Back in April 2007, Amanda Griffiths wrote on article for SHP magazine about the ageing population of Britain, and how the workforce needed to change to accommodate older workers. Yesterday, SHP Online published an article showing that this is still an ongoing issue, and the UK is not yet prepared for the growing number of older workers.
The 2007 article states that there needs to be a wider discussion of the implications for the management of an ageing workforce and the health issues that may arise. Griffiths asks two important questions: what do we know about the health of older workers, and what do we know about the factors that predict their sustained and productive employment?
The article dismisses the assumption that older workers are more likely than younger workers to be absent due to health problems, but does stress that chronic health conditions may be made worse by work, so a sympathetic management is crucial to helping sustain productivity. It goes on to outline initiatives that can be put in place to help older workers, and discusses the discrimination they may face.
With the retirement age changing, and with many people choosing to work for longer than they used to, organisations need to provide them with a safe and suitable workplace. This may mean changing their culture and how they perceive older workers, or simply putting in place steps to make sure they can be productive as long as they wish to be.
