13 April 2023

The Momentum of the Ageing Workforce: Implications of the Grey Wave & Corresponding Mitigation Strategies

OHS Leaders Summit 2013Prepared by Jason Allison

The ‘Grey Wave’ is coming!

The impact will be social, financial, physical and mental

Increased momentum in preparation and solution building is required

All stakeholders have an accountability - including ‘older workers’

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Disproportionate growth in mature age population necessitates broad and collaborative responses

Cause and Effect of the Ageing Population

Source: GIO Adaptation Based on The Australian Government the Treasury data

•Longevity•Fertility•Retirement

Factors Driving

•Workforce Growth 25%

•Age 65+ Growth 200%

Disproportionate Growth

•Labour Market•% Aged•Revenue Base•Barriers

Result in Challenges

•Academia•Government•Business•Society

Necessitating Responses

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An interview with Susan Ryan, Age Discrimination Commissioner

Necessitating Responses (Government) - The Momentum of the Ageing Workforce: Implications of the Grey Wave & Corresponding Mitigation Strategies

Necessitating Responses (Business) - Insurance Industry

Input into Government at both State and Federal level to ensure the insurance industry perspectives and impacts are understood

Prevention and Injury Management strategies by insurers in partnership with employers

Stronger engagement with stakeholders to influence the ‘mind shift’

Reasonably necessary treatment, effective treatment, baseline for pre-injury functionality

Underwriting and claims practices need to account for impact

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Chris McHugh, EGM Statutory Portfolio has participated in the Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation advising the Federal Government

Through involvement with Monash University and the Older Workers and Work Ability Conference, Suncorp is connected to a global community of researchers and subject matter experts in the field of work ability and ageing workforce

Suncorp’s statutory business is participating in a work ability survey – research funded by NSW Department of Ageing – in which our own staff will be surveyed and appropriate recommendations incorporated into our HR strategy

Major Sponsor Consultative Forum

Research Community

Work Ability Survey

Necessitating Responses (Business) - Activities being undertaken by Suncorp / GIO

We’re being proactive in the face of shifting market dynamics

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Necessitating Responses (Academia) - Latest research from academia (representative samples)

Age managementThe APS and its Ageing Workforce

Understanding the Future Separation Intentions and Behaviour of Older Workers in the APS

Incorporating Ageing into APS Human Capital Planning

Ageism in the labour marketPerceptions of Age and Aging among Managers and Employees in the New Economy: An International Case-Study of Information Technology Employment

Working against type: Stereotype threat effects on mature-age workers

Prolongation of working livesProlonging working life amongst rural older General Practitioners (GPs)

Securing The Future: Retention Of Older Healthcare Workers In Rural Victoria

Applying interventions to support the older residential aged care workforce

Work Ability and vocational training in the Health system

Skills maintenance and productivityCareer development and mobility management of older workers in Europe

Predictors of the ability for older workers to stay longer at work: findings from the Visat longitudinal study

How to Manage Aging Problems? ―Japanese Challenges to Make the Society More Productive

Tapping Mature Talent in the U.S.

Work ability over the life courseAge, work ability and work-related injury in Australian workers

The relationships between worker age, work-related injury and work ability in Australian workers

The impact of ageing on work-related injury and disease 7

Work ability theory and measurement

Professor Philip Taylor

19 February 2013

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Section 1: Work ability theory

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Work ability: Definition

Work ability is the intersection of personal and organisation resources at work

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The holistic model of work ability

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Model of work ability

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Importance of different elements of the model

Individual:

– Intrinsic benefits people derive from their work, such as social contact, valued status and maintaining and extending abilities.

– Social support received from primarily co-workers, but also immediate family and community.

– Psychological well-being and physical health.

– Employee awareness of occupational health and safety risks

– Work-life imbalances.

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Importance of different elements of the model

Organisation:

– Respectful treatment in the work place.

– Respondents’ assessment of their immediate supervisor, in terms of their competence, the extent of career support offered, communication and social support were important for determining their level of work ability.

– Experiences of discriminatory behaviours.

– Extent of autonomy and control employees have in their work.

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Factors associated with low work ability Factors that predict the lowest levels of work ability include, in order of

importance:

– Negative evaluations of co-worker competence

– Being a machinery operator or driver

– Being in clerical or administrative roles

– Reporting a mental disease

– Having a wound, laceration, amputation or internal organ damage

– Having an infectious or parasitic disease

– Shiftwork

– Low household income

– Lack of access to flexi-time work arrangements.

Work ability negates the influence of some demands on psychosocial work factors

Outcome Factor Work Demand Types

Personally meaningful work

Job design

Work pace

Cognitive demandsEmotional demands

Task demands

Excess workload

Job satisfaction

Job insecurity

WORK

ABILITY

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Section 2: Utility of the construct

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Utility of the work ability construct

Driven by economic imperatives to contain costs arising from population ageing, governments internationally are aiming to increase participation by older workers.

Consensus that tackling the issue requires multi-faceted and integrated strategies.

Work ability construct and a framework for its workplace promotion offers such an approach.

Sustaining high levels of workforce participation by older workers will depend in part on efforts to ensure that work ability is maintained over a working life.

