Working conditions and health status of elderly teaching staff (a review)

Abstract

This article reviews literature data on the working conditions, labor organization, health and psycho-emotional status, performance, and age composition of teaching staff. Population ageing is a global trend, primarily associated with increased life expectancy and decreased fertility rates. The reviewed publications note a steady increase in the number of elderly people employed in educational institutions of various levels. According to hygienic assessments, the working conditions of teaching staff can be distinguished as potentially harmful. High working, mental, emotional, and voice loads were found to be the key factors affecting teachers’ health, performance, and professional longevity. The accelerating pace of life, growing volumes of circulating information, spreading digitalization and robotization, adoption of online educational technologies – all these phenomena impose an additional psychological burden on teachers, elderly people in particular, becoming a source of distress and neuroticism. At the same time, the involvement of elderly people in intellectually stimulating professional activities and the respective adequate payment were shown to have a positive effect on the preservation of their cognitive functions and overall quality of life. These findings determine the relevance of investigating the occupational hygiene of elderly teaching staff in order to develop measures aimed at preserving their health, quality of life, and professional longevity.