Senior Workers Research Articles

Promoting healthy ageing at work through the development of coping strategies among senior workers

Abstract Background In France, the employment rate for individuals aged 50-64 has risen to almost 67% by 2023, with projections indicating that nearly one in three citizens will be over 60 by 2040. This demographic shift presents a significant labour challenge. To address this, the study explores how senior workers tackle workplace challenges and how their coping strategies influence healthy ageing at work. Methods This study explores critical factors in healthy ageing at work using a mixed QUAL/Quant methodology. 15 interviews provided insight into senior workers, while 28 participants from a French company completed an online questionnaire. Qualitative data were analysed using template analysis, and quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 20. Results The interviews revealed that senior workers’ problem-solving methods were grouped into three approaches: technical solutions (ergonomic adjustments, supportive equipment), coping strategies (help-seeking, utilisation crafting and developmental crafting), and mindset changes (metacognition, positive reappraisal). Among the senior group, the survey results showed that developmental crafting was a significant positive predictor of work engagement (β = 1.52, p< .05). Utilisation crafting and relational crafting were significant positive predictors of general health (β=.53, p< .05, and β=.50, p= .05, respectively). Conclusions This study not only emphasizes the significance of technological solutions but also underscores the critical roles of help-seeking, utilisation crafting, developmental crafting, metacognition, and positive reappraisal in fostering healthy ageing at work. These insights emphasize the need for ongoing development of human resource management strategies to address the challenges associated with ageing at work. Key messages • Our study finds senior workers employ diverse strategies - technical solutions, coping strategies, mindset shifts - to promote healthy ageing at work. • The insights highlight the importance of human resource strategies for addressing challenges of the ageing workforce, emphasizing proactive approaches.

OLG Model Analysis of Delayed Retirement and Social Pension Effects on Family-Based Elderly Care in China

Driven by the traditional concept of “Raising Children to Ensure Old-age Security”, China’s elderly care system has long relied on a family-centered approach, with intergenerational financial transfers (IFTs) serving as a major source of income for the elderly. However, as China’s population ages, the government’s plan to implement delayed retirement from 2025, along with pension reforms, is expected to reshape family-based eldercare and intergenerational financial dynamics. This paper employs an Overlapping Generation (OLG) model, grounded in unified growth theory, which incorporates a delayed retirement policy under the constraint of pension fund balance to examine the impact of adjusting the pension contribution rates (PCRs) and raising retirement age (RA) on IFT rates. The research findings indicate a negative correlation between RA, PCR, and IFT. Both policies have the potential to alleviate the burden on family-based eldercare. The integrated implementation of these two policies not only creates room for a phased reduction in pension contribution rates but also enables the effective utilization of senior workers’ expertise and experience.

Service specification for senior care workers with traditional Chinese medicine specialty

Abstract Senior care workers specializing in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) healthcare have become an indispensable force in institutional care, community care, and home care. The first Chinese nursing service team aimed to improve the health of the elderly by providing continuous services for physical and mental well-being, disease prevention, physical amelioration, and overall health enhancement using TCM concepts, methods, and technologies. The primary purpose of formulating this TCM health and elderly care worker service specification was to standardize services within the TCM elderly care industry, ensuring that the elderly receive better health and elderly care services supported by technical expertise. This specification outlined the basic requirements for TCM health and elderly care workers, including standards for service content, service quality control, service evaluation, and improvement. It primarily focused on the content and requirements of TCM health and elderly care services, such as constitution identification, life care, acupoint healthcare, and TCM auxiliary nursing for elderly individuals with chronic diseases. This specification is applicable to TCM health and elderly care personnel at various levels of hospitals and healthcare institutions and is noted for its strong applicability and effectiveness.

Motion capture and AR based programming by demonstration for industrial robots using handheld teaching device

In the industrial robots field, efficient and convenient programming methods have been a hot research topic. In recent years, immersive simulation technology has been developing rapidly in many fields, which provides new horizons for the development of industrial robots. This paper presents a HTC VIVE laser scan motion capture and Holohens augmented reality (AR) based interactive Programming by Demonstration (PbD) system for industrial robot. A portable Handheld Teaching Device (HTD) and its calibration algorithm are designed in the system. The portable HTD which is tracked by a laser motion capture system can be viewed as an AR robot end-effector to teach paths. Meanwhile, the AR robot can be simulated in real time during programing. In addition, the robot reproducing the operator’s actions at the same position in space is the focus of programming. So, Multi-system registration methods are proposed to determine the relationship between robot systems, motion capture systems and virtual robot systems. Meanwhile, a path planning algorithm is proposed to convert the captured raw path points into robot-executable code. For unskilled operators, they can easily perform complex programming using the HTD. For skilled senior workers, their skills can be quickly learned by robots using the system.

