Occupational factors and work ability

Starzenie się społeczeństwa postrzegane jest głównie jako proces demograficzny, wpływający na politykę ludnościową i generujący określone problemy organizacyjne oraz koszty ekonomiczne państwa czy jednostki związane z zapewnieniem skutecznego systemu opieki nad osobami starszymi. Wraz z podejmowaniem działań promujących wydłużenie czasu aktywności zawodowej pracowników, istotne jest poznanie czynników środowiska pracy i cech pracy, które mogą przedwcześnie obniżać zdolność do pracy, a także kreowanie takich warunków środowiska i organizacji pracy, które będą sprzyjały pozostawaniu w zatrudnieniu również po przekroczeniu ustawowego wieku emerytalnego.Ageging is mainly perceived as a demographic process wich has an impact on the population policy and wich generates particular organizational problems and economic costs for the State or for a unit dealing with ensuring effective care system for older persons. Alongside the measures aiming to promote the extension of working life, it is of vital importance to identify work environment factors and work features which may lead to premature decline of work ability as well as to create such work conditions and work organization which will be conductive to remaining in employment after having reached the statutory retirement age

Ageing and occupational activity

Według danych demograficznych w ostatnich latach obserwujemy w Polsce cechy starzenia się społeczeństwa, czyli wzrost liczby osób starszych w stosunku do osób młodszych. Równocześnie notujemy jeden z najniższych wskaźników zatrudnienia i najniższą średnią wieku przechodzenia na emeryturę wśród państw europejskich. Z tych powodów problemy aktywności ludzi starszych coraz częściej uwzględniane są w polityce państwa, a także w programach Unii Europejskiej, których celem jest tworzenie systemowych rozwiązań sprzyjających wzrostowi aktywności zawodowej ludzi starszych.Artykuł ten zapoczątkowuje serię artykułów poświęconych omówieniu najbardziej istotnych problemów związanych z wykonywaniem pracy w wieku starszym, na tle wyników badań przeprowadzonych w ramach projektu celowego zamawianego pn. Aktywność zawodowa pracowników w aspekcie starzejącego się społeczeństwa, koordynowanego przez Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy (CIOP-PIB).According to the demographic data, in recent years in Poland the society has aged i. e., there has been an increase in the number of the elderly in relation to the number of younger people. At the same time, the employment index has been one of the lowest and the retirement age has been the lowest among European countries. That is why the problems of occupational activity of the elderly have been increasingly taken into account in the state policy and in European Union programmes aimed at creating system solutions to foster an increase in occupational activity of the elderly. This article is the first in a series of articles on the most important problems connected with the work of the elderly. They are based on the results of research done within the commissioned targeted programme Occupational activity of employees in the aspect of the ageing society, coordinated by the Central Institute Labour Protection – National Research Institutte (CIOP-BIP)

Can Nurses Be Employed in 12-Hour Shift Systems?

Nurses are often obliged to work in a 12-hr shift work system. We have decided to check whether such a working system constitutes an excessive load for nurses. On the basis of a questionnaire survey among nurses working in an 8-hr daytime shift system (169 nurses) and in a 12-hr shift (536 nurses), the amount of physical workload, work stress, and after-work activities were compared. Data analysis has shown that a 12-hr shift system is characterized by less significant physical workload but greater mental load. The nurses working in a 2-shift system were more tired after work, but they could spend more time on leisure activities and do housework. The data suggest that there are no significant contraindications for nurses to work in a 2-shift system

Physical Capacity of Occupationally Active Population and Capability to Perform Physical Work

The aim of this study was to determine what proportion of occupationally active Poles have working capacity that enables them to tolerate hard and very hard physical work. For this purpose physical capacity of 1188 occupationally active subjects (524 women and 664 men), aged 18–64 years was examined. Their maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) was determined indirectly on the basis of their heart rate during an incremental exercise test on a bicycle ergometer. It was found that hard occupational physical work was an excessive load for almost 40% of men and women. This paper discusses how this load should be decreased with planned, appropriately long rest breaks. The percentage of persons for whom their hard physical work becomes an excessive load increases with age to such a degree that a new assessment of individual capability for such work is recommended for persons over 40 years old

Physical Capacity of Occupationally Active Population and Capability to Perform Physical Work

The aim of this study was to determine what proportion of occupationally active Poles have working capacity that enables them to tolerate hard and very hard physical work. For this purpose physical capacity of 1188 occupationally active subjects (524 women and 664 men), aged 18–64 years was examined. Their maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) was determined indirectly on the basis of their heart rate during an incremental exercise test on a bicycle ergometer. It was found that hard occupational physical work was an excessive load for almost 40% of men and women. This paper discusses how this load should be decreased with planned, appropriately long rest breaks. The percentage of persons for whom their hard physical work becomes an excessive load increases with age to such a degree that a new assessment of individual capability for such work is recommended for persons over 40 years old