PRODUCTIVE AGING AND WORK

Tools & Resources

Here you will find resources, guidance, and tools for creating more age-friendly workplaces. This section also includes future directions for research or program development provided by NIOSH and partner agencies.

NIOSH and CDC Resources on Productive Aging and Work

2011 MMWR article on non-fatal injuries among older workers
An article in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that presents an analysis of non-fatal injury data from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Age Awareness Training for Miners
Comprehensive NIOSH training curriculum focusing on the mining sector, with relevance and useful information for any sector with an aging workforce. Focus of training is to promote safety and health of workers by matching the demands of the job to worker capabilities.

National Academies of Sciences Report on Older Workers: Health and Safety Needs of Older Workers
This comprehensive report on the aging workforce was funded by NIOSH, NIA, and EPA--and conducted in 2004 by the National Research Council, examining physical, psychological and social factors in aging workers and current knowledge about their health and safety needs.

NIOSH Youth@Work-Talking Safety curriculum
A step-by-step training guide to teach young workers about job safety and health. The curriculum can be used in a classroom or other group setting, and has been customized for each state, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and the U.S Virgin Islands.

Older Drivers in the Workplace: Crash Prevention for Employers and Workers
A two-page NIOSH fact sheet on older drivers with suggestions for prevention and an analysis of work-related crashes.

Older Employees in the Workplace: CDC National Healthy Worksite Program (NHWP) Issue Brief
A 7-page overview on the health and safety issues of the aging workforce presented in a joint webinar hosted by NWHP.

Select NIOSH/CDC Topic Pages Related to Healthy Productive Aging in the Workplace

• CDC Healthy Aging Data Portfolio
• CDC Topic Page on Arthritis
• CDC Topic Page on Healthy Aging
• CDC Topic Page on High Blood Pressure/Hypertension
• CDC Topic Page on Physical Activity in the Workplace
• NIOSH Topic Page on Hearing Loss Prevention
• CDC Topic Page on Diabetes
• NIOSH Topic Page on Musculoskeletal Disorders
• NIOSH Topic Page on Organization of Work
• NIOSH Topic Page on Shiftwork and Long Work Hours
• NIOSH Topic Page on Young Worker Safety and Health
• NIOSH Topic Page on Workplace Stress
• Search All NIOSH Safety and Health Topics

NIOSH Press Release and Science Blog

Aging Workers at Higher Risk of Death, Severe Injury, Conference Report Suggests Ways to Keep Workers Healthy and Productive
A summary of issues discussed at the 2009 Healthy Aging for Workers conference.

Joint Pain in the Workplace
Discussion on the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders, the increasing frequency with which they will be seen in the workplace because of demographic shifts, and potential interventions to help preserve joint health.

Safer and Healthier at Any Age
Article discussing strategies for supporting a more competitive, sustainable and safer multi-generational workforce.

Select Resources from Partners and Other Organizations

2015 White House Conference on Aging
Provides a recap of the White House Conference on Aging, which featured remarks from President Obama, the announcement of key deliverables, the blog, and highlights from the panels.

Aging Workforce News
A news site and blog that presents recent developments, tools, and resources for managing an aging workforce.

Designing the Age Friendly Workplace
Provides a series of videos, digital stories, and practical tools for designing a workplace that is age friendly and supportive of all workers regardless of age. Focus is on healthcare and wholesale/retail sectors, but website material has relevance for all sectors.

Employer Strategies for Responding to an Aging Workforce
A report from the NTAR Leadership Center at Rutgers University that discusses the challenges inherit in an aging workforce, the link between aging and disability, and several employer-based strategies and best practices for meeting the needs of an aging workforce

Growing Older in America: The Health and Retirement Study
A publication by the National Institute on Aging presenting a wide range of information on the health, safety, and employment activities of older Americans. Report is based on data from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of over 20,000 older adults.

Health and Safety Issues in an Aging Workforce
A research-based report from AARP that addresses work limitations, absence, and ways to boost worker well-being.

Healthy Aging for a Sustainable Workforce
A 2009 conference report focusing on developments and progress since the 2004 National Research Council report on health and safety needs of older workers. This follow-up meeting was funded/supported by: Society for Occupational and Environmental Health, the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics, the Center for Construction Research and Training, Veterans Association, and NIOSH.

