PRODUCTIVE AGING AND WORK

NCPAW Spotlight

Recording of NIOSH Total Worker Health^® Webinar: Interventions and Promising Practices in the Aging Workplace, is now available here.

a machinist teaching techniques to a young worker

Overview

Today, one in every five American workers is over 65, and in 2020, one in four American workers will be over 55, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although there is no consensus on the age at which workers are considered “older workers,” the aging workforce phenomenon is real. These demographic shifts have made the issue of healthier workers, especially those of advanced age, much more pressing. Aging is a relevant process experienced by all workers throughout their life. Vital to any workplace is the safety, health and well-being of workers, from their first day on the job to their last.¹

National Center for Productive Aging and Work (NCPAW)

The National Center for Productive Aging and Work (NCPAW) advances lifelong well-being for workers of all ages and supports a productive aging across the working life. The Center continues to work on such important issues as how organizations are addressing the needs of an aging workforce and identifying interventions and strategies to support both workers of all age groups and organizations that employ them. The Center is hosted by the NIOSH Office for Total Worker Health^® .

Recording and PowerPoint slides for NCPAW’s webinar with the Canadian Institute for the Relief of Pain and Disability (CIRPD): Productive Aging and Work: A Framework for Developing Age-Friendly Workplaces is now available here.
Recording of NIOSH Total Worker Health® Webinar: Productive Aging and Work: Theory, Health Data, and Practical Solutions, is now available here.
Healthy Workplaces for All Ages 2016-17 campaign launched by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) features practical tools and information about the aging European workforce
Older Drivers in the Workplace: A NIOSH fact sheet for both workers and employers that provides practical recommendations for crash prevention.
Falls Among Persons Aged ≥65 Years With and Without Severe Vision Impairment: New Morbidity and Mortality Report (MMWR) article on state-level prevalence of falls among older persons with vision impairment.
Designing the Age Friendly Workplace: A website with practical tools, insightful videos, and digital stories for helping organizations take action in preparing for the aging workforce.
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.
NIOSH Youth@Work-Talking Safety curriculum: A step-by-step training guide to teach young workers about job safety and health.
What happens when older workers experience unemployment?: A Monthly Labor Review article that examines the impact of unemployment on the health and longevity of older workers.