Diversity management (DM) has been defined as “an approach to human resource management aimed at creating an inclusive work environment capable of fostering the expression of individual potential and using it as a strategic lever for achieving organizational objectives” [2]. This definition underscores the strategic importance of inclusivity in the workplace. Indeed, by focusing on inclusivity, DM can allow organizations to leverage the unique strengths and perspectives of each employee. Understanding who makes up a "community" of workers, the pathologies they are affected by, their level of education and competence, chronological and professional age [3], gender, and work ability at a given time, is important for identifying the best organizational strategy, how to best place and manage staff within the corporate context to derive the maximum benefit. Dimensions of diversity have been grouped into two main categories [4]: (i) primary diversity (age, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc.) which are inherent traits of an individual and cannot be changed, and (ii) secondary diversity (educational and professional background, experience and role within the organization, income, geographic location, etc.) which are acquired elements and thus can be modified over time. Additionally, there are organizational differences to consider, which are characteristics of a person linked to their position and hierarchical level within the work context [5]. At European Union level, the Action Plan 2023-2024 on the Diversity and inclusion in the workplace [6] has been released, underlying the importance of the subject and detailing all the managerial actions that must be addressed towards diversity, defining DM as "the active and conscious development of a far-sighted managerial process, oriented towards the acceptance of differences and the strategic and communicative use of certain differences and similarities as potential for the organization, a process that creates added value for the enterprise." In Italy, the development of DM policies is closely linked to changes in the labour market. Like other international contexts, the Italian landscape is increasingly characterized by a strong growth in workforce diversification [7]. The main trends through which the process of change manifests itself are at least three. The first concerns the increased presence of women in the labour market. The second is the increasingly widespread presence of immigrant workers in the work system. Italy is, in fact, a country that welcomes significant flows of foreign population, and this exponentially increases the proportion of non-Italian personnel in workplaces, mostly in the sectors of industry and services. The third aspect concerns the progressive increase in life expectancy which determines the coexistence of people of different ages within organizations, with aspirations and perspectives related to their own age. Alongside these profound changes in the composition of the workforce and in the occupational structure of the Italian context, another element that has made it possible to pay greater attention to the issue of DM is surely the reform regarding the mandatory placement of disabled persons, initiated through various legislative interventions from the late 1990s, which has contributed to promoting greater involvement of people with disabilities in the Italian labour market [8]. The term disability is defined by the World Health Organization as "any limitation or loss (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. Disability reflects impairment at the level of the person and as such, encompasses disturbances at the level of the individual. Disability refers to functional capabilities manifested through acts and behaviours that by consensus constitute essential aspects of daily life" [9]. Recent ISTAT (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica) data show that there are 3,150,000 people with disabilities in Italy; among those aged 15-64 years, only 32% are employed (less than half a million people) [10]. Based on a 2020 survey conducted by IREF (Istituto di ricerche educative e formative), 40% of disabled resources of working age hold a university degree, but their level of employment often does not match their qualifications, resulting in an issue of overqualification. Another concerning statistic is the number of unemployed individuals: one-third of employed individuals with disabilities have stopped working [11]. In this social and economic challenge, multicultural competencies appear more necessary than ever for the success of diversity inclusion and acceptance policies. These competencies are identified [12] in three main categories: (i) multicultural mindset, which involves the ability to embrace diverse thinking and behaviour styles and includes aspects such as: new thinking, welcoming strangers, acceptance, tolerance towards change, confrontation, diversity, flexible judgment, ability to avoid stereotypes, (ii) multicultural communication competencies, involving the ability to conduct communication through perceptiveness (ensuring each interlocutor understands the conveyed meaning), listening orientation, transparency, and (iii) multicultural leadership capabilities, through: influence (adapting to the communication style of the interlocutor) and finding synergistic solutions. An empirical analysis on diversity management conducted in 2015 [13] showed that DM is associated with higher levels of inclusion, which in turn increases engagement and dedication among both non-native and native employees within public sector organizations. As a matter of fact, through appropriate valorisation of differences, "not only can profit margins increase through innovation and efficiency savings, but individuals employed in work organizations, both private and public, will also benefit, resulting in increased job satisfaction levels and employee loyalty" [14].

