A recent survey has revealed that one in three workers aged over 50 fear that poor health will force them to retire.
An estimated 3.8million people, 37% of employed over 50’s, predict that illness will be the reason that they will need to stop working. The same number of people claim that their job is harmful to their health and well-being. So what is causing this and how can employers help?
The survey asked a total of 2,500 workers aged 16-75 on their health and well-being in the workplace.
The biggest five concerns for workers are:
- Money issues
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- Work pressures
- Family issues
- Poor diet
The study also found that 37% of older workers put their job before their health and 27% do not feel comfortable discussing health issues with their employers.
What can employers do?
Education – As an employer it is important to show all employees that they are able to discuss any issues with their boss. It may be worth holding semi-regular sessions where you can discuss with employees what procedures you have in place if certain issues arise.
Flexible working – One way of helping an employee who may not be well is to offer a more flexible working schedule. Whether this means they are able to work from home or reduce their hours, they will be able to better manage their work/life balance. As an employer you could also benefit by retaining a worker who is skilled and experienced.
Access to counselling – All workers can feel stress from different areas in life and older workers are no exception to this. They may be concerned about their retirement or have other responsibilities at home which are causing them to be distracted and less engaged. As an employer you could offer support by providing resources to outside counselling and help employees to manage any stress they may be experiencing.
Development training – Another area where an employer could offer more support is by continuing to train and develop the skills of older workers. Another survey recently revealed that 37% of workers over the age of 50 felt that they were being offered less opportunities for training and progression due to their age. This can have a damaging effect on the employee’s mental health and what they have to offer your company. By continuing training and development you can ensure that the employee remains a valued individual within the business.
Role transition – There are some job roles where an employee’s age may affect when they retire, such as manual roles like construction or manufacturing. Workers in these roles may experience joint or back pains or other illness which can stop them from continuing their employment for longer. However maybe your company could be able to facilitate them moving to a different role which is more suitable to where they now are in their working life. If this is possible then it means that the employee can continue to work while still contributing towards your business.
Health & fitness benefits – You could also offer incentives and programs which help employees maintain an active lifestyle. Whether you choose to offer gym facilities or memberships or offer health screenings and medical check-ups, it could help employees enormously and as an employer you may be able to benefit from tax reliefs.
Does this work?
In Germany, BMW altered its production line technology and working conditions in order to benefit older workers. As a result they saw a 7% increase in productivity and their absence rate fell to 2%.
By updating our attitudes to older workers, employers can further support employees in their health and well -being. Particularly employees closer to retirement, in order to try and prevent premature retirement and losing valuable skills and talent for your business.
A government backed study has suggested that a scheme should be introduced to address workers lifestyle, skills, paid and unpaid work and retirement income. It is hoped that addressing these areas early can prevent issues arising further down the line and improve the work life of all employees nearing retirement age.
