Research Finds that Employer Initiatives Can Reduce Stress in Older Workers

According to a Portland State University study, Older workers tend to feel more stress than younger workers when their employers don't provide them with the support and resources needed to do their jobs well. In "Do resources matter for employee stress? It depends on how old you are," published online in the April issue of Journal of Vocational Behavior, the authors--Lale M. Yaldiz, Donald M. Truxillo, Todd Bodner, and Leslie B. Hammer--found that both younger and older workers had lower levels of overall stress when they were given more autonomy on the job, had good relationships with their bosses and felt they were respected and treated fairly at work. But when such resources were lacking, older workers reported significantly higher stress levels a year later than their younger colleagues.

"These are things that employers should provide to all employees, but may be especially important for older employees," Truxillo said. "You don't want to have a company policy that says, 'We treat young people this way and old people that way,' but it does show you that age-sensitive human resource systems should be in place where you maybe train managers on how to be aware of the needs of their different workers."

Among other things, the study recommends:

• Rather than require that employees complete tasks a certain way, employers should, when possible, give workers the flexibility to bring their different skill sets, strengths and years of accumulated job experience to the table
  
• Training for supervisors should emphasize leadership skills about how to build strong relationships with workers of all ages so they feel like trusted and valued members of their team
  
• Since older workers appear to be more susceptible to stress in the face of unfairness, organizations can help workers by being transparent about how decisions are made and implemented, not discriminating, valuing employee input when making key decisions and providing channels for employees to voice concerns.

Source: Portland State University Press Release (May 14, 2018)

UK Report Finds that Employers Provide Inadequate Support for Older Workers with Health Conditions

The United Kingdom's Centre for Ageing Better has issued a research report showing that employers are not properly supporting older workers experiencing long-term physical and mental health conditions. According to "Health warning for employers: Supporting older workers with health conditions," older workers are more likely than younger workers to be managing multiple long-term conditions, and health conditions are the main driver of older workers exiting the labor market before they reach state pension age.

In addition, the report found that disclosing a health condition to one's employer is a stressful and repeated process. Poor workplace culture and overly bureaucratic procedures result in many people putting off health-related conversations with their employer until absolutely necessary.

The report was written by Jemma Mouland, Senior Programme Manager, based on research conducted for the Centre for Ageing Better by YouGov and Mustard Research.

Among other things, the report recommends that employers should:

- Normalise conversations around health at work and create a supportive, empathetic and
open culture around managing health conditions at work.
- Ensure full and equal access to support for health at work, including flexible working
and workplace adjustments for all employees. These adjustments are often small and
inexpensive and employers should provide them proactively and consistently.
- Ensure adjustments and support are sustained.

Source: Centre for Ageing Better News Release (April 26, 2018)

Report Calls for Workplace Innovation To Stem Early Retirements

Following a three year study--led by Nottingham Trent University with Workplace Innovation Limited (see WORKKAGE website)--aimed at preventing the loss of vital knowledge, skills and experience of increasingly aging workforces, an interim report recommends that measures be taken by employers to ensure older workers don’t become demotivated and head into early retirement. Specifically, in "Active working lives through workplace innovation practices" "WORKAGE aims to demonstrate that targeted workplace interventions to improve job design and work organization can facilitate enhanced engagement and retention of older workers and produce wider benefits for the organization and its employees."

Among other things, the report calls for innovate workplace practices:

• The interplay between workplace practices and participative process is central for workplace innovation and its dual aim of promoting productivity and quality of working life;
• WORKAGE developed interventions around four elements of innovative practices: jobs and teams; organizational structures, management and procedures; employee-driven improvement and innovation; and co-created leadership and employee voice;
• the report's conceptual framework is that experienced quality of job and workplace practices will increase three critical states (work engagement, workability, and occupational outlook), which will, in turn, influence intentions to retire.
• Especially important for improved work engagement and in turn retirement intentions are: (1) practices that are supportive of co-created leadership and employee voice, (2) practices that are supportive of quality jobs and teams, (3) higher job control, and (4) reduced physical job demands.

