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State of the Science Conference
September 15-16, 2005
Conference
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Who is the Older Worker?
Slides On This Page
- Who is the Older Worker?
- What does the older worker look like?
- What is the value of older workers?
- What are the health issues that the older worker faces?
- More health issues…….
- One more time !
- Injuries typical of the older worker
- More typical injuries……
- Safety issues specific to the Older Worker
- Safety issues specific to the Older Worker (Cont.)
- What do employers need to know?
- What options are available to the employer?
- How can re-structuring work hours help?
- How can re-structuring work hours help? (Cont.)
Who is the Older Worker?
- Typically thought to be 55 years or older.
- By 2015 40% or 55 million workers will be 60 or older.
- It’s the “Baby Boomer” generation
What does the older worker look like?
- Best educated in U.S. history
- Typically in a career vs. a job
- Desire (need?) to work past retirement age.
- Healthier (in some, but not all, ways).
- Better situated financially (but higher expectations too)
What is the value of older workers?
- Experience
- Strong work ethic
- “Tribal knowledge”
- Reliability
- The “wisdom of maturity”
- “If they’ve survived this long…..”
- Lower injury rate (worse injuries)
What are the health issues that the older worker faces?
- Natural aging process
- May start “losing their looks”
- Everything we did wrong in the past catches up to us
- Onset of various disease processes (diabetes, hypertension, cancer,
etc)
- Medications and their side-effects
- Loss of strength, stamina, flexibility and acuity
- Reduced blood flow and tactile feedback
More health issues…….
Our memory shortens and becomes more limited.
More difficult to learn new processes and techniques (neurological and
psychological).
Our reaction times slow down.
Our balance becomes poorer
Our vision and hearing become poorer
One more time !
- Lower injury rate, more serious injuries
- Increased absenteeism
Injuries typical of the older worker
- Falls: due to poor balance, slowed reaction time, visual deficits,
obstacles and distractions, lack of concentration, complacency.
- Sprain and Strain injuries: loss of strength, loss of endurance,
loss of flexibility, 3M syndrome (Macho-Male Mentality).
- Falls: due to poor balance, slowed reaction time, visual deficits,
obstacles and distractions, lack of concentration, complacency.
- Sprain and Strain injuries: loss of strength, loss of endurance,
loss of flexibility, 3M syndrome (Macho-Male Mentality).
More typical injuries……
- Cardio-pulmonary: over exertion (3M syndrome), loss of heat and
cold tolerance, working at heights, working in a respirator, confined spaces.
- Health/Disease related: diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, coronary
artery disease, hypertension
- Accumulation injuries: years of doing the same thing………
Safety issues specific to the Older Worker
- “Work Smarter NOT Harder”
- Need to decrease exertional activities
- Complacency (ie. safety rules)
- “3M Syndrome” (Macho-Male Mentality)
- Work areas not “adjusted” for the older worker –
need to adjust lighting, noise, hazards/obstacles, strength factors (lift,
push, pull), bending and stooping
Safety issues specific to the Older Worker (Cont.)
- Need to re-define what constitutes “productive” for
each position.
- Forgetting glasses or hearing aide
- Need to increase awareness of current state of functioning
What do employers need to know?
What signs do we look for that would indicate a need to provide
an accommodation?
- Physical signs
- Psychological/emotional signs
- Feedback from co-workers, managers
- Numbers and patterns of lost days
- History of minor injuries or near-misses
What options are available to the employer?
- Types (and cost) of accommodations
- Wellness programs
- Monitoring and reinforcement
- Job analysis and ergonomic evaluation
- Re-structure job duties
- Re-structure work hours*
How can re-structuring work hours help?
Minimize work injuries
Don’t work if tired, ill, “off”
Long weekends to recuperate from heavy workweek
Minimize pressure, stress on the employee
Gives employee additional control over their employment
How can re-structuring work hours help? (Cont.)
What options are possible?
- Flex time (allows for sleep problems, doctor appts, reactions to meds)
- Additional, unpaid vacation time (to approximate retirement, allow for family
obligations, take advantage of “golden years”)
- Job protection beyond FMLA standards
- Less than full time work with retention of full benefits
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