3rd International Forum on Disability Management

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3rd International Forum on Disability Management

• Aging of the Workforce and Disability Management
  
• A Pro-Work Approach

Norman C. Hursh, ScD, CRC, CVE Department of
Rehabilitation Counseling Boston University
Brisbane, Queensland - Australia October 11, 2006
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Presentation Overview

• Population and workforce trends
• Challenges to older workers
• and to employers
• A proactive disability management approach
• Acknowledgement of needed research

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Population trends
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• 25 percent of the population is over 50
• 16 percent of the population is over 60
• By 2010 the growth rate of older pop will be 3.5
  times as high as total pop

1. U.S.. Census Bureau AARP, 2002 AoA, 2003
OECD, 2005
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What is the result??

• Number of active workers over age of 55 will
  increase substantially
• From 18.4 million in 2000
• To 31.9 million in 2015
• Not only numbersbut proportion
• From 13 percent in 2000
• To 20 percent in 2020
• NEARLY 4 TIMES AS GREAT AS THE OVERALL US LABOR
  FORCE GROWTH RATE

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6. US Census Bureau
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Worlds population is aging

• Population industrialized countries 20 percent
  of population is over 60
• Japan Italy oldest countries, median age
  above 40, 25 percent over 60

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2. US Census Bureau 3. Ergonomic Tech Corp
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Older workers retirement trends

• the age (65?? 62??)
• when we stopped work (retired)
• collected benefits (Social Security) and
• enjoyed life of leisure!

• Past Choices
• Retirement

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Retirement the Present

• Staying on the job longer
• 70 percent of older workers want to work at least
  part-time
• Half expect to work past 70
• Many say Never Retire!

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4. AARP, 2002
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• 27 percent say employment that is entirely
  different
• 3.7 million over 55 who were NOT working, would
  like to work

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5. Harris Poll, 1997
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Why such a change in attitude??

• Decline in retirement savings
• Need for health benefits
• Increases in the age requirement to qualify for
  social security benefits
• Elimination of mandatory retirement
• Increased longevity

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Impact of the Aging Workforce

• Overallaging is characterized by increases in
  incidence of chronic conditions disability
• We seearthritis, hypertension, hearing
  impairment, heart disease, cataracts, orthopedic
  impairment diabetes

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7. AOA, 2002
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• Older workers are less prone to accidents
• BUTtake longer to heal and recover
• Health-related benefit costs are significantly
  higher
• Employers response??

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Attitude Viewpoint

• PROS
• Have a stronger work ethic
• More loyal, more motivated and dependable in a
  crisis
• Committed to quality work, lower absenteeism
• Have lower turnover
• Greater reliability

• CONS
• Viewed as a liability
• As unable to adapt to innovation rapid change
• Lack up-to-date skill
• Less willing, less able to learn
• Less productive due to declining health/ability

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Other realitiesother impact

• Decline in performance or in functional abilities
  is MISTAKENLY assumed to be part of normal
  aging
• Age-related changes in performance are highly
  variable aging DOES NOT imply a change in
  productivity or injury risk
• Differences in individuals performance can be
  much greater than mean declines

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8. Hursh Shrey, 1995
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• Measuring productivity aging is difficultbut
• Physical cognitive studies conclude age job
  performance are unrelated
• No significant difference in job performance
  between older younger worker

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10

• McEvoy Cascio, 1989
• Warr, 1994

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• Age-related changes in physical or cognitive
  function had little impact on work
  productivitybut for physical jobs
• Other studies noted little support for belief
  that job performance generally declines with age.