Retirement consumption puzzle in Japan: Insights from pension and senior worker employment policy changes

Previous studies in Japan have examined the retirement consumption puzzle (RCP) when mandatory retirement was prevalent. However, the retirement landscape has significantly evolved due to rising public pension ages and enhanced policies promoting employment among senior workers. This study explores household consumption behavior as a result of these recent shifts, particularly focusing on the increasingly common practice of partial retirement. We investigate household consumption during retirement, considering partial retirement enabled by policies allowing continued part-time work or self-employment beyond the mandatory retirement age, and address endogeneity issues between retirement and consumption. Our findings reveal that non-durable and food expenditures increase during partial retirement, driven by liquidity effects from substantial retirement lump-sum payments. These results challenge the traditional understanding of consumption patterns in an aging society, highlighting the impact of changes in work environments.

Assessing the Psychological Well-being of Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, working in any medical organization is associated with the risk of coronavirus infection. This applies first and foremost to specialized medical organizations dealing with the treatment of patients infected with coronavirus. Medical workers experiencing increased psychological stress are at an increased risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus while providing medical care. Therefore, studying the psychological states of medical workers – doctors, nurses, orderlies - is of particular importance and relevance. Our research goal is to investigate the psychological responses of medical professionals amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The research focused on the Aktobe Medical Center (AMC), which hosts the regional pulmonology center for COVID-19 patients and the Regional Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital (RCIDH). The study is a selective, single-stage cross-sectional analysis. To assess the psychological reactions of medical workers, standardized questionnaires are used, including the PSM-25, GAD-7, and MFI-20. Statistical analysis of the data is conducted using the STATISTICA 10.0 software package from StatSoft, Inc., USA. An analysis of the research results indicates that medical personnel, nurses, and administrative staff in medical organizations associated with the risk of coronavirus infection are susceptible to adverse psychophysiological disorders. The study revealed that stress levels, anxiety, and asthenia in doctors and nursing staff are significantly higher compared to those in nurses and administrative personnel. Medical workers at risk of COVID- 19 clearly require support measures, as the potential for occupational infection has been definitively established. Additionally, the psychological risk is largely influenced by the nature of their work and their direct contact with the population and patients infected with the coronavirus. Senior and mid-level medical workers at the forefront of combating coronavirus infection is at a high risk of experiencing psycho-emotional and psychophysiological health issues. Doctors and nurses have been found to exhibit high levels of physical and mental asthenia, anxiety, and moderate-to-high levels of stress. Evaluating potential risk factors for psychophysiological disorders among healthcare workers not only provides an objective assessment of their health status, but also aids in the effective and rational organization of their work.

The use of individual and collective selection, optimisation and compensation (SOC) strategies and their association with work ability among senior workers

Background Selection, optimisation, and compensation (SOC) can be important strategies for maintaining work ability as we age. This study aimed to explore differences in self-reported individual and collective use of SOC strategies across job functions, as well as their association with self-rated work ability. Methods: In the third wave of the SeniorWorkingLife study, 10,798 workers aged 50 + , across the job function categories “Office work”, “work with people”, and “work in the field of production”, replied to questions about collective and individual SOC strategies and work ability. Using multiple regression, we modelled associations between SOC and work ability. Results: Associations between SOC and work ability were generally weaker among participants working in the field of production. Both individual and collective use of selection had much weaker associations with work ability in the job functions “office work” and “working with people”. In the job function “working in the field of production”, only collective compensation was positively associated with work ability while individual selection was significantly but negatively associated with work ability. Conclusions: The use of SOC may be particularly beneficial for older employees working with people. Optimisation and compensation may be the most important SOC strategies for maintaining the work ability of older employees working with people and doing office work. For older employees working in the field of production, collective optimisation may support the maintenance of work ability while reduced work ability may be associated with the use of individual selection as a “coping strategy”.