Life extension allows an increasing number of older workers to remain in the workforce, often becoming subject to discrimination from younger colleagues or management who perceive them as less productive, less dynamic, or less suited to modern technologies [15]. However, it is important to emphasize that age is not necessarily synonymous with a decline in work capacity; rather, it represents added value in terms of experience, maturity, and emotional stability [16]. The concept of Age Diversity (AD) aims to valorise these characteristics by promoting an inclusive work environment that fosters interaction and collaboration across different generations. The concept of Work Ability (WA), proposed by the Finnish Association of Occupational Health [17], is the result of a balance between supply and demand of resources between the individual and the organization." Firms tend to consider older workers as less "convenient" as a result of seniority-related wages, unreadiness for change and innovation, higher complexity in training, health problems, and less availability for required mobility [18]. Another important concept is that of "organizational age": it not only refers to the duration of the relationship between the worker and the organization but also to occupational age (i.e., the career stage in which the individual find themselves). There are various interventions that management can undertake to protect against age discrimination; crucially, mapping the company’s workforce and identifying existing competencies for optimal utilization are essential, and this work addresses this specific need. It is essential to quantify people’s work ability at any given time to understand how best to manage it. The tool we used is the Work Ability Index (WAI) [19], that can provide insights into both the individual’s WA and their health status.

The issue of age management has been the subject of study since the 1980s in Scandinavian countries, which were among the first to recognize its dimensions. Finland played a pioneering role in this regard, with Ilmarinen’s groundbreaking studies questioning how job content and demands influence individuals’ perception of their ability to perform their work and, crucially, how this perception varies over time based on these variables. According to Ilmarinen, WA is based on the balance between individual resources and job demands [20]. The starting point was the demographic challenge as it presented itself in Finland in the early 1980s. Due to the baby boomer generations born between 1943 and 1960, predictions of a high proportion of older workers in the labour force were not difficult to make. To explore this issue, Ilmarinen created and validated the construct of WA, conceptually defined as "the measure of a worker’s ability to perform their work now and in the foreseeable future, in relation to the demands of their job and their mental and physical resources" [21]. WA is influenced by individual health conditions, functional capacities [22,23], knowledge, professional competence, satisfactory environmental and relational working conditions, attitudes, and motivations [24]. This concept is dynamic and changes throughout everyone’s working life, with age being one of the primary factors influencing this perception [25]. To quantify this construct, the WAI has been developed, structured into seven dimensions. This index assesses work ability in relation to job demands, diagnosed illnesses, and absences taken [26]. It is calculated based on responses to a series of questions that consider both the physical and mental demands of the job, as well as the worker’s health status and resources. How the worker evaluates their own work capacity is crucial as it significantly affects their approach to the workplace. A longitudinal study on aging municipal workers in Helsinki [27], the WAI was able to predict the incidence of work disability among 50-year-old workers. Alan Walker, one of Europe’s leading experts in AM, defines good practices as interventions aimed at "combatting age barriers, directly or indirectly, promoting age diversity, and providing a work environment where every individual can develop their potential without being disadvantaged because of their age. In one of his works [28] , Walker highlights the importance of AM strategies to promote initiatives supporting the retention and reintegration of older workers, as employers can no longer rely on a sufficient presence of young workers and must increasingly address the ageing of their existing human resources [29]. Walker also distinguishes between reactive and preventive interventions. Reactive interventions address cases where ageing of the workforce has already become problematic for the organization in terms of skills and costs. On the other hand, preventive interventions systematically embrace the entire organizational culture to prevent the issue from arising in the first place. It is for this reason that this work has been undertaken, to implement proactive interventions. By focusing on proactive strategies, the aim is to foster an organizational culture that not only supports the continuous development of all employees but also mitigates potential issues before they become problematic. This approach is intended to ensure a more inclusive, skilled, and adaptable workforce, ultimately benefiting both the employees and the organization.