Quality of working life in an ageing working population

"With full-span lives having become the norm, people may need to learn how to be aged as they once had to learn to be an adult.", (Ronald Blyth).

We’re all getting older, things are starting to hurt on a daily basis, and… what’s this about again? I forgot. Sorry, must be my age.

The working population too is getting older.  Pension changes, the credit crunch and other economic nasties, mean that for many of us, early retirement is no longer an option.  Older people have to continue working longer in order to maintain their lifestyles into old age.

This prompts some interesting and important research questions:

  • How does quality of the working life change as you get older?
  • Is that a change for the better or worse?  Why?
  • Are older workers more vulnerable to stress and its effects e.g. depression, ill-health?  Why?
  • What are the effects of working for the same employer for a long time?
  • What influences well-being in older workers and what are the effects? 
  • How might quality of working life be improved for older the workers? 
  • What are the implications for Human Resources and for wider government policies?

The data we've gathered recently sheds some light on these important questions.  We’ll be writing up this research soon, but in the meantime, if you're interested in finding out more please get in touch.