Challenging Legal Standing in Climate Change Litigation

Abstract Associations and private individuals, groups of young people and groups of senior women, farmers and workers, present and future generations, mayors and whole towns, trees and woods, water and rivers: the list of claimants in climate change litigation is wide and varied. Indeed, since everyone and no one in particular has the right to a healthy climate, determining claimants’ legal standing in climate disputes is of paramount importance. Rules of proceedings are sometimes of help, providing ad hoc standing for public interest litigations. In other cases, however, judges have to manage the claim according to the traditional rules of proceedings, which generally require claimants to demonstrate their direct and personal concern. Thus, since legal standing is one of the first hurdles that activists must overcome to succeed in climate disputes, procedural law may provide judges with the grounds for meaningful decisions as well as a way to avoid ‘political’ decisions. In this paper, after analysing why civil litigation is proving to be the only suitable path for climate activists in the Italian legal order, I therefore intend to address four key ‘standing-orientated’ climate cases and namely the Dutch case of Urgenda, the Canadian case of ENvironnement JEUnesse, the Belgian case of Klimaatzaak, and the Swiss case of KlimaSeniorinnen. Having completed this analysis, and returning to the Italian case, the possible outcomes related to the claimants’ legal standing are then explored, both with respect to the associations and the individuals involved in the case.

Antecedents of and experiences with voluntary early exit from working life before the expected retirement age in Sweden.

In most Western countries, senior workers have increased their participation in the workforce. However, at the same time, early retirement also increases. The reasons behind this early exit from the workforce are still unclear. This qualitative study aims to explore the antecedents of and experiences with a voluntary exit from working life before the expected retirement age of 65 in Sweden. Data consist of semi-structured interviews with 18 participants who exited working life between the ages of 61-63. In Sweden, these ages are considered as an early exit from working life since, for many years, the expected retirement age has been 65. Qualitative content analysis with an abductive approach was utilized. The analysis revealed four sub-themes: 1) Health benefits with an early exit from working life (with the categories: own health status, the possibility for recovery time, and avoidance of strain); 2) Having economic conditions that enable an early exit from working life (with the categories: offers from the employer and financial compromises); 3) Social benefits with an early exit from working life (with the categories: enabling more time with my social network and avoidance of unsatisfying social work environment); 4) Self-fulfillment activities during the senior years (with the categories: enabling time for activities beyond work and avoidance of decreased job satisfaction. This variety of antecedents of and experiences with a voluntary early exit from working life before the expected retirement age highlights that the ongoing increased statutory retirement age also increases the risk for extended inequalities among the aging population.

Engagement in student organizations and graduates’ readiness to enter the job market

Studies highlight particular concern about the work readiness of university graduates, which potentially leads to many undesirable outcomes, such as rising unemployment rates and low productivity levels in the workplace. This study aims to explore the differences between student organization and work experiences and further analyze student organization’s contribution to graduate’s work readiness. This research uses a qualitative approach with phenomenological methods, and the data is analyzed with thematic data analysis. Data were collected through interviews involving 15 recent graduates actively involved in student organizations and just starting their careers. The study also interviewed two more senior workers to serve as source triangulation, strengthening the validity of the collected data. The study found four key differences between student organizations and the world of work. These differences include primary orientation, feedback and reward system, hierarchical structure, and interaction experiences. The findings also indicate that student organization experiences enhance individual skill development, which later proves helpful in work life. In particular, student organizational experience significantly advances these skills: leadership, time management, self-confidence, problem-solving, integrity, critical thinking, communication, negotiation, teamwork, responsibility, and commitment. Additionally, the record of student organizational participation listed on curriculum vitae can be a valuable asset for recent graduates, enhancing their employment prospects.

Hiring Discrimination Under Pressures to Diversify: Gender, Race, and Diversity Commodification across Job Transitions in Software Engineering

White, male-dominated professions in the United States are marked with substantial gender and racial inequality in career advancement, yet they often face pressures to increase diversity. In these contexts, are theories of employer biases based on gender and racial stereotypes sufficient to explain patterns of hiring discrimination during common career transitions in the external labor market? If not, how and why do discrimination patterns deviate from predictions? Through a case study of software engineering, we first draw from a large-scale audit study and demonstrate unexpected patterns of hiring screening discrimination: while employers discriminate in favor of White men among early-career job applicants seeking lateral positions, for both early-career and senior workers applying to senior jobs, Black men and Black women face no discrimination compared to White men, and White women are preferred. Drawing on in-depth interviews, we explain these patterns of discrimination by demonstrating how decision-makers incorporate diversity value—applicants’ perceived worth for their contribution to organizational diversity—into hiring screening decisions, alongside biases. We introduce diversity commodification as the market-based valuative process by which diversity value varies across job level and intersectional groups. This article offers important implications for our understanding of gender, race, and employer decision-making in modern U.S. organizations.

