21st July 2005
Employers, medical providers and employees will need to adapt to the new demands and potential challenges of an ageing workforce, according to new research published by leading income protection provider, UnumProvident.
The research, which comes from the US-based UnumProvident Corporation and examines US employees aged between 40 and 60 years, precedes UK research, due this autumn, into employer and employee attitudes related to our ageing workforce.
US results reveal that:
- Although workers aged 40 and older experience a lower incidence of work injuries, short term disability and unscheduled absences than younger workers, the average amount of time they will miss due to an injury or illness is greater by nearly a third;
- Workers older than age 40 account for 50 per cent of all short term disability claims and up to 75 per cent of long term disability claims;
- Primary reasons for long term work disruptions for this age group include impairments of the musculoskeletal and circulatory systems as well as mental and cancer disorders;
- The additional presence of risk factors such as smoking, lack of exercise and obesity can result in healthcare costs for this population that are nearly 300 per cent higher than the younger workforce.
Kenneth Mitchell, Ph.D., Vice-President of Corporate Return-to-Work Development, UnumProvident in the US, said:
Employees are living longer and have more active lives that require them to work well into their 60s, creating a myriad of concerns including health-related issues. The good news is that there are tried and proven effective steps that management can take to lessen this occurrence and benefit not only ageing employees, but all employees.
Professor Michael O'Donnell, Chief Medical Officer for UnumProvident in the UK, added:
It's not all doom and gloom. By introducing programmes that provide incentives for workers to lead healthier lifestyles, lost time and health care costs can be reduced.
A healthier workforce is more productive and happier, too. Employees, no matter what age, are also less likely to go off sick with common health problems such as depression, anxiety, headaches or back pain if their employers provide help and support to make their lifestyles healthier. Generally, showing your employees that they are really valued by investing in their health pays real dividends in terms of improvements in productivity.
The recently established UnumProvident Centre for Psychosocial and Disability Research at Cardiff University will be looking at all aspects of capacity for work and factors that predispose to incapacity. Ageing is one of the factors that will be studied in depth.
ENDS