Aging & Social Change: Fourteenth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Despite having one of the highest employment rates for 55 to 64-year olds, Swiss federal authorities are actively seeking to further extend the duration of working life. In 2022, a popular vote resulted in the ‘AVS21’ pension reform, which introduced a number of measures to promote extended working life (EWL). However, in Switzerland, as elsewhere, there is a notable scarcity of research on the implementation and impact of EWL policies in specific occupational and organisational contexts. To address this research gap, this study draws on interview data collected during a European research project aimed at exploring how older workers experience the final phase of their working life and envision their transition to retirement in different employment sectors. With a focus on the banking sector, this article examines how a persistent stigmatization of older workers has locked Swiss banks into an ‘organizational path dependency’ with regard to EWL. Despite increasing pressures on bank workers to extend the duration of their working lives, a combination of ‘institutionalized’ and ‘internalized’ ageism hinders the adoption of effective age management policies. By shedding light on the experiences and perspectives of older workers in the Swiss banking sector, this research provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of ageing at work in specific national and organisational contexts.