2.2 Health and well-being of older workers

Good practices in age management include those that enhance health and well-being. Not only will healthy working practices and health promotion at work benefit all workers, it will also help companies to reduce costs of absenteeism from ill-health or stress. The changing age structure in the electricity sector raises a number of challenges for companies in developing strategies on health management. This is particularly important as there is a close relationship between occupational stress and long-term health outcomes.

Health and well-being in the workplace are central to realising the potential of all workers, reducing the costs of sickness leave and early retirement related to ill health, and to enhancing productivity. In particular, healthy and active ageing at work are becoming more important for companies seeking to retain older workers and achieve a competitive edge. Studies have shown that one of the main reasons that older people exit the labour market early is because of ill health and/or stressful working conditions.

Increasingly electricity companies are recognising the importance of putting in place programmes of occupational health and safety, health promotion and prevention in the workplace in order to minimise health risks and optimise the quality of working life. These measures can enhance the health and well-being of the workforce and improve health status, reduce sick leave and health related early retirement. They can be the key to extending the working life of older employees. They also send a message that the company culture is one that values its workers and promotes good working conditions.

Older workers, and those working in stressful or heavy work, are also susceptible to common problems such as Repetitive Strain Injury and back pain. Resolving these problems in the workplace through prevention and health promotion will become increasingly important to the retention of older workers and to ensuring that all workers work to their full capacity.

Health and well-being needs to be addressed across the life-cycle, not just when health issues arise for older workers. Work related health problems often have their origins in earlier phases of the people’s working lives. For this reason a focus on health promotion and the prevention of ill health for all workers is central to achieving health and well-being at work at all stages of working life. The participation of employees and trade unions is critical to this and older workers can provide valuable insights, knowledge and experiences of how to resolve health related issues and promote healthy working conditions.

Managing health in the workplace not only addresses the needs of workers as they age, but also the needs of younger workers to maintain healthy lifestyles and working practices. Health management also covers sensitivity to workers ergonomic and physical needs – ranging from simply to complex changes - as well as more active engagement in employee health by promoting and encouraging ongoing health checks and consultations.

Health and well-being at work for women

The public service trade union, UNISON, has with public sector employers in the UK been promoting health and well-being for women workers experiencing the menopause. A guidance note suggests that the menopause is a workplace issue, however, employers do not always recognise this. In the UK there are around 2.5 million working women in their 50s, and 70 per cent of women of menopausal age currently attend work. Job design and equipment mainly relate to male workers. The guidance note highlights the ways in which the menopause raises health and safety issues for women, the problems involved in negative attitudes to the menopause in the workplace, lack of suitable risk assessments, lack of understanding and communications barriers. A report from the European Agency for Safety and Health Gender issues in safety and health finds that conventional approaches to health and safety and prevention and control of risks largely ignore gender differences.

What can electricity companies do to promote health and well-being at work?

Identify health risks and health promotion activities as part of an overall strategy

If health and well-being at work is to be taken seriously and addressed across the life-cycle then it is essential that health risks across the company are identified and reviewed regularly. As a starting point it is important to identify health risks in the workplace by carrying out an annual health risk assessment, which should be reviewed regularly in partnership with older workers and trade unions.

One way to develop a company-wide response is to establish a working group on health in the workplace with representatives from all sectors of the company, staff and trade unions. This can help to identify common problems and identify how these can be addressed through health promotion and prevention. In addition, companies can collate data on health issues through a dedicated employee survey on health in the workplace, or alternatively included health issues in regular employee surveys,. Consulting with staff and trade unions is important to identifying key occupational health and safety issues. Workshops, focus groups and working groups can be established for this purpose.

Provide regular voluntary health checks for all employees, with more regular health checks for employees over 50 years. In larger companies these can be provided by an on-site doctor or nurse who has knowledge of the workplace, of work tasks and of specific health risks in the workplace. These health checks can also form the basis on any adaptations that need to take place in the work place or in identifying and preventing future health risks. Some groups of workers may face specific or more enduring health risks, for example, those carrying out heavy work, shift and night work, or those that experience stressful working conditions. They may require specific programmes of health promotion and more regular health checks, including those that are gender specific. Workplace health initiatives should place an emphasis on health promotion and prevention of ill health, in addition, to identifying and addressing underlying health problems faced by older workers.

Train managers and supervisors in health management and in identifying preventative health measures. It helps to have a manager who is trained in health and well-being in the workplace who can coordinate and implement workplace health initiatives. In addition, this person can also play an advisory role, raising awareness and promoting good health in the workplace.

Provide health eating in the staff canteen and ensure that employees have access to fresh fruit and water in the workplace. Subsiding health eating and providing a healthy menu in the staff canteen is one way that this can be achieved. Health promotion programmes can provide dietary advice and healthy eating suggestions. It is also important that workers are properly hydrated at work and have access to water in the workplace.

