The Aging Work Force

1
The Aging Work Force
Bureau of Workers Comp PA Training for Health
Safety (PATHS)
Education Training Experience
2
The Aging Work Force
3
The Aging Work Force

• Present workforce Born
• The veterans 1922-1945
• Baby boomers 1946-1964
• Generation X 1965-1979
• Generation Y millennials 1980-2000

4
Older Workers Defined

• Defined by ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment
  Act) as those 40 years old
• AARP looks at 50 year olds
• Due to retirement eligibility and possible
  removal from the workforce, some focus on 65
  years

5
Aging Trend

• 1988 US workers 55 years numbered about 15
  million
• 2008 Number increased to about 28 million
• 2018 Number expected to be 40 million, when
  workers 55 are expected to constitute nearly 25
  percent of the workforce.

Roberto Ceniceros, Adapting Safety Programs for
the Aging Workforce, Business Insurance, April
8, 2012
6
Aging Work Force

• Proportion of U.S. population aged 65 will
  increase from 13 percent in 2010 to 19.3 percent
  by 2030.
• Age-distribution of those 25 to 64 years old
  already is undergoing a substantial shift toward
  a greater number of older individuals and a
  relatively small number of young people entering
  the labor force.
• Patrick Purcell, Older Workers Employment and
  Retirement Trends, Congressional Research
  Service, September 16, 2009, page 1

7
Growth of Aging Work Force

• 2006 to 2016
• Workers Aged Increase by
• 55 to 64 years 36.5
• Between 64 and 74 years 83.4
• Older than 75 years 84.3
• By 2015, one in every five workers will be a baby
  boomer
• U.S. Dept of Labor Aging Workforce-Worknet
  Occupational Medicine, Dr. James Rochester, 2013

8
Workforce and World Trends

• Twenty-first century workforce is aging
•  
• Global population is aging
• 2018 Those 65 years expected to outnumber
  children younger than 5 years old
• 2012 to 2060 Number of those 65 years expected
  to more than double this would be about 1 in 5
  being 65
• Ronald R. Leoppke, MD, MPH, et.al.,
  Advancing Workplace Health Protection
  and Promotion for an Aging Workforce,
  JOEM, Vol. 55, Number 5, May 2013

9
Workforce and World Trends

• Increase in life expectancy
• Decline in fertility rates, beginning in the
  1980s, resulting in fewer young people entering
  the workforce
• Impact of Baby Boom Generation which began
  turning 65 in 2011 by 2015, one in five workers
  will be a baby boomer

10
Why Older Persons Stay in Workforce

• For health care benefits
• Income due to losses in investments
• Enjoyment of their job
• Socialization due to loss of spouse
• Need for a consistent income above social
  security
• AARP survey 70 percent of US residents planned
  to work into retirement

11
Participation Rate

• Between 1985 and 2008, the labor force
  participation rate among men aged 65
  increased from 15.8 percent to 21.5 percent
• Since then, the labor force participation rate of
  women aged 65 has steadily risen, reaching 13.3
  percent in 2008 (CRS Report for Congress)

12
Additional Projections

• Amount of United States Workforce Aged 55
• 18.2 million in 2000
• 25.2 million in 2008
• 31.9 million in 2025
• 38 percent increase over the past 10 years and 75
  percent increase in the past 25 years

13
Economic Impact

• 2007 There were five people ages 20-64 for every
  person 65 and older (51 ratio)
• By 2030 (youngest of boomers turns 65) this
  number changes to less than 31 ratio
• If baby boomers (born between 1946-1964) were to
  retire, as was the trend in the 90s, there
  would be a cascade of change
• - Shortages in workforce labor
• - Significant increase in Social Security
  benefits

14
Work Force Transition

• 50 percent of the workforce are baby boomers
• Baby bust occurred 1965 to mid 70s
• A smaller Echo boom occurred in mid 70s
• Consequences
• Current workforce is older
• Smaller replacement pool to draw from 55 and older

15
Generational Considerations

• Present workforce Born
• The Veterans 1922-1945
• Baby Boomers 1946-1964
• Generation X 1965-1979
• Generation Y Millennials 1980-2000

16
Generational Considerations

• Generational Dislikes
• WWII generation
• Profanity, slang, poor grammar, disrespect
• Baby Boom generation
• Brusqueness, one-upmanship
• Generation X
• Using time poorly, corporate-speak
• Millennial generation
• Cynicism, sarcasm, condescension
• Phyllis Cohn, Project Manager, AARP, The Aging
  Workforce Moving Forward in a New Age,
  (Turn-offs), OSHA Small Business Forum, July,
  2009.

