Beyond the 10 000 steps: Managing less visible aspects of healthy ageing at work
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Business School
Abstract
Working with employers, employees, professional bodies and other key stakeholders this project will co-design innovative workplace interventions to support the health and well-being of older workers (aged 50+), enabling them to stay in paid work for longer and increasing their overall well-being.
Context: There is an urgent need to make the health of older workers more visible. One in three workers in the UK are aged 50+, and this figure is set to rise in coming decades. 44% of people aged 50-64 have a long- term health condition, and 21% of older workers who leave the labour market 'early' (before State Pension Age) cite health problems as the primary reason for leaving. New research is urgently needed to identify the most appropriate actions employers can take to prevent health conditions from developing in their older workforce, and to support older employees who have existing health problems. It is important to fill these gaps in our understanding because, with the right workplace supports in place, older people are more likely to be able to extend their working lives even if they experience long-term health issues. This urgency has been heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic as both older workers and their employers reassess health needs and risks associated with older age, and consider alternative forms of working.
We know that the nature and quality of people's work influences their health and that, conversely, people's state of health influences their ability to work. What is less well-understood is how the relationship between work and health changes over time as people grow older. The experiences and needs of older workers have tended to be overlooked in previous research about work and health. When older workers have been considered, not enough attention has been paid to inequalities between different groups. We know little about how older workers' health and well-being is influenced by factors such as gender, ethnicity, social class, occupation, type of employment, and unpaid caring roles. Moreover, some aspects of health and wellbeing that particularly affect older workers, such as menopause, dementia, and financial stability, are especially hidden.
Aim and objectives: Building upon existing research, this project will work with employers, older workers (including self-employed) and a range of stakeholders to deepen understanding of the ways in which physical, mental and financial well-being interact with workplace culture and supports to constrain or enable opportunities for productive later-life employment. These findings will be used to co-design a suite of innovative products and data-driven interventions to improve the health, well-being and financial stability of older workers. Our co-designed outputs will provide businesses and social enterprises with fit-for-purpose and scalable products, services and business models, which support people as they age.
Potential application and benefits: The potential impact will be significant - encouraging increased industry investment in healthy ageing at work so that people can remain active, productive, independent and socially connected across generations for as long as possible, thereby contributing to the Healthy Ageing Challenge mission of ensuring that 'people can enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035', whilst also supporting the UK policy goal of extending working life beyond traditional retirement ages. Better support for older workers will allow employers to retain experienced staff and avoid the costs of replacing them. The translation and adoption of interventions within the workplace will help to increase productivity, build resilience and sustainability within the ageing workforce, and create new market opportunities to promote economic growth.
Context: There is an urgent need to make the health of older workers more visible. One in three workers in the UK are aged 50+, and this figure is set to rise in coming decades. 44% of people aged 50-64 have a long- term health condition, and 21% of older workers who leave the labour market 'early' (before State Pension Age) cite health problems as the primary reason for leaving. New research is urgently needed to identify the most appropriate actions employers can take to prevent health conditions from developing in their older workforce, and to support older employees who have existing health problems. It is important to fill these gaps in our understanding because, with the right workplace supports in place, older people are more likely to be able to extend their working lives even if they experience long-term health issues. This urgency has been heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic as both older workers and their employers reassess health needs and risks associated with older age, and consider alternative forms of working.
We know that the nature and quality of people's work influences their health and that, conversely, people's state of health influences their ability to work. What is less well-understood is how the relationship between work and health changes over time as people grow older. The experiences and needs of older workers have tended to be overlooked in previous research about work and health. When older workers have been considered, not enough attention has been paid to inequalities between different groups. We know little about how older workers' health and well-being is influenced by factors such as gender, ethnicity, social class, occupation, type of employment, and unpaid caring roles. Moreover, some aspects of health and wellbeing that particularly affect older workers, such as menopause, dementia, and financial stability, are especially hidden.
