MODULE 2: THE CHALLENGES OF AN AGING WORKFORCE

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite2 Things that get worse with age… Milk Remembering names Playing basketball Other???

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite3 Fine wine Cheese Bus fare Others?? Things that get better with age…

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite4 Gardening Singing Driving Dancing Work??? How does age affect these…

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite5 The Physical and Mental Changes of Aging

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite6 How Our Bodies Change With Age Strength Endurance Vision Light sensitivity Hearing Temperature sensitivity Balance Reaction time Flexibility Joint range of motion (e.g. reach) Manual dexterity Chronic conditions (e.g. arthritis) Healing time Learning and memory Sleep disorders

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite7 Strength & Endurance Strength declines due to changes in muscles and connective tissue – Strength peaks at years of age – At 55, our strength is about 80% of strength at 30 – Loss in strength is greater in leg muscles than in upper body Endurance declines, in part, due to how our bodies absorb oxygen – Reduced to 70% of maximum by 65 years of age Older workers work close to their maximum physical abilities

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite8 Vision Changes begin near 40 due to changes in our eyes’ lenses and the muscles that focus them – Near-sightedness or far-sightedness – Restricted depth perception – Restricted field of vision – Slowed adaptation to changes in light – Increased sensitivity to bright lights and glare – Decreased sensitivity to contrast

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite9 Hearing Age-related hearing loss begins around 40 and increases sharply around 60 Characteristics of age-related hearing loss – Ability to distinguish high-pitched sounds (e.g. doorbell) declines before ability to distinguish lower frequencies – Understanding conversations can become a challenge – Background noise makes hearing harder (e.g. factory) Noise-induced hearing loss can make age-related hearing loss worse than it would otherwise be

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite10 NIHL, Sound Freq and Exposure British Columbia, 2000

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite11 Balance & Reaction Time Increase in reaction time with age – 40-year old requires 25% more time than 20-year old – 60-year old requires 150% more time Balance declines with age – Changes in vision and peripheral sensation – Postural steadiness declines Increased risk of trips, slips and falls

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite12 Flexibility and Joint Range of Motion Increase in response time for muscles to relax Decrease in number and size of muscle fibers Decrease in water content in tendons make tissues stiffer and more vulnerable Decrease in elasticity of ligaments Deterioration of cartilage in joints from wear and tear

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite13 Learning and Memory Decline in short term memory, reasoning & processing speed Continued increase in long term memory, quantitative knowledge, depth & breadth of knowledge No change in ability to learn new tasks Increase in time & effort necessary to “encode” information but future retrieval same as for younger person

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite14 Aging and Mental Function Multi-Tasking Working Memory Names Procedural Memory Meanings of Words Preserved Decline

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite15 Health, Safety and Aging

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite16 Prevalence of Chronic Conditions Data from National Health Interview Survey

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite17 Source: Work-Related Injury Statistics Query System ( Occupational Injuries Treated in U.S. Hospital Emergency Departments, 1999

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite18 Nonfatal Construction Injury Rates by Age and Incident, 2006 Source: 2006 Current Population Survey and Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Calculations by CPWR. Injury Rate per 10,000 Workers

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite19 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Median Days Away From Work Due to Non-Fatal Workplace Injury, 2004 Days Away from Work Age Group All-Ages Median

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite20 Work-Related Fatalities and Age Source: 2007 Current Population Survey and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. Calculations by CPWR.

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite21 Fatal Fall Rates and Age (per 100,000 Workers) Worker Deaths By Falls: A Summary of Surveillance Findings and Investigative Case Reports. NIOSH, 2000.

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite22 Workers 55+ Worker Deaths By Falls: A Summary of Surveillance Findings and Investigative Case Reports. NIOSH, 2000.

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite23 Work-Related Deaths in Construction

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite24 Speed vs. Skill

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite25 Skills Experience Institutional Knowledge Lower Injury Rates Chronic Conditions Decreased Strength Higher Injury Severity, Lost Time Balancing Strengths and Weaknesses

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite26 Rose’s Aging Challenges Rose is aging. She has creaky knees and heart problems. She is also a very valuable resource for Yeats. Should she keep working?

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite27 Generations at Work

Designing the Age Friendly Worksite28 Young and Old on the Site Together Carlos doesn’t always see eye-to- eye with his supervisors at work. Is he just being difficult?…