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11. Shea, 1991.
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• Older workers are interested in labor market
  sectors that are expanding

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Big Question is

• If older workers choose to remain working, and
• Fewer younger workers entering the labor market
• How do we
• Capitalize on strengths
• Better understand needs
• Address questions of Training needs, Health care
  costs, and Performance and Productivity

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A Pro-Work Approach

• Traditional health care and rehabilitation is
  reactive and responsive
• Proactive disability management with older
  workers addresses issues of disability
  prevention, skill improvement, productivity
  management, and quality of overall worklife

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Workforce Succession Planning

• Prevention Strategies
• Work-life Planning Strategies
• Return-to-Work Strategies

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Lets Look at1. Prevention Strategies
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Training Initiatives
See 13, 14

• Distraction free practice
• Build in skill generalization
• Link learning objective to current knowledge,
  skill
• Early error correction
• Self-paced self-directed
• Minimize distractions

• Multiple tx of shorter duration
• Mixed integrated formats
• Work context provided for the new task
• Small group format
• Extra time, slower pace

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13. Rowe Kahn, 1998 14. Yeats, et al., 2000
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• Build in refresher courses
• Findings show they increase motivation
  interest
• Help the individual maintain focus on new
  procedures
• Sustain mental abilities
• Are linked to modifications to improve
  productivity

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15. Mayhorn et al., 2004
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Accommodations Assistive Tech

• Devices, equipment, products, services
• Low tech tools
• High tech tools
• Change the work site, the work process, modify
  the equipment, the environment
• Job analysis keyed to older worker issues

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Ergonomic Design

• above the neck
• Vision
• Hearing
• Cognitive ability

• Below the neck
• Strength
• Heat stress
• Shift work
• Tissues
• MSDs
• Trips, slips, falls

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Wellness Integrated Health Promotion

• Integral part of disability management!
• Results in lower health care utilization, lower
  health care costs, and fewer sick days

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• Participants in workplace physical activity
  programs
• 20-55 percent lower health care costs
• 6-32 percent less short-term sick leave
• Need more research
• Future or long term productivity
• Older worker impact across work-related outcomes

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16. USHHS, 2002
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• Physical activity associated with reduced risk
  associated with chronic diseases
• Smoking ages
• Subjects who exercised, did not smoke, had normal
  weightpostponed disability by 7.75 years
• Studies with randomized trial showed improved
  health risk reduction, health status, reduced
  medical care utilization

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• Vita et al., 1998
• 18. Fries, 2002

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Workplace Succession Planning2. Work-Life
Planning Strategies
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Life-long Learning

• Long-term, proactive strategy
• Training is key to remain competitive
• Business is in business to re-invent itself
• Ongoing need to acquire or upgrade skills
• Early commitment builds a foundation for
  continuous learning

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• Familiarizes workers with the learning
  processwith the new technology
• Defuses negative perception about older works
  flexibility and capacity to learn

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Accommodation Modifications

• A component of work-life planningnot just
  prevention!
• Accommodate early
• Assume responsibility for role in the process
• Readily adopt accommodation modification

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Performance Management or Presenteeism

• Range of
• disease management,
• employee assistance,
• targeted wellness, and
• absence management interventions

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Retirement Planning

• Options of phased retirement or bridge jobs
• Many choose home-based employment or
  self-employment
• Economic and personal advantages
• Be careful of the benefit consequences

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Benefit Planning

• Findings 3/4 had no idea of how much money was
  needed to retire
• Review retirement planning
• Retirement plan, Soc Security, personal savings,
  IRAs, Keoughs

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19. Yaboski Dickemper, 1997
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Health Status Future Coverage

• Aging impairment, disability, chronic illness
• Early attention to health status, health care
  services, benefit options, adjusted or
  transitional work
• Futureemployers plan or other options
• Costs of medication other needs not covered

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Workplace Succession Planning3. Return to
Work Programs
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• An older worker is 3 times more likely to retire
  if injured or out of work with an injury
• Older worker RTW issues
• Early contact more critical with older worker
• Takes longer to healStructure longer recovery
  process
• Fear of re-injury MUST be addressed
• Re-training, accommodations, alternative work,
  part-time or phased retirement strategies

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Post RTW Planning

• Lack of attention on RTW leads to re-injury or
  recurrence
• Optimize RTW through productivity management,
  modification, accommodation

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Final Thoughts

• We need a skilled disability manager who is
  familiar with the biological, psychological, and
  social context of productive aging
• Evidenced-based research related to training,
  health and wellness interventions, productivity
  management, and older worker outcomes

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Thanks!