17
Generational Differences In

• Philosophy
• Reasoning
• Tolerance
• Judgment
• Aptitude
• Spirituality
• Morality
• Work ethics

18
Injury Rates

• FACTS Workers Comp experience 1998-2002
• Younger workers experience more injuries (ages
• 25-45)
• Older workers experience injuries due to
• - repetition/age-related
• - rotator cuff sprains, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
•  
• 2004 DOL Statistics
• Age 64 lowest number of injuries
• Injuries tend to be related to repetitive use
• Cost of injury tends to be higher
• Wage difference is 1/3 of the difference

19
Time to Recover

• 65 years and older
• Slower recovery
• More delays in return to work

20
Myths

• Older workers cant adapt
• They cant handle new technologies
• Their job skills are not up to date
• They cant get along with younger bosses

21
Employer Benefits/Concerns

• Concerns
• Lost knowledge can hurt financially
• Harder to find qualified employees
• Need to do more to retain workers
• Need to establish formal
  programs to address
  retention and recruitment
  of age 50 workers

22
Benefits of Aging Work Force

• Stronger work ethic than younger workers
• More experienced, autonomous and efficient
• Lower stress and coworker conflict
• More adaptable
• Lower rates of work-related
  injuries and illnesses
• Better judgment

23
Benefits of Aging Work Force

• Better decision making, general knowledge
• Better attitudes, reliable, people skills
• Company loyalty
• Punctual low
  absenteeism
• Perform quality
  work
• Basic skills in
  reading, writing,
  arithmetic

24
Employer Concerns

• Impact on profitability due to
• Cost of health care
• Worker compensation costs
• Disability claims
• Accommodation

25
Employers Concerns

• How to reduce costs and maintain business
  continuity
• New strategies required to maintain productivity
•  

26
The Aging Process

• Loss or decrease in range of motion
• Flexibility changes
• Sleep regulation
• Vision issues
• Muscle mass reduction
• Bone density
• Thermoregulation

27
The Aging Process

• Hearing
• Balance
• Cardiac output
• Short term memory
• Energy / Activity level
• Aerobic power losses
• Joint changes

28
Physical Impacts
Challenges to employers

• Lessening physical capacity
• Slowing cognition
• Working memory decreases
• Declining vision and hearing
• Musculoskeletal conditions increase

• Organizational demands suffer
• Less adaptability to work shifts and longer hours
• Lower job injuries but more severe
• More fatal injuries on-the-job (4x rate of those
  age 18-19 or 20-24 years old)

29
Also Considered

• Issues reported by 10 percent or more workers 55
  years and older
• Heart conditions
• Diabetes
• Psychiatric problems
• Emotional problems
•  

Reeves, S. An Aging Workforces Effect on U.S.
Employers, Business Basics-Forbes.com, September
9, 2005
30
Physical Impacts on Aging

• Cognitive Impact
• Short term memory
• Decision making
• Learning new skills
• Reaction times
• Autonomic attention responses

31
Cognitive

• Age may affect reactions and decision making
• Affects
• Speed sacrificed for accuracy in decision making
• Remedies
• Create models requiring less memory
• Simplify tasks
• Standardize tasks
• Provide feedback
• Conduct Training
• Minimize tasks needing quick decisions
• Reduce distractions
• Permit needed time for tasks

32
Muscular

• Strength is lost by 15 percent to 20 percent
  from age 20 to 60. Older staff may be close to
  their maximum capacity.
• Affects
• Grip strength
• Ability to perform job for
  long intervals
• Work/walking surfaces
  create (minimal fatigue)
• Remedies
• Exercise sessions
• Weight training
• Randy Cranfill, MESH, CPSI, CSRM, Director,
  Safety and Loss Prevention,
  Preparing
  for the Aging Workforce, Surry Insurance, 2013

