Aging workers
As fertility rates fall and life expectancy climbs, the average age of Canada’s population continues to rise. This has widespread implications for social policies and the world of work. IWH research explores these implications, such as the effects of aging on work ability, injury rates, injury and disease prevention, productivity, accommodation and return to work. It also looks at the workplace and social programs that will allow aging workers to remain at work in a healthy and productive way until they transition into retirement.
Featured
IWH Speaker Series
Unveiling the JDAPT: A new interactive tool to identify work-related support strategies for workers with chronic conditions and disability
In this presentation, Dr. Monique Gignac describes the JDAPT tool, its development, as well as data from two studies on the tool. She discusses the JDAPT’s potential to help workers by focusing on work solutions, not medical diagnoses and symptoms.
Published: March 21, 2023
IWH Speaker Series
What do workplaces need to know to help older workers stay on the job? A qualitative study of older workers’ disclosure decisions
Published: September 20, 2022
At Work article
Precarity more likely for older, new workers with disabilities
An IWH study finds the risks of working in precarious jobs are the same for people with and without disabilities. But among people with disabilities, precarity is more likely when people are older or have less job tenure.
Published: March 2021
Journal article
Journal article
The working disadvantaged: the role of age, job tenure and disability in precarious work
Published: BMC Public Health, December 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Age differences in return-to-work following injury: understanding the role of age dimensions across longitudinal follow-up
Published: Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, December 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Inequalities in extending working lives beyond age 60 in Canada, Denmark, Sweden and England: by gender, level of education and health
Published: PLoS ONE, August 2020
Sharing Best Evidence
Work activities and the development of osteoarthritis in men and women
A systematic review by the Institute for Work & Health finds strong and moderate evidence that work exposures—including lifting, cumulative physical loads, full-body vibration and kneeling/squatting/bending—can increase the risks of osteoarthritis in men and women. No increased risk was found for sitting, standing and walking (hip and knee osteoarthritis); lifting and carrying (knee osteoarthritis); climbing ladders (knee osteoarthritis); driving (knee osteoarthritis); and highly repetitive tasks (hand osteoarthritis).
Published: June 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Access to showers and change rooms at work associated with active commuting among older workers: findings from a national population survey
Published: Journal of Applied Gerontology, February 2020
At Work article
Understanding employment patterns among older workers in four countries
In many developed countries, including Canada, encouraging older workers to stay in the workforce is a common policy goal. But what do we know about current work participation patterns among people older than 65? A new study involving IWH looks at data in Canada, the U.K., Denmark and Sweden.
Published: October 2019
IWH in the media
Chronic diseases not slowing down older workers
Personal health may be a factor for older workers in deciding when to retire, but it’s not as big a factor as previously thought, according to a new Institute for Work & Health study. Despite experiencing more pain and fatigue, older workers with arthritis, diabetes or both were no different from their healthy peers in their retirement plans, writes John Dujay.
Published: Canadian HR Reporter, August 2019
Research Highlights
Comparing the retirement expectations of older workers with and without chronic conditions
Workers with arthritis and diabetes, despite their health difficulties, have similar retirement plans as their healthy peers. Yet workers with chronic conditions are more likely than their healthy peers to report having retired previously and returned to work, often in part-time positions.
Published: August 2019
At Work article
Despite pain and fatigue, older workers with chronic conditions want to work to age 65
Having a health condition or a chronic disease can be challenging for older workers, but it doesn't necessarily decrease their desire to work and retire at about the same age as healthy peers, finds an IWH study of retirement expectations.
Published: July 2019