Abstract
In many European countries requirements for retirement have been tightened, causing an increase in work participation of older workers, in spite their potentially poorer health may limit their work ability. This study aimed at assessing the diffusion of health problems and exposure to unfavorable working conditions among ageing workers in two Italian surveys, as well as comparing them with those observed in the same surveys conducted before the 2011 Italian pension reform tightening the normal retirement age. The 2013 National Health Survey (NHS) and Labour Force Survey (LFS) were employed to assess the prevalence of poor perceived health, health conditions and functional limitations, and of exposure to physical, psychosocial and organization factors at work, among 60–64 years workers. Poisson regression models were used to estimate Prevalence Ratios of health outcomes and unfavorable working conditions in the two surveys, compared to data from the 2005 (NHS) and 2007 (LFS) corresponding surveys, respectively. Among both men and women, approximately one quarter had at least one physical disorder or functional limitations and 15% poor mental health. Exposure to different ergonomic factors (15–30%) and working during unsocial hours (19%) were particularly diffused. A significant increase in the prevalence of functional limitations and of working at night or during unsocial hours was found in 2013, compared to corresponding data from 2005 and 2007, respectively. Our results indicate that exposure to ergonomic and organizational hazards should be reduced among ageing workers, to avoid decreased work ability, health damage or early exit from the labour market.
Highlights
Due to an increase in life expectancy (Eurostat, 2019), most European countries have tightened requirements for retirement, through an increase in minimum age at retirement and an increase in number of years worked required before retirement
Between Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2007 and 2013 the proportion of workers employed in small firms (≤ 10 workers employed) remained relatively stable among both subjects 55–59 and 60–64 years (Table 1), whereas an increase of 3–4 percentage points occurred in the proportion of those employed in firms employing 10–49 workers, with a corresponding decrease in larger firms (50 + workers)
The results of the present study show that in Italy in 2013 almost one quarter of male and female workers 60–64 years was affected by physical health conditions and functional limitations, with small differences by level of occupational physical activity (OPA), except for functional limitations among men and presenteeism in both gender, which were more prevalent among workers with high OPA, and coronary heart diseases (CHD) and cancer, more common among men with low OPA
Summary
Due to an increase in life expectancy (Eurostat, 2019), most European countries have tightened requirements for retirement, through an increase in minimum age at retirement and an increase in number of years worked required before retirement. A previous work from our research group found a higher risk of hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) associated with postponed retirement, which was limited to blue collar workers, workers with lower pay and worst health at baseline (Ardito et al, 2020). This literature suggests that these detrimental effects are driven by prolonged exposure to high-strain and low-quality jobs which might be harmful in a population of aged workers whose work ability and health is declining. A limitation of previous studies was that a smaller amount of workers, especially manual workers, was still working after 60 years, with the possibility of a relevant health-related selection for those remaining in paid employment
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