Rationale for SmartWork
1. Ageing population and declining labour force
The European population will grow in the decade 2016-2025 by about 9.5 million, reaching nearly 450 million people. However due to the increasing share of elderly, the available labour force will be lower than in the past. The only workforce age group in the EC-28+ as a whole experiencing growth will be that over 55 years old[1]. In addition to the social and quality of living issues, the cost that will be incurred if older citizens are not effectively maintained in the labour market and able to live independently will be unsustainable for the European economy by 2060[2]. For well over a decade now, Europe has been looking for strategies to effectively increase the labour force participation of older workers and reduce the rates of early retirement and labour market exit. However, unemployment amongst older people remains particularly high, with the EU-28 employment rate of 55-64 year olds reaching only 55.3% by 2016[3].
1. Ageing population and declining labour force
The European population will grow in the decade 2016-2025 by about 9.5 million, reaching nearly 450 million people. However due to the increasing share of elderly, the available labour force will be lower than in the past. The only workforce age group in the EC-28+ as a whole experiencing growth will be that over 55 years old[1]. In addition to the social and quality of living issues, the cost that will be incurred if older citizens are not effectively maintained in the labour market and able to live independently will be unsustainable for the European economy by 2060[2]. For well over a decade now, Europe has been looking for strategies to effectively increase the labour force participation of older workers and reduce the rates of early retirement and labour market exit. However, unemployment amongst older people remains particularly high, with the EU-28 employment rate of 55-64 year olds reaching only 55.3% by 2016[3].
2. Early labour market exit linked to ill-health
Ill health incapacity is a major cause of labour market exit before the age of 60[4]. Many physical changes associated with ageing Including decline in vision, hearing and psychomotor coordination are estimated to staff as early as the age of 50[5]. Furthermore, health chronic conditions prevalence in the case of people aged 50+ is very high, with every second person having hypertension and/or some other chronic disease (e.g. high cholesterol, heart disease, mental illness, diabetes, arthritis, back problems, asthma, COPD)[6], and multi-morbidity being very common among people aged 65+, prevalence rates estimated as high as 65%)[7].
2. Early labour market exit linked to ill-health
Ill health incapacity is a major cause of labour market exit before the age of 60[4]. Many physical changes associated with ageing Including decline in vision, hearing and psychomotor coordination are estimated to staff as early as the age of 50[5]. Furthermore, health chronic conditions prevalence in the case of people aged 50+ is very high, with every second person having hypertension and/or some other chronic disease (e.g. high cholesterol, heart disease, mental illness, diabetes, arthritis, back problems, asthma, COPD)[6], and multi-morbidity being very common among people aged 65+, prevalence rates estimated as high as 65%)[7].
3. Impact of office work on employee health
In the case of office workers in particular, the prolonged sitting and overall sedentary life may significantly and independently of other factor increase the risk of cardiometabolic diseases and premature mortality[8], and it is recommended that people with occupations which are predominantly desk based should progress towards accumulating 2 hours per day of standing and light activity (light walking) during working hours[9,10]. Office work also affects functional abilities of the workers, with particular risk for the development of musculoskeletal pain[11] and computer-related visual symptoms[12]. Other contextual factors related to the office workspace, including illumination and ambient conditioning influence office worker’s behaviour, comfort and productivity[13,14]. Furthermore, there is evidence that high-intensity teleworkers are overall more satisfied than office-based employees and achieve significant benefits from their work arrangement, with work-life conflict most influential towards job satisfaction[15].
3. Impact of office work on employee health
In the case of office workers in particular, the prolonged sitting and overall sedentary life may significantly and independently of other factor increase the risk of cardiometabolic diseases and premature mortality[8], and it is recommended that people with occupations which are predominantly desk based should progress towards accumulating 2 hours per day of standing and light activity (light walking) during working hours[9,10]. Office work also affects functional abilities of the workers, with particular risk for the development of musculoskeletal pain[11] and computer-related visual symptoms[12]. Other contextual factors related to the office workspace, including illumination and ambient conditioning influence office worker’s behaviour, comfort and productivity[13,14]. Furthermore, there is evidence that high-intensity teleworkers are overall more satisfied than office-based employees and achieve significant benefits from their work arrangement, with work-life conflict most influential towards job satisfaction[15].