33
Neuromuscular

• Range of motion affected
• Decreased flexibility greater joint stiffness
• Aging can lead to 50 percent less range of motion
  in lower extremities knees and ankles
• Affects
• Climbing stairs, ladders, bending,
  and lifting
• Remedy
• Exercises specific to achieving
  flexibility

34
Bone Density

• Osteoporosis
• Affects
• Bone strength and susceptibility to
  broken bones and healing
• Affects more than 44 million
• Americans 50 and older
• Remedies
• Nutrition programs
• Medications
• Assignment to low body stress tasks
• Occupational Health and Safety Issues for the
  Older Worker, New Jersey
  Department of Health and Senior Services,
  Trenton, NJ, 08625, December 2003

35
Touch and Manual Dexterity

• Affects
• Manual dexterity may be compromised from
  arthritis, as an example
• Remedies
• Avoid excessive strain
• Avoid tight gripping use larger handles
• Use both hands for tasks

36
Joints and Tendons

• Remedies
• Avoid repetitious activity
• Provide breaks
• Rotate jobs
• Exercises
• Paraffin bath

37
Cardiovascular

• Heart disease/stroke, first and third leading
  cause of US deaths Major causes diet and
  smoking
• Cardiovascular Disease includes high blood
  pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke,
  congestive heart failure
• Affects
• Standing, walking, exertion tasks
• Remedies
• Quit smoking
• Lose weight
• Lower cholesterol and blood
  pressure
• Reduce stress
• Exercise regularly

Occupational Health and Safety Issues for the
Older Worker, New Jersey Department of Health and
Senior Services, Trenton, NJ, 08625, December
2003 and www.disabled-world.com
38
Respiratory

• Four categories of disorders
• Obstructive
• Restrictive
• Vascular
• Infectious, environmental and
  other diseases due to work
  place pollutants
• Affects
• Breathing
• May lead to other ailments

39
Respiratory

• Remedies to respiratory ailments may include
• Deep breathing exercises
• Use of proper ventilation to reduce exposures
• Air monitoring to ensure lowest exposures
• Personal protective equipment (respirators)

40
Sleep Patterns

• Sleep can be disrupted by light, noise, changed
  work hours
• Affects
• Judgment
• Coordination
• Reaction times
• Remedy
• Develop a sleep regimen to best guarantee needed
  hours are obtained

41
Vision

• Vision can be impacted by disease (e.g. diabetes)
• Age causes lens to thicken, restricting light
• Affects
• Diminished clarity, depth
  perception, night vision, takes
  longer to focus on close objects
• Remedy
• Health programs in-house
• Lighting, contrasting of colors, larger font
  used

42
Hearing

• Sound separation difficult higher
  frequencies unheard about 1/3 of
  those 65 to 74 have hearing problems
• Impacts
• Performance and safety inability to monitor
  equipment hear safety signals, verbal messages
• Remedies
• Volume controls for all communications phone,
  radios visual controls where required
• Special PPE to enhance sound
• Hearing aids

43
Motor Skills

• Memories to brain are delayed
• Affects
• Judgment and decision-making
• Reactions and response time
• Remedies
• Reduce multi-tasking
• Assign to duties allowing time
  to think and react
• Install safety devices on machines

44
Stress

• Evaluate both physical and mental stressors
• Affects
• Stress may affect attitude and concentration
• Remedies
• Screen for physical problems
• Modify workplace
• Train managers to recognize
  and reduce stress

45
Other

• Arthritis
• Hypertension
• Alzheimers
• Parkinsons
• Incapacitation

46
Thermo Regulation

• Less able to adjust to external temperatures
• Affects
• Fatigue, hypertension, loss of feeling and
  overexertion
• Remedies
• Ensure proper PPE as well
  as seasonal safety policies
• Regulate indoor
  temperatures properly

