In the June issue of SHP, Chris Ide examines the challenges facing employers as the working population ages, and how they can adapt.
Concerns about an ageing population tend to involve the potential problems posed by the rising numbers of the very elderly (those over 80 years of age) and the burdens on health and social care systems. However, as Ide argues, this shouldn’t necessarily impact greatly on the workplace, as those in work remain in the 55-75 year old bracket. These are the healthy people who just happen to be older and in work.
For safety professionals, the most pressing concern will be rates of fatal and other injuries in older workers. But workplaces can be adapted to better accommodate the needs of older workers. Businesses also need to remember that people age differently, and a worker over 75 may be in better health than one at 60.
The article will also outline the most common categories of problems expected for older workers, including sensory, cardiovascular and mental changes, and how these can be accommodated.
Recruiting older people into the workforce may present some problems, but as this article shows, steps can be taken to enable these workers to remain safe and healthy while at work.
This article will appear in the June issue, out at the beginning of the month.
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.
We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.
