Abstract
Following current prognosis, demographic development raises expectations of an aging of the working population. Therefore, keeping employees healthy and strengthening their ability to work, becomes more and more important. When employees become older, dealing with age-related impairments of sensory functions, such as hearing impairment, is a central issue. Recent evidence suggests that negative effects that are associated with reduced hearing can have a strong impact at work. Especially under exhausting working situations such as working overtime hours, age and hearing impairment might influence employees’ well-being. Until now, neither the problem of aged workers and long working hours, nor the problem of hearing impairment and prolonged working time has been addressed explicitly. Therefore, a laboratory study was examined to answer the research question: Do age and hearing impairment have an impact on psychophysiological and subjective effects of long working hours. In total, 51 white-collar workers, aged between 24 and 63 years, participated in the laboratory study. The results show no significant effects for age and hearing impairment on the intensity of subjective consequences (perceived recovery and fatigue, subjective emotional well-being and physical symptoms) of long working hours. However, the psychophysiological response (the saliva cortisol level) to long working hours differs significantly between hearing impaired and normal hearing employees. Interestingly, the results suggest that from a psychophysiological point of view long working hours were more demanding for normal hearing employees.
Highlights
Until now, neither the problem of aged workers and long working hours, nor the problem of employees suffering from hearing impairment and prolonged working time has been addressed explicitly in a psychophysiological approach
From our point of view, there is a gap in literature regarding the combination of these variables and their influence on employees’ recovery and well-being. Our study addresses this gap in literature and focusses on hearing capacity and age under exhausting working situations such as working overtime hour’s, respectively, long working hours
Our study extends past research on long working hours by including age as variable of interest
Summary
Neither the problem of aged workers and long working hours, nor the problem of employees suffering from hearing impairment and prolonged working time has been addressed explicitly in a psychophysiological approach. Effects of Long Working Hours and more important to keep employees healthy and strengthen their ability to work until they reach retirement-age. Demographic changes require the working world to adapt to fewer available younger professionals; elderly skilled employees have to be involved more in the working process (Müller, 2011). When employees get older, dealing with age-related impairments of sensory functions such as hearing impairment or vision-related impairments, is a central issue. There has been little discussion about dealing with hearing impairment in the working world
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