47
Accommodations by Concern

• Lighting
• Contrasting colors/images
• Access
• Posture
• Ergonomics

48
Workstation Design

• Range of Motion

49
Equipment Design

• Materials Handling
• Can equipment handle the lifting
• Reduce Repetition
• Design to aid posture and balance

50
Driving Safety

• Fleet Safety
• Personal Vehicle Operation
• Older drivers (55 and above) are more likely
  than other drivers to have a crash at an
  intersection or when merging or changing lanes

Safety Modifications Important for Aging
Workforce, Claims Journal, RIMKUS Consulting
Group, inc., March 10, 2009 at http//www.claimsjo
urnal.com/news/national/2009/03/10/98557.htm
51
Driving Safety

• Fleet Safety
• Personal Vehicle Operation
• Training to accommodate not only company
  drivers but also employees with their personal
  vehicles

52
Future Employer Practices

• Employer practices to be explored
• Reinventing retirement
• Postponed retirement
• Job safety analysis (JSA)
• Compensation methods
• Employer health promotions
• Safety/injury prevention
• Training

53
1. Reinventing Retirement

• Boomers will work past the retirement age of 65
• Nearly 70 percent of workers who have not retired
  report that they plan to work into their
  retirement years or never retire almost half of
  workers 45-70 indicate that they envision working
  into their 70s or beyond.

Phyllis Cohn, Project Manager, AARP, The Aging
Workforce Moving Forward in a New Age, OSHA
Small Business Forum, July, 2009.
54
2. Postponed Retirement

• Some reasons for later retirements
• Wish to remain active in professional field
• Increase in life expectancy
• Current financial concerns
• Reduction of retirement funds (401K)
• 21 percent of US workers are covered by a
  defined pension benefit
• Need for healthcare coverage
• Increase in age requirements
  to qualify for Social Security

55
2. Postponed Retirement

• Retention of older workers
• Workplace flexibility
• Schedules
• Conditions
• Work locations

56
3. Job Safety Analysis

• Adaptive technology for physical needs
• Performed for individual work locations
  (ergonomics)
• Match the work to worker
• Create necessary accommodations

57
3. Job Safety Analysis

• Hazard Management of
• Environment
• Physical job tasks
• Ergonomically friendly work
• environments
• Work stations
• Floors
• Seating
• Range of motion
• Lighting

58
4. Compensation Methods

• Create a flexible, respectful and inclusive work
  environment
• Reduce rigid work conditions
• Rotate work assignments
• Eliminate heavy lifts, long reaches, elevated
  work from ladders
• Guard, inspect and maintain equipment
• Promote health programs
• Have open communications

59
5. Employer Health Promotions

• Create health programs for all employees as well
  as age-specific programs and policies
• Attention to medical needs/visits
• Institute Return-to-Work
  programs recognizing age and an
  increase healing time

Safety Modifications Important for Aging
Workforce, Claims Journal, RIMKUS Consulting
Group, inc., March 10, 2009 at http//www.claimsjo
urnal.com/news/national/2009/03/10/98557.htm
60
6. Safety/Injury Prevention

• Slip and Fall Prevention Falls account for more
  than 33 percent of all injuries to workers 65
  and older
• Ergonomics JSAs should be performed to identify
  causes of fatigue and strain
• Provide reasonable
  accommodations
• Implement Best Practices
  programs

Randy Cranfill, HESH, CPSI, CSRM, Director,
Safety and Loss Prevention, Preparing for the
Aging Workforce, Surry Insurance, 2013
61
7. Training

• Train older employees in new technologies
• Younger employees in management techniques and
  traditionally accepted work ethics and methods
• Train in skills building
  and cross-training
• Train management in
  all-generational needs

Ronald R. Leoppke, MD, MPH, et.al., Advancing
Workplace Health Protection and Promotion for an
Aging Workforce, Journal of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine (JOEM), Vol. 55, Number 5,
May, 2013
62
Worker Responsibilities

• Maintain a healthy life style toward employment
  longevity
• Overcome a resistance to change
• Provide input to programs and adhere to
  requirements

