NIOSH Update: Aging Workers at Higher Risk of Death, Severe Injury, Conference Report Suggests Ways to Keep Workers Healthy and Productive

Policy Shifts on Work Environment, Health Promotion, Continued Research Needed to Maintain Healthy U.S. Workforce

A report of conference presentations and discussions among participants from the National Academies of Science, universities and research institutions, and representatives of professional associations, industry and labor, recommends attention to workplace environments to maintain “work ability” as workers age, along with legislative fixes and research to fill in knowledge gaps for keeping workers healthy and productive.

According to researchers using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, older workers are more severely injured and die with greater frequency from work-related injuries than younger workers. Older workers also have longer recovery periods than younger workers. These findings raise health care delivery and economic issues for the nation, as more workers are choosing to delay retirement due to collapsed 401(k) plans and savings. BLS uses workers age 55 and older in its calculations, although the rates rise sharply for those workers over age 65. Other agencies and organizations define the term as age 50 or 55 and up. The Department of Labor uses age 40 as a starting point for “older worker.”

“The issue of healthy aging is critically important as the U.S. economy is revitalized. As we go forward in time, the demand for workers will grow but fewer workers will be entering the workforce and a larger proportion of the workforce will be older. This is a simple reality of demographics,” said National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Director John Howard, M.D. “Having a healthy, productive workforce will help sustain economic growth in the decades ahead. We must take steps now to help all workers stay safe and healthy at work as they age. We must also take steps to address the special needs of older workers who, more and more, will be staying on the job past traditional retirement age.”

The conference, held Feb. 17-18, 2009, at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md., paid particular attention to workers in physically demanding jobs, such as construction and health care. Health care cost-containment has meant longer work hours and increased stress among health care workers, which has led to a shortage of nurses. Thirty-nine percent of RNs were 45 years or older in 2002.

Construction workers already suffer the highest number of fatalities in any U.S. industry.  But the death rate among construction workers 55 years and older was nearly 80% higher than that of construction workers under 35 in 2007. And like the rest of the workforce, the average age of a construction worker is rising; it was 40.4 in 2008, which is 4.4 years older than in 1985. The average retirement age among construction workers is 61.

“Our nation loses an average of four construction workers every workday to a job-related incident – and that’s been consistent for more than a decade,” said Pete Stafford, executive director of CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training, one of the conference’s co-sponsors. “As we start to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and venture into green jobs, we want to make sure jobsites do not become a source of pain and death for older workers who have so much to contribute, especially in mentoring younger workers.”

Howard believes the conference confirms and expands on a 2004 report from the National Academies of Science that recognized the deteriorating conditions facing an aging workforce, to the detriment of workers, their families, and businesses. “Health and Safety Needs of Older Workers” made clear recommendations to increase research efforts toward preventing work-related injury, illness and fatality among aging workers.   These recommendations have yet to be adopted.

“The discussions and recommendations from the conference point to steps that can be taken to address needs identified in the 2004 report  that were never acted upon,” said Jordan Barab, acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for  the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). “As those discussions make clear, a sustainable workforce will be a critical component of a secure and prosperous 21st century economy. The work we do now is an investment in a stronger workforce for tomorrow.”

The Healthy Aging for Workers conference was funded through grants from NIOSH and CPWR. The Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics and the Society for Occupational and Environmental Health were conference sponsors. Additional co-sponsors were AARP, OSHA, the American Public Health Association, the Veterans Administration, and the University of Maryland Work and Health Research Center.

The full conference report and presentations from national and international researchers on occupational health and safety issues can be found on the Society for Occupational and Environmental Health’s Web site.

The recent cold snap has shown the need for people to be prepared when travelling in the winter. That’s particularly true if you have to drive for work.
 
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Europe’s largest professional health and safety body, has produced a few tips to help ensure your travel, whether it be commuting to or from work or for pleasure, remains safe despite the weather.

• Driving in severe winter conditions or commuting to work will involve increased risk. Decide first of all if your car journey is really necessary, particularly with technology offering working from home as a solution, or use public transport as an alternative to driving.
• If you are going to drive in poor winter conditions, make sure your vehicle is well maintained. Ensure that you have topped off the windshield washer fluid and that there is enough liquid to prevent it freezing. Check tire pressures, oil, coolant, and antifreeze levels and top off if necessary.
• Think about items that might be useful to have in the car in case of an emergency: a shovel, blanket, some water and food, boots, torch, de-icer and scraper, a couple of old newspapers (to help prevent tires from spinning), high-visibility clothing, mobile phone and map or satellite navigation to plan an alternative route.
• If the journey is essential, inform someone where you are going and what time you expect to arrive.
• It may be better to postpone an early morning journey a short time until the roads have been cleared or the sun has risen.
• Listen to news and weather reports on the radio prior to and during the journey.
  While driving, be aware of your surroundings so you can report your location should you become stranded.
• Drive according to the road conditions.
• In the event of being stranded, stay in your vehicle and keep the engine running—unless stuck in deep snow where there is a risk of buildup of carbon monoxide from exhaust fumes. Use a mobile phone to let someone know where you are stranded.
• Make your vehicle as visible as possible to emergency crew. You can do this by using lights or tying a brightly colored scarf to the antenna.
   
  For businesses and other organizations, the winter weather brings additional hazards to buildings that must be managed. Slips and trips are the most common cause of winter work hazards in Europe, accounting for 39% of major injuries at work and more than a quarter of all injuries requiring three or more days off work.
   
  All employers and businesses need to make sure that frequently used access paths, which get covered with frost or snow are cleared or salted to help prevent people from slipping.