Building for longevity: keeping an aging workforce safe

Undoubtedly, our workforce in America is aging. According to an article from SeniorLiving.org, “there are now more Americans aged 65 and older in the workforce than in almost two decades and is projected to be the fastest growing segment in the workforce.”

Naturally this has resulted in the average age of workers throughout all industries going up over the past 20 years, a number that tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Even considering workers longer careers, there are significant advantages to having older workers in the workplace that make them essential to a balanced team. They not only provide years of industrial knowledge, experience, and skills within and beyond their chosen trades, but tend to also have higher retention rates, foster buy-in of approaches amongst crews, offer higher work ethic and can be very loyal. However, with age also comes many physical changes to the body. By anticipating the challenges that older employees face in the workplace, managers and owners can add additional longevity of their workers’ careers. 

Organizations that understand these challenges and proactively address them can improve safety outcomes, support employee wellbeing and help retain valuable experience within their workforce.

While seasoned workers tend to have fewer injuries, when one does occur, it is often more severe and requires a longer recovery time. Studies of Sedgwick claims over the years revealed that more than one-third of worker’s compensation claims with incurred balances greater than $50,000 occurred with workers at ages 40-49, and the most frequent cause of claims for workers ages 50-60 and older was slips, trips and falls. To prevent injury and promote longevity of your workforce, below are some age-related challenges and potential solutions for construction employers. 

Changes in balance, reaction time and muscle mass 

The aging process often reduces one’s balance. Older employees can be more prone to falls from losing balance, but when this is coupled with a slower reaction time and reduced bone density, this age group can be more prone to serious injury when falling.

The reduction in muscle mass that occurs with age is well-documented, and this can affect both balance and reaction time. While some of this reduction can be offset by incorporating proper nutrition or strengthening exercises, the bottom line is that no matter how active a person may be, the human body loses muscle mass with age. If you add in different health conditions such degenerative diseases or prior injuries, the effect may increase. For example, arthritis affects 47% of the aging population over 55 years of age, often decreasing flexibility and perhaps dexterity. 

Aged construction workers in particular may experience the onset of arthritis near bones broken in years past when safety was less prevalent, around torn rotator cuffs and other upper extremities subjected to years of frequently reaching above head or lifting heavy building materials, surrounding knees compromised by hours of kneeling on hard work surfaces, and in the lumbar region of the back following years of wearing heavy tool belts while climbing up and down ladders.

What employers can do:

• Avoid prolonged, sedentary work where possible, particularly for older workers. The older the body gets; the quicker joints stiffen, especially within cooler environments.
• Consider allowing longer or more frequent breaks, especially when employees are working in temperature extremes.
• Encourage stretching and gentle exercise before, during and after work to warm muscles, lubricate joints and maintain flexibility.
• Always match tasks to a person’s physical abilities. This avoids creating more harm.

Variations in eyesight acuity and depth perception

Many of us are familiar with the changes in eyesight that come with age, but it is also important to remember that the eyes of an older employee don’t adjust to transitions between light and dark areas as quickly as those of younger employees. Extra care should be taken when moving from a very brightly lit work area to a dark parking lot, or vice versa, as might happen when working on a tenant improvement project or a nighttime road repair. Additionally, as a person ages, the use of reader glasses or perhaps a prescribed bi- or tri-focal lens may become an unavoidable need. When new to using these lenses, employees should exercise caution as the change can often affect depth perception, particularly when walking stairs and uneven surfaces. 

What employers can do:

• Reduce the variety of transitional edges and worksurfaces on your job sites. Where possible, establish like walking worksurfaces throughout the job site. Where uneven transitions exist, draw attention by using bright paint denotations, applying yellow and black striped tape, or strategically posting an orange safety cone with signage.
• Emphasize good housekeeping. When an individual’s depth perception is askew, having to step over equipment and materials can create fall hazards. Encourage work teams to look out for one another and be aware of factors that may affect a co-worker’s safety. As an example, misplaced materials that present slip or trip hazards should be removed by anyone that notices them.
• Maintain good lighting and remember more light is needed as the eyes age. All workers need to be able to see hazardous conditions so remain mindful that certain OSHA regulations do require a specific measure in foot-candles of light in a work area dependent upon the type of work area and tasks.
• If use of safety eyewear is best practice for your operations, consider offering to help pay for safety eyewear that provides the worker’s eye prescription in the lens. These will be much more comfortable than wearing safety eyewear over regular eyeglasses and would fit better. These are typically purchased through an optometrist’s office or a similar business.
• Work with your safety supply vendor to procure personal protective eyewear with an over-the-counter reader lens incorporated. These are similar to reading glasses found at the local drug store except they are classified as ANSI Z-87 and are typically inexpensive in comparison to a lens prescribed by an optometrist. Be sure to offer a variety of the more commonly used reader strengths (1.5, 1.75, 2.0) and always remember that style and comfort do make a difference. If your workers like eyewear they will be more likely to use it.

Continue developing and supporting your team

Employers should recognize and leverage the life skills and experience that seasoned workers bring to the organization. Crystallized intelligence comes from the hardened pathways in the brain that have been developed over years of experience. The knowledge and experience of the aged workforce is often part of a construction company’s greatest assets. Numerous studies have been conducted comparing workforce generations. The results convey that our current aged workforce is a generation with a desire to work for an organization known as the best in the industry and a desire to positively impact that organization. Remember these advantages as you assign jobs and tasks to your aged workers.

Next, communicate. Assume everyone has value to contribute. Employers can help their workers contribute by acknowledging concerns, providing education around age-related safety risks and ensuring supervisors receive training on managing and supporting an aging workforce.

As workforce demographics continue to evolve, organizations that proactively support their aging workforce will be better positioned to retain talent, reduce injuries and strengthen workplace safety.

Finally, consider the words of James Kendrick, a 2021 Board of Certified Safety Professional Lifetime Achievement Award recipient who credited fellow professionals for sharing the following quotes: “To achieve excellent safety performance, we must make it personal” and “It is not about how safe you are, it’s all about how safe you could be.” It is through teamwork and accountability that our more senior workers continue to safely work with a sense of value and pride.