4. Specific challenges faced by older workers
Workers face a number of specific challenges as they grow older, such as:
a) health conditions and increasing care needs that may impede or even conflict with current work practices and work environments. For example, an estimated 52 million EU citizens aged 55-74 (—half of all people in this age group) report having a long-standing illness or health problem[16]. Health conditions may Influence (usually increase) the number of hours that a person works from home or the amount of time that a person works while on the move. Health conditions may also create a feeling of Insecurity at work (fear of a health crises while at work) which may influence the older worker’s performance. In other cases, re-integration in the work environment is necessary after a long absence of a worker due to health problems.
b) difficulties in adapting to the rapidly changing work conditions and the ever evolving work requirements that necessitate the acquisition of new professional skills in very short periods of time. This includes but is not limited to the need to adapt to new technologies, new work processes, new forms of collaboration, while keeping up to date with massive amounts of information that may Influence their work performance and decision-making.
c) increasing accessibility needs due to degradation of physical and mental abilities caused by ageing: e.g. reduced vision, hearing, cognitive decline, and more. In these cases, there is a serious risk of experiencing social exclusion and difficulty In maintaining productivity in the work environment.
4. Specific challenges faced by older workers
Workers face a number of specific challenges as they grow older, such as:
a) health conditions and increasing care needs that may impede or even conflict with current work practices and work environments. For example, an estimated 52 million EU citizens aged 55-74 (—half of all people in this age group) report having a long-standing illness or health problem[16]. Health conditions may Influence (usually increase) the number of hours that a person works from home or the amount of time that a person works while on the move. Health conditions may also create a feeling of Insecurity at work (fear of a health crises while at work) which may influence the older worker’s performance. In other cases, re-integration in the work environment is necessary after a long absence of a worker due to health problems.
b) difficulties in adapting to the rapidly changing work conditions and the ever evolving work requirements that necessitate the acquisition of new professional skills in very short periods of time. This includes but is not limited to the need to adapt to new technologies, new work processes, new forms of collaboration, while keeping up to date with massive amounts of information that may Influence their work performance and decision-making.
c) increasing accessibility needs due to degradation of physical and mental abilities caused by ageing: e.g. reduced vision, hearing, cognitive decline, and more. In these cases, there is a serious risk of experiencing social exclusion and difficulty In maintaining productivity in the work environment.
5. No unified framework to address these challenges
While there have been efforts made to address some of these challenges, there is no unified framework integrating them with focus on maintaining the working ability of the older person and increasing their capacity and desire for a prolonged professional life. For example, a wide range of ambient assistive technologies are emerging, supporting home health monitoring of elderly people (over 65 years old) for their independent living, but in most cases such solutions are either too focused (eg disease specific) or not available/ transferable to the workplace or on the move (e.g. home embedded sensing technologies). Human functional abilities, musculoskeletal system and physiology have been modelled at various levels of details to provide support for personalization of eHealth and mHealth applications and services[17,18,19]. Models have been also proposed to model the broad-spectrum cognitive mechanisms mediating the impact of age on stress for older workers in ICT-related jobs[20], and to predict behavioural intention with respect to technology acceptance and actual use (e.g. technology acceptance model – TAM)[21] based on technology experience, personality dimensions of agreeableness and openness to experience an attitudes. However the links between such models along with standardized qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess overall work ability sustainability are yet to be established. Furthermore, ICT accessibility technologies have been mostly developed with disability in mind in the past, and are currently re-designed to accommodate interoperability and transferability of “one-fits-one” solutions for any particular user needs and abilities. In all cases, employers are reluctant to adopt (or even find out about) good solutions enabling independent living (including workability) of older adults. What would convince them to do so are tailored solutions meeting work efficiency and productivity needs, as well as objective qualitative and quantitative metrics grounding the social, financial, psychological and other employer-employee benefits.
