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The AVR actively supports Generation Fifty Plus

Do you think that the work environment at Roche reflects the needs of your age group? How effectively does Roche assist you in sharing your knowledge with colleagues? Do you think that Roche provides enough health and wellbeing services?

These are just some of the areas that the 50plus working group set up by the Roche Employees’ Association (AVR) and the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) networks’ "Cross-Generations" working group will be covering in their joint survey. “We want to know what the over-50s really need,” explains Stephanie Agius from the AVR working group. Their work will benefit many – not least Roche itself. “We want to find out what motivates this age group, how we can ensure they stay with the company and how we can make better use of their knowledge,” adds Armin Knoblich from the D&I Generations network.

The focus on baby boomers, employees born between 1946 and 1964, is not surprising. There are 2,256 boomers at Basel and Kaiseraugst, where they make up 22 percent of the total workforce. 400 of the over-50s have a doctoral degree. At the same time, though, they account for only five percent of all internal job transfers and are at risk of discrimination due to age.

In the light of these factors, there can be no doubt that the D&I Cross-Generations working group, set up in 2017, represents a genuine attempt to improve inter-generational working. The AVR's 50plus working group came into being separately following the 2017 off-site meeting and first looked into existing services. Their conclusion? “There are exercise courses under the health and wellbeing umbrella, for example, and the Roche Career Center provides help with employability, but there’s nothing designed specifically for the over-50s age group,” Stephanie reports.

The two working groups combined forces in summer 2018. While the AVR working group is looking specifically at the over-50s target group, the Generations network is interested in feedback from across all age groups. As soon as the results of the survey are available, the two groups intend to look into ways of maximising support for employees over 50 and improving cross-generational working. “We want to come up with something that will deliver long-term benefits,” says Stephanie. Armin adds: “We feel it is important to develop target group-appropriate solutions that employees and line managers will actually embrace.”

Any Roche employee at Basel or Kaiseraugst is eligible to take part in the survey, which is now online

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