LAUSR

Abstract The subject of the article is the issue of attitudes of Polish entrepreneurs towards knowledge workers aged 65 and older, in the context of their perception of benefits and threats, and the use of good practices in the area of employment. The article was written as part of the diversity management paradigm, and consists of a theoretical part presenting the literature on the subject and empirical one: analyzing the results of longitudinal studies. The research was conducted among 93 entrepreneurs, owners of small and medium enterprises, in the construction and industrial sectors, in two periods of time, in 2014 and 2019. The aim of the article is to get the answer for the following question: “What is the relationship between attitudes, perceptions by entrepreneurs of the benefits of employing workers aged 65 and older, and offering them specific good practices (flexible working hours, preparing employees for work, conducting trainings, coaching/mentoring, lack of such practices) and their hierarchy in relation to the frequency of use in 2014–2019”? The research was carried out using a specially developed questionnaire whose reliability met the requirements of methodological correctness. The results of the research showed the relationships between the attitudes of entrepreneurs in 2014 and 2019, stabilization of these attitudes (in relation of positive, neutral and negative attitudes) in the examined periods, and their perception of benefits and threats arising from the employment of knowledge workers aged 65 and older, both in 2014 and 2019; attitudes and the number of good practices offered to employees regarding the form of their employment. In addition, as a result of multi-criteria statistical analysis (biplots), it turned out that entrepreneurs in 2014 preferred and offered employees these practices in a different hierarchy than in 2019. According to the authors, the reason for the discrepancy was the decreasing level of unemployment causing an increase in the demand for employees in small and medium enterprises as well as increasing the awareness of entrepreneurs regarding the role of experienced knowledge workers in their company.