Beyond the 10 000 steps: Managing less visible aspects of healthy ageing at work

该项目将与雇主、雇员、专业团体和其他主要利益攸关方合作，共同设计创新的工作场所干预措施，以支持老年员工(50岁以上)的健康和福祉，使他们能够更长时间地从事有偿工作，并提高他们的整体福祉。背景：迫切需要让老年工人的健康状况更加明显。在英国，三分之一的员工年龄在50岁以上，这一数字在未来几十年还会上升。在50-年龄段的人中，44%的人长期处于健康状态，21%的提前离开劳动力市场的年长员工将健康问题列为离开的主要原因。迫切需要进行新的研究，以确定雇主可以采取的最适当的行动，以防止老年劳动力出现健康问题，并支持存在健康问题的老年员工。重要的是填补我们在理解上的这些差距，因为有了适当的工作场所支持，老年人即使经历了长期的健康问题，也更有可能延长他们的工作寿命。新冠肺炎疫情加剧了这一紧迫性，因为老年员工和他们的雇主都在重新评估健康需求和与老年相关的风险，并考虑替代工作形式。我们知道，人们工作的性质和质量会影响他们的健康，反过来，人们的健康状况也会影响他们的工作能力。人们不太了解的是，随着人们年龄的增长，工作和健康之间的关系是如何随着时间的推移而变化的。在之前关于工作和健康的研究中，老年员工的经历和需求往往被忽视。当考虑到老年工人时，对不同群体之间的不平等没有给予足够的重视。我们对老年员工的健康和幸福感如何受到性别、种族、社会阶层、职业、就业类型和无偿照顾角色等因素的影响知之甚少。此外，特别影响老年员工的健康和福祉的某些方面，如更年期、痴呆症和财务稳定，尤其被隐藏起来。目的和目标：在现有研究的基础上，该项目将与雇主、老年工人(包括自营职业者)和一系列利益攸关方合作，加深对身体、精神和经济健康与工作场所文化和支助相互作用的方式的理解，以限制或促进晚年生产性就业的机会。这些发现将被用于共同设计一套创新产品和数据驱动的干预措施，以改善老年员工的健康、福祉和财务稳定。我们共同设计的产品将为企业和社会企业提供适合用途和可扩展的产品、服务和商业模式，支持人们随着年龄的增长。潜在的应用和好处：潜在的影响将是显著的--鼓励行业在工作中增加对健康老龄化的投资，以便人们能够尽可能长时间地保持活跃、高效、独立和跨代社交，从而为健康老龄化挑战使命做出贡献，确保“到2035年，人们可以享受至少五年额外的健康、独立的生活”，同时也支持英国将工作寿命延长到传统退休年龄以外的政策目标。对年长员工的更好支持将使雇主能够留住有经验的员工，并避免更换他们的成本。翻译和采用工作场所内的干预措施将有助于提高生产率，在老龄化的劳动力队伍中建立复原力和可持续性，并创造新的市场机会，以促进经济增长。

Working with employers, employees, professional bodies and other key stakeholders this project will co-design innovative workplace interventions to support the health and well-being of older workers (aged 50+), enabling them to stay in paid work for longer and increasing their overall well-being. Context: There is an urgent need to make the health of older workers more visible. One in three workers in the UK are aged 50+, and this figure is set to rise in coming decades. 44% of people aged 50-64 have a long- term health condition, and 21% of older workers who leave the labour market 'early' (before State Pension Age) cite health problems as the primary reason for leaving. New research is urgently needed to identify the most appropriate actions employers can take to prevent health conditions from developing in their older workforce, and to support older employees who have existing health problems. It is important to fill these gaps in our understanding because, with the right workplace supports in place, older people are more likely to be able to extend their working lives even if they experience long-term health issues. This urgency has been heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic as both older workers and their employers reassess health needs and risks associated with older age, and consider alternative forms of working.We know that the nature and quality of people's work influences their health and that, conversely, people's state of health influences their ability to work. What is less well-understood is how the relationship between work and health changes over time as people grow older. The experiences and needs of older workers have tended to be overlooked in previous research about work and health. When older workers have been considered, not enough attention has been paid to inequalities between different groups. We know little about how older workers' health and well-being is influenced by factors such as gender, ethnicity, social class, occupation, type of employment, and unpaid caring roles. Moreover, some aspects of health and wellbeing that particularly affect older workers, such as menopause, dementia, and financial stability, are especially hidden. Aim and objectives: Building upon existing research, this project will work with employers, older workers (including self-employed) and a range of stakeholders to deepen understanding of the ways in which physical, mental and financial well-being interact with workplace culture and supports to constrain or enable opportunities for productive later-life employment. These findings will be used to co-design a suite of innovative products and data-driven interventions to improve the health, well-being and financial stability of older workers. Our co-designed outputs will provide businesses and social enterprises with fit-for-purpose and scalable products, services and business models, which support people as they age. Potential application and benefits: The potential impact will be significant - encouraging increased industry investment in healthy ageing at work so that people can remain active, productive, independent and socially connected across generations for as long as possible, thereby contributing to the Healthy Ageing Challenge mission of ensuring that 'people can enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035', whilst also supporting the UK policy goal of extending working life beyond traditional retirement ages. Better support for older workers will allow employers to retain experienced staff and avoid the costs of replacing them. The translation and adoption of interventions within the workplace will help to increase productivity, build resilience and sustainability within the ageing workforce, and create new market opportunities to promote economic growth.