Water@work

Water@work is an initiative created by UNISON in the UK to promote the benefits of drinking tap water. Promoting good health in the workplace and taking steps to improve access to water at work has been developed in partnership with water companies in the UK. A website has been developed to improve understanding of the benefits of drinking tap water to both employers and employees. The campaign for water at work states that good health in the workplace saves money. It is a medical fact that well hydrated and nourished people are more resistant to illness and will recover more quickly if they do become ill. Just a two per cent loss of body water can result in a ten per cent drop in physical and mental performance. By increasing water intake to eight glasses a day it is possible to keep energy levels up, prevent headaches, maintain concentration, reduce stress and mood swings, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease. For further information: www.wateratwork.org

The provision of health and fitness sessions in the workplace, subsidised membership of the local gym or local fitness classes, running lunch time fitness sessions, relaxation programme and programmes of stress management are all ways that companies can promote activity and fitness at work.

In some countries, companies have negotiated lower health insurance premiums for ‘health-friendly’ companies.

Employee and trade union participation and consultation is essential if meaningful workplace health initiatives are to be developed. Employees and trade unions can provide valuable insights, ideas and proposals about what can be done in the workplace.

Improving health and well-being at work: company case studies

RWE, Germany

In Germany, an increase in the retirement age will also prolong working lives, however, the company recognises that this will put new demands on the company in the area of health management, including maintaining and prevention of ill health. RWE has developed a comprehensive programme that aims to improve employee fitness and prevent illness. The health programme consists of health care provision in the workplace, a team of doctors and trained health staff in factories, regular health check-ups for staff, including regular health screening for colon cancer. The company provides a healthy food menu and salad bars in its staff canteen. Employees can avail of a number of sporting and fitness classes including soccer, volleyball, chess and sailing, and they can have access to gymnastics and special exercises and classes for back injury prevention. The company has a contract with a gym for use at reduced cost.

EON, Germany

The company has developed a Health Management Strategy which provides for health screening for cancer, immunisation against ‘flu’, improved healthy eating in the canteen, training for back pain and back problems, and fitness programmes. The company wants to improve the health and fitness of employees irrespective of their age in order to enhance employability; they recognise the importance of health as a life-cycle issue.

Axpo, Switzerland

The Fit for the job programme is an educational module which covers various aspects of healthy living including relaxation, movement and exercise, and healthy eating. The objective of this programme is to keep people healthy and active in their later years and therefore to keep them productive in the workplace. There are other related areas that the company has developed, including ensuring that there is good workplace design and good health in the workplace. Examples include providing employees with water and fresh fruit in the workplace.

Statkraft, Norway

Statkraft has a high priority on health and well-being in the workplace for older workers. Older workers have access to the company’s health programme and regular medical checks. The company has a competition “Energy for Life” which encourages staff in the regions, through flexible working hours if the work climate permits, to participate in outdoor life, for example, skiing and hunting. Physiotherapists check workplace design in the office environment and managers have the responsibility to ensure that there is the best job design. The staff canteen provides healthy eating at a subsidised price and water and fruit are available in the workplace for all employees.

Agder Energy Production

AEP has worked closely with trade unions and employee representatives. The dialogue between management and employees has been very positive in helping to raise awareness of the causes of health problems in the workplace and what can be done to avoid them. The joint work has helped to strengthen the psychosocial working environment and physical health of employees. The focus is on preventive work, and the promotion of health and well-being, including measures to help employees stay in shape. In 2001 sick leave was 5.1 per cent, by 2006 it had fallen to 2.4 per cent. An experiment introduced by the company in 2004, was the provision of free massage to employees, who were later given the opportunity to follow training in massage in their spare time. The outcome was very positive and sick leave went down in the first year from 5 per cent to 3 per cent and in the second year from 3 per cent to 2 per cent. The result led to further efforts in the area of prevention of ill health. The money saved from sick leave was put into a special account to promote further preventative measures in the workplace.

Centrica, UK

In the energy company Centrica engineers considering retirement or who faced ill health were given the opportunity to continue work to enable them to transfer of their knowledge and experience. In consultation with trade unions the engineers were given the choice to step back from their positions in order to accommodate their personal circumstances, ill health or incapacity issues. They were given the opportunity to continue working in their normal field of operations through a combination of mentoring and assessment work that was less physically demanding. This has helped to facilitate the transfer of their knowledge and experience to other engineers, apprentices and new recruits.

2.2.2 Workplace design as an aspect of occupational health

Creating age-conscious workplace design and age conscious occupational health are essential to age management, to improving job satisfaction, working conditions and to retaining older workers. Redeployments of older personnel so that they work in jobs that are suitable to their physical capabilities and that utilise their skills and competences, needs to be carried out in consultation with occupational health personnel, employees and trade unions.

Distribute work tasks so that older experienced workers take on more complex tasks while younger workers take on more physically demanding tasks, by placing physically challenged older workers in teams with younger fitter workers.

Analysis of workplace design and job functions, carried out in cooperation with trade union health and safety representatives, can make a major contribution to occupational health. This can include examining the position of computer terminals, office design, lighting and seating positions for office workers; as well as minimising the effects of repetitive or heavy work tasks carried out by manual workers. Ergonomic improvements are now recognised as being crucial to health and well-being at work. Organisations can commission an ergonomic review of workplaces or they can train specialists in the company to carry out these reviews.

In some companies providing workshops on ageing or ‘seniors’ training programmes has become one way of providing older workers with information and insights into healthy ageing. While older workers may specifically benefit from such programmes, improving health awareness for all workers is an important element of the life-cycle approach to health and well-being.

In some companies rehabilitation courses for older workers can be combined with redeployment, job redesign and job rotation.