Assessment of Age-Correlated Occupational Strain as a Prerequisite for Age-Appropriate Work Organization

Abstract

Because of demographic changes in Germany, the average age of the workforce is progressively increasing. In an attempt to reduce pressure on the labor market, Germany recently changed the retirement age to 67 years. At the same time, economic constraints are forcing companies to reduce the number of employees. Thus, older workers are required to do physically demanding work involving heavy weights. In response to these factors, the Hamburg Sewage Company recently set a goal of creating working conditions that would enable their existing aging personnel to fulfill their duties efficiently and to a high quality while ensuring that their employees’ health would not be at a risk. As a prerequisite to achieving this goal, quantitative data on work load, physical and mental effort required to meet job demands, and age-related changes in physical and mental strain were required. To this end, a combination of complementary measures aimed at achieving an in-depth analysis that would enable appropriate adaptations of working conditions for the aging workforce have been implemented.