63
Future Challenges

• Limited availability of future workers fewer
  younger workers entering work force
• Growing universal trend-more older workers
• Younger workers are health-challenged not as
  healthy as older workers
• Key skills deficit in young workers in next
  decade 60 percent of new jobs will require a
  college degree, but only 30 percent of American
  20-year-olds will obtain a degree

John Howard, NIOSH Director, Challenges, May
24, 2013 address at American Industrial Hygiene
Conference and Expose, Denver, National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health.
64
Future Challenges

• Generational attitude younger workers have
  less desire for jobs with greater responsibility
• Global competition work force
• Innovative employment arrangements Contingent
  workers work without promise of long-term
  employment
• Encore careers vs. retirement average length of
  retirement
• 1900 1.2 years
• 1980 13.6 years
• 2010 30 years

65
Future Challenges

• Blended lifestyles younger workers cycle through
  work/leisure time
• Age-related challenges for occupational safety
  and health limitations accompanying age
  mental, cognitive, chronic health problems
  (Arthritis is number one condition for those over
  55 followed by hypertension)
• Changes in social benefits and discrimination
  discrimination against older workers when its
  difficult to prove they were fired for
  age-related reasons

66
Programs

• Employer Programs
• Consider creating programs which benefit all age
  groups, not just older workforce members
• Young staff of today will ultimately become the
  new older workforce of tomorrow
• Implement health programs tailored to each age
  group
• Design fitness, exercise and health programs
• Structure inspection programs and work audits to
  determine the need to change/adjust work stations

67
Programs

• Employer Programs
• Design policies as controls
• Realize there are generational issues but the
  team is not an us vs. them situation
  seek and gain cooperation

68
Questions
69
Bibliography

• Roberto Ceniceros, Adapting Safety Programs for
  the Aging Workforce, Business Insurance, April
  8, 2012
• Patrick Purcell, Older Workers Employment and
  Retirement Trends, Congressional Research
  Service, September 16, 2009, page 1
• US Dept of Labor Aging Workforce-Worknet
  Occupational Medicine, Dr. James Rochester, 2013
• Ronald R. Leoppke, MD, MPH, et.al., Advancing
  Workplace Health Protection and Promotion for an
  Aging Workforce, JOEM, Vol. 55, Number 5, May
  2013)
• Pamela Ferrante, CSP, CHMM, JC Safety
  Consultants, Minimizing Incidents An Aging
  Workforce, American Industrial Hygiene
  Conference and Exposition, Chicago, Il, 2006
• Reeves, S. An Aging Workforces Effect on US
  Employers, Business Basics-Forbes.com, September
  9, 2005
• Randy Cranfill, MESH, CPSI, CSRM, Director,
  Safety and Loss Prevention, Preparing for the
  Aging Workforce, Surry Insurance, 2013

70
Bibliography

• Madwa Mossaad, The Impact of the Recession on
  Older Americans, Population Reference Bureau,
  Washington, DC 20009, 2010
• Safety Modifications Important for Aging
  Workforce, Claims Journal, Rimkus Consulting
  Group, inc., March 10, 2009 at http//www.claimsjo
  urnal.com/news/national/2009/03/10/98557.htm
• John Howard, NIOSH Director, Challenges, May
  24, 2013 address at American Industrial Hygiene
  Conference and Expose, Denver, National Institute
  for Occupational Safety and Health.
• Eric Nagourney, Aging Remaining Socially Active
  Aids Motor Skills, New York Times, 2009
• Patrick Purcell, Older Workers Employment and
  Retirement Trends, Congressional Research
  Service, CSR Report for Congress, 7-5700,
  www.crs.gov, RL30629, September 16, 2009
• Phyllis Cohn, Project Manager, AARP, The Aging
  Workforce Moving Forward in a New Age, OSHA
  Small Business Forum, July, 2009.
• Lynda Enos, RN, MS, COHN-S, CPE, Managing the
  Aging Workforce Workplace Safety for the Aging
  Workforce, Oregon Nurses Association, 2009

71
Contact Information
To contact a Health Safety Training
Specialist Bureau of Workers Compensation 1171
South Cameron Street Room 324 Harrisburg, PA
17104-2501 717-772-1635 RA-LI-BWC-Safety_at_pa.gov

PPT-068-01
71