Kentucky’s aging workforce: Employers’ perspectives on the benefits, challenges, and promising practices for an engaged older workforce
A white paper from the Institute for Workplace Innovation at the University of Kentucky that describes findings from a series of focus groups with employers throughout the state of Kentucky.

Safe and Healthy: A Guide to Managing an Aging Workforce
A publication by Work Safe Alberta that provides demographic data, discusses myths and realities about older workers, and provides a wide range of strategies for dealing effectively with age from a safety and health perspective.

Some Best Practices and Strategies for Engaging and Retaining Older Workers
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report, published in February 2007, on a testimony that highlights issues discussed in a forum GAO convened on engaging and retaining older workers.

U.S. Governmental Organizations and Resources

Administration on Aging
The federal focal point and advocate agency for older persons and their concerns.

Bureau of Labor Statistics
The main federal agency for labor economics and statistics regarding the workforce.

CDC Program on Healthy Aging
A program within CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion that focuses on promoting the health and quality of life of older Americans.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Aging

A programmatic effort at EPA to address the issue of increased susceptibility to environmental hazards that may occur as adults get older.

Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics
The federal agency dedicated to improve the quality and use of aging-related data.

Monthly Labor Review
Presents research in a variety of fields, including the labor force, employment, productivity, and occupational injuries and illnesses. Several articles are available on the aging workforce.

National Institute on Aging
Conducts and supports research on biomedical, social, and behavioral issues of older people.

National Non-Profit and Professional Organizations

AARP—Work & Retirement
Membership organization that advocates for people age 50 and older. Website has broad range of information on the value of older workers, employer best practices, career development issues, future of work @50+, and retirement.

American Society on Aging
Professionals concerned with the physical, emotional, social, economic and spiritual aspects of aging.

Experience Works
A national nonprofit organization that provides training, community service, and employment opportunities for older workers in the U.S.

Gerontological Society of America
Promotes scientific study of aging in both the biomedical and behavioral/social sciences, along with National Academy on an Aging Society, the policy institute of the Gerontological Society of America.

Society for Human Resource Management
A membership association for human resource professionals that recently launched a broad-based national initiative on the value of older workers.

Urban Institute: Retirement and Older Americans
A think tank that carries out economic and social policy research. Several recent studies have focused on the topics of retirement and the aging workforce.

University-Based Centers

Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology (CREATE)
Multi-site Center involving the University of Miami, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Pittsburgh, and Florida State University that focuses on how technology can be used to support and enhance the productivity, safety, and health of older adults, including those in the workplace.

Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Focus is on promoting research on retirement issues, to transmit new findings to the policy community and the public, to help train new scholars, and to broaden access to valuable data sources.

Institute for Social Research: Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
The Institute is located at the University of Michigan and conducts the HRS, a longitudinal study of health, retirement, and aging sponsored by the National Institute on Aging

Rutgers University, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
Research and policy center dedicated to improving the effectiveness of the American workplace by strengthening workforce education, placement and training programs and policies.

The Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College
Promotes quality of employment and workplace flexibility as an imperative for the 21st century multi-generational workforce.

Stanford Center on Longevity
The Center studies the nature and development of the human life span, looking for innovative ways to use science and technology to solve the problems of people over 50 by improving the well-being of people of all ages.

International Organizations

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)

EU agency that develops, gathers and provides reliable and relevant information, analysis and tools to advance knowledge, raise awareness and exchange occupational safety and health (OSH) information and good practice which will serve the needs of those involved in OSH. EU-OSHA provides practical tools, guidance, and information related to Europe's aging workforce.

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
EU agency providing knowledge to assist European social policymakers with the development of social and work-related policies. Provides a wide range of guidance documents, including country reports on the development of workplace initiatives related to an aging workforce.

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
A cross scientific research institute that promotes work safety, occupational health and well-being at work. Advanced the concept of Work Ability in an on-going series of studies beginning in the early 1990s.

Institute for Work & Health
The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is an independent Canadian not-for-profit research organization. The goal of IWH is to protect healthy workers by studying the prevention of work-related injury and illness. Conducts studies on many topics related to aging (e.g. return to work, musculoskeletal disorders, precarious employment).

Safety and Health Executive
An independent regulator and actor for the public interest to reduce work-related death and serious injury across Great Britain’s workplaces. Provides guidance on aging-related issues for both employers and workers.