Health, workplace design and the older worker: lessons from three new research studies
22 January 2008
Health, workplace design and the older worker: lessons from three new research studies
Hosted by: TAEN, Help the Aged and SPARC
Sponsored by: TAEN, Help the Aged and SPARC
Event organisers:
Corinna Stowell, Operations Manager, TAEN
Verity Smith, SPARC Coordinator
Date: 22 January 2008
Venue:
Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining
1 Carlton House Terrace
London
SW1Y 5DB
United Kingdom
This is a special workshop, one in a series to be organised by SPARC to promote the value of scientific ageing-related research and opportunities for further research. The workshop will launch the findings from three key studies of the older worker.
Outline: Work is a key concern for people in their fifties and sixties and many face difficult decisions about when to retire, or are forced to do so. The last 50 years have witnessed a change in the age structure of the population. In 1951 there were 13.8 million people aged 50 and over in the UK; by 2001 this had increased to 20 million. The number is projected to increase further such that by 2031 there will be 27.2 million people aged 50 and over. The rising number of older people both in real terms and as a proportion of the total population has led to an increased focus on the role of older people in work, and on health inequalities and well-being in later life. Concerns have developed about a health divide, with some people continuing to live active, healthy lives well into old age while others experience multiple health problems, and there is growing interest in the health effects of work, worklessness and retirement.
The Government has an ambition to achieve an employment rate of 80 per cent within a generation. This compares with 75 per cent today. A major part of the improvement will have to be made up of workers over 50. This will mean an additional one million people older people in work. It has pledged to encourage and help older people to work. It has set out its goals in a Public Service Agreement to 'Tackle poverty and promote greater independence and wellbeing in later life' that was announced in October this year as part of the 2007 Pre-Budget report and Comprehensive Spending Review. The workshop will provide an important opportunity to consider the viability of these goals.
Dr Gillian Granville will present her review of the complex interrelationships between work and health among older men. This study, commissioned by Help the Aged and TAEN, complements a similar review on older women, work and health published in 2006 which they also supported.
This review reveals the value of a lifecourse approach that acknowledges the significance of earlier experiences in terms of socio-economic position, including occupation, gender, health and well-being. It also reflects the changing patterns over the last decade in the nature of work and the concept of retirement, and the impact that has on older men.
Professor Peter Buckle will present findings from a SPARC funded-project which has explore the match between older workers' capabilities, abilities and expectations and organisational strategies in both the office and manual sectors in several industries. Whilst this study confirms that some older workers are strongly motivated to continue working for financial and social reasons, there are many issues which prompt consideration of early retirement, for example ill-health and concerns about future health. The impact of shift work in particular is a cause of some health concerns; so too is the working environment (dust, heat and noise), to which older workers are more sensitive, and manual tasks such as lifting and manipulating heavy objects. While the study has identified that younger workers may help older workers with the heavier tasks, they too may have work-induced health problems, particularly to their musculo-skeletal systems.
Another SPARC project, led by Professor Alistair Gibb, is concerned with the older worker in the construction industry. The preliminary findings provide much evidence of the desire of older construction workers to remain in the industry and the massive personal financial issues for those who are forced to leave prematurely, as well as the costs which are incurred by the welfare system. The findings also show how the attractions of employing young, cheap immigrant labour far outweigh any desire by the industry to take care of its older workers. In effect, the taxpayer picks up the cost of workplace induced sickness, ill-health and injury. There is little incentive to make the workplace more hospitable.
SPARC (Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity) is funded by EPSRC and BBSRC which was established in 2005 to extend the previous remit of the EQUAL Network. SPARC is designed specifically to provide a platform, publicity and policy representation for existing researchers and to encourage newcomers into ageing research. A key aspect of its activities is working in partnership with the users of research - older people and those organisations which represent the interests of older people and which provide older people and their carers with services, advice and other support. As well as organising workshops SPARC is providing 34 pump-priming awards to newcomers to ageing research in the fields of design, engineering and biology.
TAEN - The Age and Employment Network is an independent charity supported by Help the Aged. TAEN was established in 1998 to help create an effective labour market for people in mid and later life, for employers and the economy. TAEN has grown into an internationally recognised organisation and its network of 250 members represent the leading experience on age and employment. TAEN is a leading centre of expertise on everything to do with age and employment: public policy, research, trends and who is doing what. TAEN is informed by good practice, both nationally and internationally. TAEN provides open and clear communications and promotes evidence-based solutions.
Help the Aged is an international charity fighting to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect. Help the Aged researches the needs of older people in the UK and overseas and campaigns for changes in policy. Help the Aged provides community services and publishes information and guidance for the elderly on a range of topics including finance and how to stay healthy.
The workshop will be of interest to a wide range of practitioners and policy makers, health and social care practitioners, employers, charitable and government bodies concerned with the needs of older people, as well as researchers and academics from engineering, biological, social science, medical and health care disciplines.
There is no charge for attendance just an enthusiasm and interest in extending the quality of life of older people through informed user-focused research and its application. Registration is required. To book a place, please refer to the registration page.
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