Review & Questions

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ReferencesMcInerney, Andrew, An Ageing Workforce and Workers’ Compensation- What are the implications in particular with an increasing national Retirement Age, Institute of Actuaries of Australia

http://www.abs.gov.au/

AGEING WORKFORCE REPORT, May 2007, WorkCover NSW

http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/individuals/ssp_age_pension.htm

McInerney, Andrew, An Ageing Workforce and Workers’ Compensation, Journal Vol.33 No.02,

From Research to reality - Volume 12/Number 2, 2009

MJA 2008; 189 (8): 447-450

Business Work and Ageing: Work Ability Program, Swinburne University of Technology

www.theinstitute.com.au

http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/individuals/ssp_age_pension.htm

http://www.fordhealth.com.au/Newsletters_hb/feb08_managing_ageing_workforce.php

http://www.aarpinternational.org/conference_sub/conference_sub_show.htm?doc_id=1415966

Urban, Eva, Workers Compensation and An Ageing Workforce ,SPUM article for Veracity May 2010, P6

Realising the Economic Potential of Senior Australians: Turning Grey into Gold - The Advisory Panel’s third and final report delivered December 2011 http://www.treasury.gov.au/EPSA/content/publications/grey_gold/downloads/grey_gold.pdf

Ageing and the Barriers to Mature Age Labour Force Participation in Australia - A report of the Consultative Forum on Mature Age Participation, December 2011

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Realising the Economic Potential of Senior Australians - The Advisory Panel’s first report delivered August 2011

Realising the Economic Potential of Senior Australians: Enabling Opportunity - The Advisory Panel’s second report delivered November 2011

Realising the Economic Potential of Senior Australians: Turning Grey into Gold - The Advisory Panel’s third and final report delivered December 2011

The Older Workers and Work Ability Conference: Program and Presentations – Latest research on workforce ageing from leading experts in Australia and internationally, December 2011, including Juhani Ilmarinen / Finnish Institute of Occupational Health / Professor Philip Taylor / Monash University http://owwac.com.au/index.php

National Seniors Australia, Productive Ageing Centre, 2009

Suncorp Life Insurance (survey) and APIA (survey)

Institute of Actuaries of Australia White Paper: Australia’s Longevity Tsunami, August 2012

Suncorp interview with Susan Ryan, Age Discrimination Commissioner, 2012

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features40March+Quarter+2012

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef0639.htm

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/research/0296.htm

http://capricorn.bc.edu/agingandwork/database/search/case_study

Contact Details

For further information please contact:

Jason Allison

Chief Workers Compensation Underwriting & Portfolio

Statutory Portfolio & Underwriting Management, Commercial Insurance

18 Jamison Street, Suncorp Place, Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone: +61 (0) 2 8121 0614

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Appendix – Practice Examples

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Adjustm ent ofphysical workenvironm ent

A djustm ent o fpsychosocia lw ork environm ent

G O O D W O R K AB IL ITY, H E ALTH AN D C O M PE TEN C E

G O O D P R O D U C TIV ITYA N D Q U A LITY O F W O R K

G O O D Q U A LITY O F L IFE A N D W E LL-B EIN G

G O O D R E TIR E M E N T,M E A N IN G FU L, S U C C E SS FU L, AN D P R O D U C TIV E

'' T H IR D A G E ''

P ro fess ionalcom petence

H ea lth functional C apacities

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

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What affects workability?• Individual : health, functional capacity, competences,

attitudes.

• Workplace : physical, technological, mental and social demands of work, work community and management, organisational culture, and work environment.

• Societal, such as employment and education policies, social and health services, and addressing age discrimination.

Workability promotion

· Based on: adjustments to physical and psycho-social work environment; promoting health, lifestyle; and updating skills e.g. reducing repetitive movements changingsupervisors’ attitudes, and increasing vigorous physical exercise

· Predict better workability in physical, mixed and mentally demanding work.

· Promoting workability reduces · absenteeism· disability· premature retirement· and increases productivity, competence, life quality and well-being, · effects which carry over to retirement.

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Redesigning Work for an Ageing Society – intervention study 1

Staff of a company providing road-side assistance to drivers Response rate 49 per cent (59 of 119 employees) Key recommendations:

– Health promotion (obesity, low up take of existing initiatives, low frequency reports of poor health and work related health problems)

– Development and utilisation of skills (respondents reported mismatch between skills and job demands)

– Injury and hazard exposure (Avoidable and unavoidable injury risks identified by respondents)

– Management relations (disjunction in communication and relations in the organisation)

– Flexible work (Respondents highlight flexibility as key to prolonging working life)

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Redesigning Work for an Ageing Society – intervention study 1

Participants undertook over 6 months: daily monitoring of diet, exercise tobacco use, alcohol use and other health factors structured ‘Get healthy challenge activities’

WAS demonstrated statistically significant improvement Physiological measures improved

Weight, BMI and waist circumference.

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Redesigning Work for an Ageing Society – intervention study 2

Staff of small national University in Australia 47 per cent (618 of 1300 employees) Key recommendations:

– Health promotion (‘sedentary’ staff at risk, notable absence of health and well-being programs engaging the entire workforce)

– Career planning/training integration (retention rates improved with the provision of training for younger workers more than older workers)

– Knowledge transfer (formalising mentoring as part of phased retirement)– Workload pressures (large proportion of staff reporting extreme work

load pressure creating risk of physical and psychological ill health)– Everyday discrimination (Low frequency but high impact on WA scores)– Retention related to; flexibility, management support, training, challenging

but not excessive work demands

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Redesigning Work for an Ageing Society – intervention study 2

Staff aged over 45 participated in ‘Walking to wellness’ program Pedometers used to track step counts on work days

Physical activity increased significantly for training compared to control group

Results confounded by concurrent organisational changes Qualitative and anecdotal evidence suggested restructuring created

uncertainty among participants No statistically significant improvement in WAS Statistically significant reduction in average waist circumference of

approximately two centimetres.

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Promotion of work ability: integration of actions

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25

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40

45

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40 45 50 55 60 65

Age (yrs)

Health promotion,Ergonomics,Management training

Health promotion

No action

Work Ability Index(WAI)