DES PLAINES, IL, Nov. 3, 2005 — As the 'baby
boomer' generation ages, the workforce is also shrinking,
the American Society of Safety Engineers is urging business
to modify their workplace safety efforts to accompany a
changing workforce.
Currently, workplace injury rates for older workers are
the lowest of any age group, but their fatality rate is
the highest. To accommodate the aging workforce and to work
to reduce fatality rates, businesses should design a safe
workplace for this aging, but valuable, workforce.
“Businesses must act now to
accommodate and provide a safer work environment for the
aging worker, a valuable and experienced group, or their
bottom line will be impacted negatively,” said
ASSE President Jack H. Dobson, Jr., CSP. “There
are easy and economical ways to do this that in the long
run will save time, increase output and contribute positively
to the business.”
The U.S. Dept. of Labor's (DOL) workplace statistics
for 2004 show that those 64 and older had the lowest number
of workplace injuries, but the fatality rate for those
55 and older rose by 10 percent. In 2003, workers 65 and
older "continued to record the
highest fatality rate of any other age group, more than
three times the rate of fatalities for those aged 25-34,"
according to the DOL. Most of these fatalities were transportation-related,
from falls, from being struck by an object and from homicides.
As baby boomers begin to retire over the next few years,
the DOL notes the workforce will shrink as those born from
1965 to 1985, a time with a declining birthrate, enter the
workforce. According to American Demographics magazine,
currently there are 76.9 million baby boomers in the U.S.
The majority of boomers live in California, Florida, Illinois,
Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
“As the percentage of the workforce
aged 55 and over increases, injury rates for the whole work
population decreases while productivity increases,”
said ASSE member Dr. Joel M. Haight, P.E., CSP, researcher
and faculty member at Penn State University.
An estimated 3.9 million occupational injuries and illnesses
were treated in hospital emergency departments among
all industry and occupation groups for workers aged 15 and
older. The highest numbers of these injuries and illnesses
occurred among workers aged 25-44.
“Data suggests there is no age-related
safety performance issue between the 25-54 year age group
and that of the over 55 years age group, according to 2001-02
statistics,” writes ASSE member and Colorado
resident Alma Jackson, R.N., MS, COHN-S in a paper titled
"Health and Safety in an Aging Workforce."
“Older workers are not more
prone to injury and illness than other workers. Older workers
have fewer avoidable absences, a lower turnover rate, and
fewer work-related accidents. To increase workplace safety,
employer fixes – environmental changes – can cost
next to nothing yet the return on investment is very high,”
said Jackson.
The Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) 2004-05
workplace forecast identified the following trends:
1) the aging workforce;
2) eldercare;
3) having both childcare and eldercare responsibilities;
4) changing family patterns; and
5) an increase in the unskilled workforce.
“Management needs to be prepared
to accommodate the number of changes older workers may face
such as physical, sensory and perhaps some mental impediments,”
said ASSE member Bruce Tulgan, Founder and President of
RainmakerThinking Inc., a New Haven, CT-based workplace
research firm. “As we age, we
get shorter and heavier; our muscle strength decreases and
by age 65, the mean maximum aerobic power – the level
at which oxygen uptake levels off – is about 70 percent
of what it was at age 25. Hearing and vision is also diminished
as one ages.”
Most experts agree that despite the aging process and
its risks, older workers are not likely to take it easy
on the job. “Even though
older workers face additional obstacles to performing their
job, they bring experience and knowledge and an excellent
work ethic to the job making them a valuable part of the
work force,” Tulgan said. “Equipment,
facilities, and work processes can be improved to account
for the limitations of the aging workforce and to take advantage
of their experience and capabilities.”
Knowing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the
following are suggestions from ASSE members that can increase
workplace safety for an aging workforce:
Implementing these changes would not only help older workers,
but would benefit all workers.
ASSE resources on this issue include ASSE's Professional Safety
Journal December 2003 article titled
'Human Error & the Challenges of an Aging Workforce' by
Dr. Haight, his ASSE 2005 Professional Development Conference
(PDC) presentation titled
'Designing for an Aging Workforce' and ASSE member Alma
Jackson's PDC presentation titled
'Effective Safety Training for an Aging Workforce'.
