Older workers-OSHwiki

Older workers

▼ Ageing workers

Rehabilitation and return-to-work polices and systems in European Countries

Jan Fekke Ybema, Femke Giesen, TNO, the Netherlands

Contents [hide]

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Ageing in Europe
• 3 Labour participation of older people
• 4 Ageing and work
• 4.1 Job performance
• 4.2 Employability and development
• 4.3 Work satisfaction
• 5 Job characteristics
• 5.1 Sectors
• 5.2 Self-employment
• 5.3 Part-time working
• 5.4 Working conditions
• 5.5 Job characteristics for workers over 65 years of age
• 6 Predictors of sustainable employability and early exit of older workers
• 6.1 Ability and willingness to continue working until the age of 65
• 6.2 Predictors of early retirement
• 7 Policy initiatives and preventive measures
• 8 References
• 9 Links for further reading

Introduction

Due to an ageing population and global economic competition, there is a societal need for people to extend their working lives while maintaining high work productivity. This article presents an overview of the labour participation, job performance, and job characteristics of older workers in the European Union. The way in which several factors, including health, working conditions, skills and knowledge, and social and financial factors influence sustainable employability and the early retirement of older workers is also examined. Finally, a number of policy initiatives and measures are presented.

Ageing in Europe

Europe’s population is becoming progressively older. The proportion of the population aged 55 and over rose from 25% in 1990 to 30% in 2010 and is estimated to reach a peak of around 40% by 2060 [1]. The two main reasons of this ageing population are that Europeans are living longer than ever before, on average ten years longer than in 1960, and that fewer children are being born[2]. Among the individual Member States of the European Union, Germany and Italy have the highest proportion of those aged 55 and over (33%), whereas Ireland has the lowest share of those aged 55 and over (21%) [1].

The ageing of the population poses serious challenges for society. For example, it places strain on pension and social security systems, increases expenditure on health care and living arrangements for elderly people, and requires adjustments in the workplace for an ageing labour force[1]]. Moreover, the number of working age individuals (15–64 years) is already declining in Europe [3]. The European Commission forecasts that by 2030, the European Union will face a shortage of some 20.8 million people (7%) of working age [4].

Labour participation of older people

One way to tackle the challenges of an ageing European population is encouraging people to work for longer. Although employment rates for older workers (aged 55–64) have increased by nearly 10 percentage points in the decade of 2000-2010, these rates remain low relative to those for younger age groups. Only 3 out of 10 of those in the ‘pre-retirement’ age cohort (aged 60–64) [3] and about one in ten persons aged 65 and over in the EU-27 are in employment [5] .

Fortunately, it is expected that there will be a considerable increase in employment rates for older persons across the EU-27 for the next 50 years. Older women (aged 55-64) in particular are expected to gain a more prominent role in the EU-27 labour market. The growth in the employment rate for older women is higher than that for older men, and it is expected that this pattern will continue in the next decades [6]. In 2011, the employment rate of persons aged 55-64 years in the EU was 47%. However, there are considerable differences in this employment rate between Member States. The highest employment rate for the 55-64 age group was found in Sweden, i.e., 72%, whereas Slovenia, Malta, Hungary, and Poland had the lowest employment rates for persons aged 55-64, i.e., between 31% and 37% [7].

Ageing and work

There are many stereotypes about older workers. For example, older workers are often expected to be less motivated and productive than younger workers [8]. The reality is quite different and much more complex. Some abilities increase with age, and other new abilities emerge. There are significant inter-individual differences due to, among others, genetic factors, life-style, and work-related influences. In other words, age on its own does not determine health and job performance. The process of ageing does, however, involve changes in physical, mental and motor skills that can affect performance.

Job performance

It is a fact that as we become older, physical capacities decrease and cognitive functioning changes. Examples of physical deterioration due to ageing are loss of muscular strength and lung capacity. Also, from the age of 50, workers need more time to recover from work [9]. Poor health and indicators of health problems, for example backache and sleeping difficulties, increase with age. After the age of 60, however, there is a downward trend in health problems among working individuals. This is probably due to the “healthy worker effect” [10], i.e., individuals in poor health leave the labour market at a younger age than those in good health [11].

Physical health is also influenced by factors other than age, in particular life style and working conditions [12] Psychosocial risks and workers health, Health and well-being. There are thus large differences in health between individuals in the same age groups, and it can therefore be useful to use ‘functional age’ rather than ‘chronological age’ to indicate an individual's ability to work [13]. With regard to cognitive functioning, “fluid” intelligence (i.e., abilities which are not based on experience or education) tends to decline in older age. This implies that the ability to process complex information and to solve complex problems decreases [14]. However, these limitations in cognitive functioning and learning generally become apparent from the age of 65 onward [15], and often have few consequences for functioning at work [14] [16] [17]. Additionally, not all cognitive capabilities decrease when getting older. Experience, “crystalized” intelligence (knowledge), social and coping skills increase with age [14].

In general, an individual’s performance remains stable throughout their working career. Performance may decline due to changes in physical health and cognitive capabilities. But it appears that many older workers compensate for these losses through their more extensive work experience and knowledge [12] Positive Occupational Health Psychology.

Employability and development

Several studies show that employability and willingness to change, decline with age [18]. Research has also shown that older workers are less interested in opportunities for learning and development than younger workers [19] [20]. The percentage of workers who report that their job does not involve learning new skills increases by 10 percentage points from the age of 50 to 60+ [11]. Older workers also receive less formal training than younger workers [5], which indicates that employers also tend to invest less in their older than in their younger employees. The consequence of this decline in development may be the obsolescence of an employee’s skills, especially in the rapidly changing world of work Changing world of work. This may result in overall loss of performance and productivity [21].

Work satisfaction

There are quite large differences between the EU Member States in levels of work satisfaction among older workers. Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have the highest levels of (very) satisfied age 50+ workers (93% and over), and Ireland has the lowest proportion of age 50+ workers who are (very) satisfied with their working conditions (56%) [6].

Older and younger workers do not differ in the level of their work satisfaction [18], and generally value similar aspects of their work. Both older and younger workers find responsibility and meaningful work very important in a job. However, older workers seem to be less interested in aspects such as a high salary and pleasant colleagues than younger workers [20].

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