Sustainable employability: everything you need to know

Sustainable employability is often seen and described in the workplace as follows: the extent to which employees want (motivation) and are able (workload) to continue working, whether or not with the same employer (employability), until retirement age and with the ability to have control over this themselves(personal leadership).

Being at work is important. Work not only provides us with income, involves us in society. Work gives utility and meaning to life. Promoting sustainable employability in the workplace is therefore very important. When employees are sustainably employable, they experience more job satisfaction, a higher degree of vitality and pay more attention to their personal development. It also ensures that they are less absent than employees who are not. This is because the engagement, sense of responsibility and commitment of sustainably employable personnel is much higher. And the fewer employees who are absent, the more money you save. Also, sustainably employable employees are fitter and more motivated. As a result, they experience more job satisfaction and labor productivity increases.

There are several benefits for employers to invest in sustainable employability, including:

• Less turnover
• Increased employee job happiness
• Increased productivity
• Better image
• Less absenteeism
• Increased profitability

Sustainable employability is often looked at from the employer's perspective. But just as important are the benefits to employees:

• More job happiness
• Less stress
• Increased productivity
• Higher vitality
• Room for development
• More social security

Sustainable employability for specific target groups

It is hard work for every employee to remain sustainably employable themselves. But a few target groups have specific challenges that make this just a little more difficult.

Target group 1: older employees

Older employees, specifically in the age group of 50 years and older, are an increasingly large group in the labor force. These employees have a great deal of experience and knowledge, but at the same time they also face increasing physical or mental limitations.

Challenges
Challenges for this target group include increasing physical and mental strain, lower employment, and a greater need for continuing education to maintain digital skills.

Solutions
Opportunities to solve these challenges is by offering flexible working hours so that energy is better distributed, making ergonomic adjustments to reduce physical strain and offering training and courses to keep their digital skills up to date.

Target group 2: younger employees

The target group of younger employees, also known as the Millennials and Generation Z, are often seen as the innovators of organizations. They are focused on good work-life balance, personal growth and making social impact.

Challenges
Challenges for this target group are the lack of work experience and uncertainty about career choices. In addition, they experience high pressure to perform in a competitive job market.

Solutions
Solutions to these challenges include offering coaching to help with their career choices, flexible and hybrid work models to promote work-life balance, and creating a feedback culture that puts learning at its core.

Target group 3: physically demanding occupations

There is an increasing demand for workers in construction, healthcare and manufacturing, but these occupations are also very physically demanding and have a major impact on sustainable employability.

Challenges
Challenges for this target group to remain sustainably employable are that the high physical load can lead to physical complaints, long-term health problems and eventually absenteeism. In addition, there is a lack of opportunities for physically demanding work and too little attention to preventive health care to counteract this.

Solutions
Options to counter these challenges include the use of ergonomic tools (think lifting aids or exoskeletons), work schedules with multiple rest periods and preventive health checks and care.

Target group 4: knowledge workers

Knowledge workers, think IT specialists, scientists and consultants, often work in a mental environment where less attention is paid to physical health. Although the work is often less physically demanding, it can be perceived as mentally demanding.

Challenges
Challenges for this target group are that prolonged sitting and screen use lead to health problems, the high cognitive load may result in stress or burnout, and there may be a use for exercise and social interaction when this target group works a lot from home.

Solutions
To keep this target group sustainably employable, you can encourage exercise, promote digital detox and plan team activities that bring the two together and bond with colleagues.

Many organizations work with organization or health and safety service provider to promote the sustainable employability of their employees. Whether in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or large multinationals, the support of an external party can be valuable for organizations of all sizes. Below we highlight two examples.

An example of a collaboration in the field of sustainable employability is a partnership between a trade association in the cleaning sector and an all-round health and safety service provider. They offer support and guidance to both (absent) employees and employers.

When it comes to an SME organization within the cleaning sector, this health and safety service provider offers an all-in package. They relieve employers in case of absenteeism, but even better, they come to your company preventively. The health and safety service provider does this by, among other things, advising on PAGO, RI&E, confidential advisor, deployment in conflict situations, preventive advice by a psychologist and HR advice. The experts deploy these services where and when necessary, which ensures an integral approach to sustainable employability, tailored to the specific needs of the cleaning industry.

In the healthcare sector, where work pressure is high and burnout is a real risk, a medium-sized regional hospital has set up an innovative partnership with a specialized occupational health and safety service. Together they are putting in place different forms of services to intervene in 4 phases: prevention, early intervention, reintegration and (long-term) absenteeism. The goal of this collaboration is to improve the sustainable employability of healthcare personnel and reduce absenteeism.

The following components and interventions can be used at the stages:

1. Prevention:
   • Regular workshops on stress management and work-life balance
   • Ergonomic workplace analyses to reduce physical strain
   • Health screenings to detect work-related diseases quickly
2. Early intervention:
   • Quick access to psychological support at first signs of overload
   •  Access to a confidant to quickly de-escalate situations
   • Coaching programs for executives to recognize early signals
3. Reintegration:
   • Multidisciplinary approach to long-term absenteeism, including physical therapy and occupational health advice
   • Gradual work resumption with adapted tasks
   • Career counseling and coaching to encourage employee development
   • Aftercare program to prevent relapse

4. (long-term) Absenteeism
   • File control so that applications to the UWV or other agencies are submitted in a timely manner.
   • When reintegration within one's own organization is not possible, support during the search for a new employer
   • Wage-value advice in the event of long-term changed workload capacity