5. No unified framework to address these challenges
While there have been efforts made to address some of these challenges, there is no unified framework integrating them with focus on maintaining the working ability of the older person and increasing their capacity and desire for a prolonged professional life. For example, a wide range of ambient assistive technologies are emerging, supporting home health monitoring of elderly people (over 65 years old) for their independent living, but in most cases such solutions are either too focused (eg disease specific) or not available/ transferable to the workplace or on the move (e.g. home embedded sensing technologies). Human functional abilities, musculoskeletal system and physiology have been modelled at various levels of details to provide support for personalization of eHealth and mHealth applications and services[17,18,19]. Models have been also proposed to model the broad-spectrum cognitive mechanisms mediating the impact of age on stress for older workers in ICT-related jobs[20], and to predict behavioural intention with respect to technology acceptance and actual use (e.g. technology acceptance model – TAM)[21] based on technology experience, personality dimensions of agreeableness and openness to experience an attitudes. However the links between such models along with standardized qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess overall work ability sustainability are yet to be established. Furthermore, ICT accessibility technologies have been mostly developed with disability in mind in the past, and are currently re-designed to accommodate interoperability and transferability of “one-fits-one” solutions for any particular user needs and abilities. In all cases, employers are reluctant to adopt (or even find out about) good solutions enabling independent living (including workability) of older adults. What would convince them to do so are tailored solutions meeting work efficiency and productivity needs, as well as objective qualitative and quantitative metrics grounding the social, financial, psychological and other employer-employee benefits.
References:
[1] Publications Office of the European Union, “Future skill needs in Europe: critical labour force trends”, 2016
[2] D Sinclair, J. Watson, B. Beach “Working longer:an EU perspective”, biteranational Longevity Centre – 2013
[3] European Commission, Eurostat: Employment and unemployment statistics Url: http:eceuropa.eu/eurostat/web/lfs/data/main-tables
[4] D Sinclair, J. Watson, B. Beach “Working longer:an EU perspective”, biteranational Longevity Centre – 2013
5 – J. Liang, J M Bennett et all. ‘Gender dlfference in functional status in middle and older age: are there any age variations?” J Gerontol B Phychol Sci Soc Sci, 63(5), 2008
[6] R. Busse, M. Blunel et all_, “Tackling chronic disease in Europe: strategies, interventions and challenges”, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Observatory Studies Series no 20, 2010.
[7] I. van der Heide, S. Snoeijs et all, “Innovating care for people with multiple chronic conditions in Europe- an overview”, Icare4EU research project, 2015
[8] S. Parry, L Staker, “The contribution of office work to sedentary behaviour associated risk”, BMC Public Health, 13(296), 2013.
[9] Buckley JP, Hedge A, Yates T et al, “The sedentary office: a growing case for change towards better health and productivity. Expert statement commissioned by Public Health England and the Active Working Commumty Interest Company” , Br J Sports Med Published Online First: 01 June 2015
[10] GN. Healy, E.G. Eakill, et All, “Reducing Sitting time in office workers: short-term efficacy of a multicomponent intervention”, Preventive Medicine, 57(1), 2013
[11] LA. Andersen, KB. Christensen, et all, “Effect of physical exercise interventions on musculoskeletal pain in all body regions among office workers: a one-year randomized controlled trial”, 15(1), 2010, pp 100-104
[12] JK. Protello, M. Rosenfield, Y. Bababekova, J M. Estrada, A. Leon, “Computer-related visual symptoms in office workers”, Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics, 32(5), 2012, pp.375-382
[13] T. Akimoto, S Tanabe, Yanai, M. Sasaki, “Thermal comfort and productivity — evaluation of workspace environment in a task conditioned office”, Building and Environment, 45(1), 2010, pp 45-50.
[14] K. Vimalanathan, T. Remsh Babu, “The effect of indoor office environment on the work performance, health and well-being of office workers” , Joumal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering, 12(113), 2014
[15] KL. Fonner, M.E Roloff, “Why teleworkers are more satisfied with their jobs than are office-based workers: when less contact is beneficial”, Joumal of Applied Communication Research, 38(4), 2010
[16] OECD estimates based on Eurostat data, “Health at a Glance: Europe 2016 — state of health in the EU cycle” , 2016.
[17] D. Stanev, K. Moustakas, “SimuIation of Constrained Musculoskeletal Systems in Task Space”, IEEE Trans on Biomedical Engineering, PP.99, 2017
[18] S. Nousias, A. Lalos, K. Moustakas, et all “Computational modeling methods for simulating obstructive human lung diseases,” European Respiratory Journal, 48, 2016.
[19] N. Kaklanis, P. Moschonas, K Moustakas, D Tzovaras, “Virtual User Models for the elderly and disabled for automatic simulated accessibility and ergonomy evaluation of designs”, Intematlonal Journal of Universal Access in the Information Society, 12(4), 2013
[20] S. Tams, K Hill, “Helping an old workforce interact with modem IT: a NeurolS approach to understanding technostress and technology use in older workers”, Information Systems and Neuroscience, pp 19-26, 2016