Researchers Link Work Uncertainty and Deteriorating Health in Older Workers

Downsizing and demotions at the workplace can be a health hazard for people over age 50, according to research reported in The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences (Volume 65B, Number 1). According to "Job Insecurity and Change Over Time in Health Among Older Men and Women" by Ariel Kalil, Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest, Louise C. Hawkley, and John T. Cacioppo, job insecurity increased the chance of harmful effects for a sample of older workers with men reacting over time with greater physical symptoms, while changes in psychological health were more prominent in women.

“Older adults in the United States are living longer and working harder,” said lead author Ariel Kalil, PhD, a professor at the University of Chicago. “Increased exposure to the labor market brings increased exposure to employment challenges.”

Specifically, the researchers looked at people born between 1935 and 1952 and found that men who experience job insecurity have higher blood pressure and higher levels of urinary catecholamines compared with men who do not experience job insecurity and women who do. Women who experience job insecurity showed higher depressive symptoms and reported more hostility, loneliness, and personal stress compared with women who do not experience job insecurity and men who do.

Source: The Gerontological Society of America Press Release (March 18, 2010)