Generations and Work Motivation - Ageism and The Practices of Human Resource Management

Ageing is one of today's problems for societies and organisations, showing clear evidence that it is becoming a serious problem between generations. Age gaps cause distance between junior and senior workers, reflected in negative behaviour. For this reason, taking a global and broad view of intergenerationalism in the workplace is necessary.This work aims to validate the existence of different levels of motivation at work among different generations. We also hope to understand how human resource management practices contribute to retaining workers from other age groups.The work was carried out using a case study. Employees from one of Portugal's large clothing retail shops were consulted. The study was conducted in the Lefties group shops in northern Portugal. The analysis is quantitative. Several hypotheses were defined and validated using tests and a structural equation model. The results allowed us to characterise how each generation values the different human resource management practices. It also made it possible to analyse their relationship with the motivation perceived by the company's employees.

Out of the Classroom Context: Narratives of Licensed Teachers Assigned to School Offices

This study explored the out-of-the-classroom experiences of licensed teachers working in school offices. Eight (8) office workers were also licensed teachers who participated in the study coming from Poblacion Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental. This study made use of a phenomenological approach to extract the ideas of the teacher participants. The in- depth interview was employed to gather some information as regards their respective experiences. Using the thematic analysis, the following themes emerged about the experiences of the participants: the experiences of the licensed teachers working in offices were, working with loads of paper, being flexible with office work, and beating office deadlines. The coping mechanisms of the teachers were, embracing office realities, taking short breaks for relaxation, and seeking assistance from senior workers. The insights of the participants delved into two factors: Providing part- time jobs to licensed teachers and attending office- related training or seminars. For the college president or school heads to be more observant of the performance of their office workers. They should ensure that the office workers are performing their assigned tasks based on the expected results. The licensed teachers working in various school offices may be more responsive to the needs of their clientele.

A nurses eye-view on the Aspects of adult Patients’ health Literacy

Objective: Currently, health literacy is a hot topic worldwide. It is important for all age groups, for every individual and for society as a whole. Health literacy refers to the ability to obtain, understand and use information related to health and healthcare. The aim of the study was to identify problems related to health literacy that patients encounter in the context of their own healthcare and at the same time clarify the views of nurses on the education and health literacy of older patients. Design: Qualitative research using the technique of semi-structured interviews. Participants: Interviews were conducted with 10 senior healthcare workers (9 women, 1 man) from four healthcare facilities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The average age of the participants was 48 years (SD = 6.65, median 47, range 38 – 60). Methods: The method of content analysis was used to analyze the obtained data. The obtained data were processed based on the analysis using open and thematic coding and categorization. Results and conclusion: Barriers and strategies used by patients in managing their health were identified. These barriers and strategies were grouped into three themes and nine categories. Health literacy screening in a clinical care environment would not only be a beneficial tool in the care of elderly patients. Healthcare managers and senior healthcare workers should develop strategies to create environments and resources supportive of health literacy interventions.

Maximizing employability and entrepreneurial success: a training program for highly skilled seniors transitioning into freelance consulting

This paper provides insights into the impacts of a self-employment and entrepreneurship education program for high-skilled long-term unemployed workers aged 45–65 in France during the COVID-19 pandemic. The training program involves individual tutoring, synchronous online classes and lead generation workshops with a freelancing project to design and present to a committee. We studied the impact of the training through an adapted version of the CHEERS questionnaire sent to the trainees six months after the training completion. In contrast to the previous literature, we show promising results for this kind of training. Our results show that this training program not only helps people to start a freelancing career but also prepares many of them to find an employee position after a long period of unemployment. We have also been able to identify the main characteristics of the jobs obtained afterwards that matter to high-skilled senior workers and to describe five trainee profiles through a cluster analysis: (1) enthusiastic but not confident, (2) quick return to salaried employment, (3) focused on freelancing, (4) demanding and disappointed elders, and (5) struggling with business tasks.

Advanced workstations and collaborative robots: exploiting eye-tracking and cardiac activity indices to unveil senior workers' mental workload in assembly tasks.

Introduction: As a result of Industry 5.0's technological advancements, collaborative robots (cobots) have emerged as pivotal enablers for refining manufacturing processes while re-focusing on humans. However, the successful integration of these cutting-edge tools hinges on a better understanding of human factors when interacting with such new technologies, eventually fostering workers' trust and acceptance and promoting low-fatigue work. This study thus delves into the intricate dynamics of human-cobot interactions by adopting a human-centric view. Methods: With this intent, we targeted senior workers, who often contend with diminishing work capabilities, and we explored the nexus between various human factors and task outcomes during a joint assembly operation with a cobot on an ergonomic workstation. Exploiting a dual-task manipulation to increase the task demand, we measured performance, subjective perceptions, eye-tracking indices and cardiac activity during the task. Firstly, we provided an overview of the senior workers' perceptions regarding their shared work with the cobot, by measuring technology acceptance, perceived wellbeing, work experience, and the estimated social impact of this technology in the industrial sector. Secondly, we asked whether the considered human factors varied significantly under dual-tasking, thus responding to a higher mental load while working alongside the cobot. Finally, we explored the predictive power of the collected measurements over the number of errors committed at the work task and the participants' perceived workload. Results: The present findings demonstrated how senior workers exhibited strong acceptance and positive experiences with our advanced workstation and the cobot, even under higher mental strain. Besides, their task performance suffered increased errors and duration during dual-tasking, while the eye behavior partially reflected the increased mental demand. Some interesting outcomes were also gained about the predictive power of some of the collected indices over the number of errors committed at the assembly task, even though the same did not apply to predicting perceived workload levels. Discussion: Overall, the paper discusses possible applications of these results in the 5.0 manufacturing sector, emphasizing the importance of adopting a holistic human-centered approach to understand the human-cobot complex better.

