How to Adapt Your Business to an Aging Workforce
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Written by Kevin Lombardo
Across virtually every sector of the economic landscape, the workforce is getting older. Individuals are living longer, thanks to advances in healthcare and other factors, and concurrently, they’re staying on the job longer. A variety of factors – including economic pressures and other personal reasons – have compelled workers to remain at work or find new jobs after retiring. Indeed, the percentage of workers aged between 55 and 65 increased by more than 50 percent over the last five years, spurred by the aging of the Baby Boomer generation, of which 10,000 individuals hit 65 years old every day. The reasons for this shift are myriad – between a global retirement savings deficit rising toward $400 trillion and an average cost of living that continues to rise in all markets around the United States, the financial causes alone are enough to shock the system. Add that to the host of personal reasons why a worker might choose to keep working or return to the workforce, and you have a population that will not only constitute a major portion of the job field, but will also require specific adjustments in order to flourish.
Older workers’ bodies are different from those of their younger counterparts, and the daily stresses of the job affect them in appropriately disparate ways. Most job tasks are not designed with the older worker in mind, and therefore can introduce overexertion and poor mechanics that commonly lead to injury. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), conditions that are prevalent among every age group, present an even greater risk for long-tenured workers, who experience MSDs at a higher rate than any other age group. Alarmingly, however, companies across the nation have responded slowly to the aging workforce and its unique demands. Only 35% of companies have analyzed how an older workforce will impact operations in the short-term, and even fewer have considered the effects over the course of a decade or more. Worse, age discrimination persists, with 41% of companies admitting in a recent survey that they believe an older workforce is a competitive disadvantage.
However, some companies have worked proactively to make adjustments for their long-tenured workers.
Mercedes-Benz, the luxury automotive manufacturer based in Berlin, recently implemented a strategy for maximizing the potential of their aging workforce while reducing the risk of injury. They began by focusing on the culture of the workplace, working to shift attitudes about the roles of older workers. The company began integrating ergonomic tools into their operations, and provided additional flexibility for older workers to switch or shift their schedules. Rival BMW installed wooden floors to help ease the impact and stress on older workers’ joints.
A manufacturer in Alabama also recently deployed a risk-avoidance strategy around their long-tenured workers. Facing a poorly ranked safety record and a workforce whose average age was 47, the company instituted mandatory stretching periods before the start of each shift along with expounded safety education programs. The stretching periods were used as open forums for workers to report hazards, near misses, and suggestions for safety improvements. The program immediately proved effective, dramatically reducing MSDs and other injuries.
Continue reading at original source: https://dorncompanies.com/how-to-adapt-your-business-to-an-aging-workforce/
(Image credit: Dorn Companies)