Source: Nottingham Trent University Press Release (November 28, 2016)

Study Finds Most Employers Making Changes To Retain Older Workers

A study from LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute has found that 92% of employers are taking specific action to help older workers stay on the job, with two-thirds offering flexible hours, and 42% offering flexibility on where employees work such as, working from home or other locations. Other adjustments include job training/re-skilling and job sharing.

According to LIMRA, a more mature workforce is good for business. Eight in 10 employers said their organizations lose experience, institutional knowledge and leadership when an older worker leaves. In addition, LIMRA reports that anticipated shifts in the labor force affect a company’s benefit plan design. Among the challenges cited by employers were increased healthcare benefits costs, with half saying they plan to absorb the costs into the business, while 40% will pass on cost increases to employees.

Source: LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute "Nine in 10 employers taking steps to keep older workers on the job" (August 11, 2015)

Northern Ireland: Commissioner for Older People Urges Government and Employers To Increase Older Workers Participation in the Workforce

The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland has released a report that shows that the economy in Northern Ireland could be increased by £2.3billion by 2037 if the number of older people in the workforce increases. According to "Valuing an Ageing Workforce," which was produced in conjunction with the International Longevity Centre-UK, the government and employers should introduce ways to enable older people to remain in the workforce for as long as they wish to. The Commissioner, Claire Keatinge, says:

"This shows that older workers can be more effective than their younger colleagues and make a positive contribution in the workplace, despite widely held misconceptions that somehow productivity and output diminish with age.

"Many people will want to stay in work, for a variety of reasons, such as the removal of the previous Default Retirement Age, increase in life expectancy, and for personal fulfillment; and some will stay in work because they need to for financial reasons.

"It is essential that appropriate supports are put in place so as to enable older workers to continue to be able to play a positive role in the workforce."

Among the findings reported by the Commissioner and highlighted in a briefing note to the report are:

1. Employers would benefit from valuing the positive role that older people play in the workplace.
2. Employment rates for older people in Northern Ireland have increased since the financial crisis in 2008 and there is a strong economic case for working beyond 65.
3. There are still a range of barriers which prevent people working longer, including ageist attitudes, health, caring responsibilities, skills and training opportunities, as well as the fact that ‘cliff-edge’ retirement is still a common occurrence here.
4. Initiatives should be introduced by the Northern Ireland
   Executive and employers to support people to work longer, should they wish to do so.
5. Older people in Northern Ireland should have the right to remain in work as well as the right to retire, and they should be supported in either scenario.
   

Source: Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland News Release (March 25, 2014)

Study: Working in Mixed-Aged Groups More Likely To Prolong Working Life of Older Workers

The Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim (ZEW) has released research results that find that of the various measures more and more companies rely on in order to retain older employees—appropriately equipped workplaces, reduced working hours and performance requirements, mixed-age work teams, general training, specific training as well as part-time work for older employees—people nearing retirement age are more likely to continue working if they feel valued and if they work with younger people. Part-time work, on the contrary, is apparently even reducing the employment period of older staff, and all the other measures looked at have no influence at all on older employees' decisions to stay with their company.

In "Specific Measures for Older Employees and Late Career Employment" (ZEW Discussion Paper No. 12-059), authored by Bernhard Boockmann, Jan Fries and Christian Göbel, the ZEW staff used longitudinal data provided by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) on older employees aged between 40 and 65 from 2002, observing 1,063 West German companies with at least five older employees are being observed. Approximately, 50% of the companies offered at least one measure for older employees: 36% offered part-time work for older employees (allowing them contract extensions on reduced working hours), 18% offered mixed-age work teams where older employees could contribute their experience and younger employees their recent professional knowledge, 17% general training, 5% reduced performance requirements, 4% appropriately equipped workplaces (considering e.g. reduced vision or hearing impairment), and 3% tailor-made training for older employees.

Source: Centre for European Economic Research in Mannheim Press Release (March 13, 2013)