Exploring age-related phenomena in VR-based teleoperations: a human-centered perspective for industry 5.0

ABSTRACTThe increasingly aging workforce is bringing particular attention to senior individuals in production sectors. While the interest in Virtual Reality (VR) applications for industrial robotics grows, the question of whether and how senior workers can withstand VR-based repetitive tasks arises. We here aimed to answer such questions by systematically assessing young and senior users’ experiential, behavioural, and cognitive factors during simulated robotic teleoperations in VR. Two control systems for VR telerobotics, button- and action-based controls, were employed. Human performance, vigilance, and workload were measured through self-reports and a VR-integrated eye-tracker. Additionally, age-dependent differences in individual cultural and experiential factors were explored via self-report measures. Despite being slower and experiencing increased fatigue under specific conditions, as suggested by the eye-tracking measures, senior users demonstrated comparable precision in operating the robotic arm to their younger counterparts. Notably, both age groups reported similar levels of perceived fatigue. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the advantages and challenges of adopting advanced telerobotics control systems across different age groups, consistently emphasising the human-centered dimension.

Association between educational level and self-reported musculoskeletal pain and physical functioning in Danes 60–70 years old from 2010 to 2017: a longitudinal analysis of trends over time on data from the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey

ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to investigate the association between educational level and musculoskeletal pain and physical function, respectively, in persons 60–70 years old, and to investigate if the...

Senior citizens' intrinsic and extrinsic work motivation

PurposeIt is important to understand why some workers prolong their working life even though they are entitled to statutory pension benefits. This paper aims to investigate whether senior workers are motivated by external factors such as pay and social expectations (extrinsic motivation) or are primarily motivated by internal factors such as job satisfaction (intrinsic motivation). This is a central question for policymakers and social partners when it comes to the design of public pension systems and work organisation.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a combined longitudinal administrative data and an own-designed postal survey to ask individuals aged 65–76 years to describe their work motivation. Based on the answers, this study constructs an index of autonomous motivation (AM) where a value of zero implies only extrinsic motivation and a value of one implies only intrinsic motivation. The values between zero and one thus imply various grades of AM, where higher values signal motivation that is more autonomous and hence a higher degree of intrinsic work motivation.FindingsThe results of the statistical analysis show that the extent of intrinsic motivation is higher among senior workers who retired aged 65 years or older compared to those who retired at 65 years or younger. In addition, this study found that the degree of intrinsic work motivation among senior workers decreases when they face economic and financial constraints. It also found that intrinsic motivation is more prevalent among high-skilled workers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study shows that individuals who continue to work after 65 are mostly motivated by the satisfaction they derive from their job. Job satisfaction is strongly related to skill level, job quality, job content and job autonomy. Results indicate that job quality and commitment to work are essential elements for motivating seniors to postpone retirement.Originality/valueThis study contributes to this literature by applying a multidisciplinary approach from organisational psychology and labour economics that considers the potential importance of intrinsic motivation to work after standard retirement age. The authors think that this approach enhances the understanding of the mechanisms behind the lengthening of working life. Finally, this study suggests a simple, but efficient way of empirically measuring the extent of intrinsic motivation among workers.

Job Tenure and Unskilled Workers before the Industrial Revolution: St Paul’s Cathedral 1672–1748

How were unskilled workers selected and hired in preindustrial labor markets? We exploit records from the rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral, London (1672–1748), to analyze the hiring and employment histories of over 1,000 general building laborers, the benchmark category of “unskilled” workers in long-run wage series. Despite volatile demand, St Paul’s created a stable workforce by rewarding the tenure of long-standing workers. More senior workers received more days of work each month, preference when jobs were scarce, and the opportunity to earn additional income. We find the cathedral’s strategy consistent with reducing hiring frictions and turnover costs.