Aim and objectives: Building upon existing research, this project will work with employers, older workers (including self-employed) and a range of stakeholders to deepen understanding of the ways in which physical, mental and financial well-being interact with workplace culture and supports to constrain or enable opportunities for productive later-life employment. These findings will be used to co-design a suite of innovative products and data-driven interventions to improve the health, well-being and financial stability of older workers. Our co-designed outputs will provide businesses and social enterprises with fit-for-purpose and scalable products, services and business models, which support people as they age.
Potential application and benefits: The potential impact will be significant - encouraging increased industry investment in healthy ageing at work so that people can remain active, productive, independent and socially connected across generations for as long as possible, thereby contributing to the Healthy Ageing Challenge mission of ensuring that 'people can enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035', whilst also supporting the UK policy goal of extending working life beyond traditional retirement ages. Better support for older workers will allow employers to retain experienced staff and avoid the costs of replacing them. The translation and adoption of interventions within the workplace will help to increase productivity, build resilience and sustainability within the ageing workforce, and create new market opportunities to promote economic growth.
Publications
Description | Age Scotland collaboration to create line manager training workshops (under the Workplace Equalities Fund) |
Organisation | Age UK |
Department | Age Scotland |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | SHAW Project provided findings around role of line managers in supporting healthy ageing at work. These findings comprised the foundation for the content of their 1 hour webinar and 3 hour workshops on Line Mangers and ageism at work. SHAW project members continue to work closely with Age Scotland to monitor the feedback from these webinars/workshops each fortnight. Workshop delivery commenced in January 2023. As at 28/2, Age Scotland have delivered 11 separate workshops to 113 attendees (line managers), with 36 further workshops in the diary over the next quarter. SHAW continue to work closely with Age Scotland to monitor and track potential impact. |
Collaborator Contribution | Age Scotland have provided the infrastructure to establish the training, the network of organisations to enrol in the training and the trainers to deliver the training. They are also tracking feedback and evaluation. |
Impact | None as yet as the training has only just commenced. We envisage outputs towards the end of 2023. |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Sleep Scotland collaboration to provide Sleep for Wellbeing training to Wellbeing champions within organisational settings. |
Organisation | Sleep Scotland |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | SHAW Project provided Sleep Scotland with SHAW project findings to help them develop their 'Sleep for Wellbeing' course aimed at organisations supporting their employees. Analysis of secondary data (ELSA and Understanding Society) datasets as well as primary data from SHAW Work Package 2 interviews contributed to a report for Sleep Scotland, which they are drawing upon to develop their Sleep for Wellbeing intervention. This will be piloted in April/May and launched in early summer 2023. |
Collaborator Contribution | Sleep Scotland have provided the experience of delivering sleep-related interventions, and all of the infrastructure and resourcing required to create and deliver this intervention. SHAW project are their research partner on this initiative, which has come about due to our research findings in this area. |
Impact | No outputs as yet. |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Audit Scotland - seminar on menopause at work |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Co-I (Airey) and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (Steffan) were invited to present SHAW findings at an internal staff webinar, to inform Audit Scotland staff about what is being done elsewhere in the public sector (and in other sectors) to support older workers and manage the impact of an ageing workforce on service delivery and working practices. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Interview for the Scotsman newspaper, |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Interview given to the Scotsman to highlight the research undertaken by the SHAW project, in particular, and the work of the University of Edinburgh Business School more generally. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://web.archive.org/web/20220113110203/https://www.scotsman.com/business/how-the-university-of-e... |
Description | Presentation at the Bayes Centre seminar: Data Driven Innovation for Healthy Ageing |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Dr Airey gave a presentation entitled 'Enabling productive later life employment', at this seminar aimed at public, private and third sector organisations. Approximately 100 individuals attended the seminar, and this led to enquiries from a range of start-up companies, NHS employees and other academics keen to know more about the research and/or become involved in the research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://edinburghbioquarter.com/data-driven-innovation-for-healthy-ageing/ |