Preventing Adverse Changes of Work with Age

Abstract

Many people who change their jobs in middle age have been found to move to less skilled and lower paid work. Two methods of preventing this are discussed. First, training by methods designed to take account of learning difficulties in those past normal apprenticeship age has, when sensitively applied, been successful in equipping people with new skills. Second, applying principles of ergonomics—“fitting the job to the worker”—could often remove key difficulties for older workers and thus prevent the need for moves resulting from failing capacity. This could also open up a wider range of potential jobs for those who have to move by reason of redundancy or technological change. It is emphasized that both the training and ergonomic approaches need to be based on, and can contribute significantly to, fundamental research on performance in relation to age.