practical solutions are worked out and compared with already existing training elements (Wegge & Schmidt, 2015).

Further information about the training elements used (Wegge & Schmidt, 2015)

In order to find the causes and conditions of the effects of cooperation between old and young in the team, Wegge and Schmidt have carried out the project ADIGU (Age heterogeneity of working groups as a determinant of innovation, group performance and health) over six years. Within the scope of this work, numerous data were collected in more than 800 natural working groups with over 6000 employees. In addition, a representative of Germany telephone survey was conducted with 2,000 workers.
The central basis of the work was the integrative model of the potential productivity effect of age heterogeneity in group work.
Based on the findings of the ADIGU project, the authors have developed a training for executives, which should support this group of people in creating conducive conditions for working in age-mixed groups.

The trainings consist of 3 modules:
Module I: Identify age heterogeneity as a resource (impact of age heterogeneity on productivity in the group)
Module II: Using Age Heterogeneity as a Resource (Derivation of Action Options)
Modul III: Transferworkshop

Source:
Wegge, J., & Schmidt, K. H. (2015). Diversity management: generationenübergreifende Zusammenarbeit fördern. Hogrefe Verlag.

The organization of the workshops takes place with kind support of the ATB gGmbH Chemnitz:

For the registration for the workshop:
Tel.: +49 (0) 371 369 58 11
E-Mail: demografie@atb-chemnitz.de

ATB Arbeit, Technik und Bildung gGmbH
Neefestraße 76
09119 Chemnitz

Toolbox

As a result, a new toolbox was developped for analyzing the causes of conflicts in age-mixed teams as well as interventions for the reduction of conflicts and tensions within the team, which is suitable for SMEs and KUs.