Working late: exploring the new dynamics of later life working in light of changes in age related legislation, policy and practice

Demographic changes have facilitated longer, healthier lives, and legislative changes have encouraged extended working lives through the increasing of state pension age, equalisation of state pensions, and the removal of the default retirement age. Recent age discrimination legislation has begun to combat age discrimination within the employment context of the UK. Legal precedent has also been established during the course of this research through case law, as a result of high profile age discrimination cases reaching the Supreme Court. Through several interview studies, this thesis explores the experiences, views and attitudes of employees, employers, job seekers and retired individuals. Utilising focus groups, this thesis also presents data from a range of charity representatives, human resources professionals, line managers, employment advisors, health and safety practitioners, and trade union representatives in order to explore the influence of changes in later life working policy and practice. The research of this thesis also includes a consultation exercise to engage the potential users of the research and develops a policy and practice framework providing recommendations which could lead to better outcomes and improved opportunities for older workers. Finally, a series of video case studies presents the research findings in an accessible visual format. This varied use of communication methods was specifically selected in order to increase the impact of the research and potential user audience. Research findings highlighted that managing age diversity was perceived as essential for employee motivation and organisational competitiveness. In particular, interviewees from generationally diverse workforces also reported a more positive attitude to age. Evidence from this thesis presents direct examples of age discrimination limiting the employment opportunities of older workers. Potential victims of age discrimination often struggle to gather evidence to support their perception that they may have been mistreated due to their age. Especially for job seekers, the perception of age discrimination presents a significant barrier to confidence, motivation, and opportunities during the employment search. These concerns are also exacerbated by the most widely reported barrier to securing employment for older jobseekers which was insufficient feedback. While a small minority of employers discussed discriminatory practices, the majority were positive towards age diversity and embraced the benefits of older workers. Responsibility for retirement transitions and performance management as older employees reach the end of their careers were issues employers reported struggling with in light of the removal of the default retirement age. The findings of this thesis highlight the importance of challenging age stereotypes and embracing the opportunities that a multi-generational workforce offers in order to increase equality of opportunity and promote age positive organisational culture. All parts of society have a shared responsibility to change attitudes towards older workers, and offer workers of all ages the equality they deserve

Walking works wonders: a tailored workplace intervention evaluated over 24 months

This article presents longitudinal data from 1120 participants across 10 worksites enrolled in Walking Works Wonders, a tailored intervention designed to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour. The intervention was evaluated over 2 years, using a quasi-experimental design comprising 3 conditions: tailored information; standard information and control. This study explored the impact of the intervention on objective measures (BMI, út, waist circumference, blood pressure and heart rate) and self-reported measures of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, physical and psychological health. Interventions tailored to employees' stage of change significantly reduced BMI and waist circumference compared to standard and control conditions. Employees who received either a standard or tailored intervention demonstrated significantly higher work ability, organizational commitment, job motivation, job satisfaction, and a reduction in intention to quit the organization. The results suggest that adopting a tailored approach to interventions

Sedentary behaviour and health at work: an investigation of industrial sector, job role, gender and geographical differences

This article presents baseline data from 1120 employees across 10 worksites enrolled in a workplace physical activity intervention. The study provides new data on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and health and highlights gender, geographical, job type and industrial sector differences. Sitting at work accounted for more than 60% of participants' total daily sitting time on work days. Weekly and monthly hours worked, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were significantly higher for workers in the private sector compared to the public sector. Employees in sales and customer services had significantly higher BMI scores and significantly lower scores for workability index (WAI), job satisfaction, organisational commitment and job motivation, compared to other groups. This study provides further evidence that work is a major contributor to sedentary behaviour and supports the pressing need for interventions particularly targeting private sector industries and sales and customer service sectors

Proactive occupational safety and health management: promoting good health and good business

This research assessed the impact of organisational approaches to occupational safety and health (OSH) management on organisational performance, safety climate, employee attitudes, health and well-being. Interviews with health and safety personnel, company directors and worker representatives were used to categorise the organisations according to their approaches to OSH management, using the Continuous Improvement Cycle model (Budworth and Khan, 2003). A cross-sectional survey of 2067 employees from these organisations examined the impact of company size, industrial sector and approach to OSH management on indicators of organisational performance and employee outcomes. A structured questionnaire assessed demographic characteristics, organisation and job tenure, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, intention to quit and job motivation, safety climate, self-reported absence, performance and work-related ill-health. Organisations were also asked to provide data on profit, performance, accidents and absence indices. Organisations adopting a proactive approach to OSH management reported higher profit margins and lower accident rates, however these differences were not statistically significant. Organisations classified as ‘very good’ were found to show significantly more positive safety climate perceptions across eight out of the nine safety climate dimensions. Employees in proactive organisations were significantly more committed to their organisations and showed greater job satisfaction than employees in organisations categorised as ‘yet to be fully engaged/-complier’. Positive safety climate perceptions and organisational attitudes were associated with better self-reported physical and mental health. The findings add to the validation of the CIC model as an assessment and learning tool which may support the transition of organisations from reactive to proactive safety culture

Working late:exploring the new dynamics of later life working in light of changes in age related legislation, policy and practice

Demographic changes have facilitated longer, healthier lives, and legislative changes have encouraged extended working lives through the increasing of state pension age, equalisation of state pensions, and the removal of the default retirement age. Recent age discrimination legislation has begun to combat age discrimination within the employment context of the UK. Legal precedent has also been established during the course of this research through case law, as a result of high profile age discrimination cases reaching the Supreme Court. Through several interview studies, this thesis explores the experiences, views and attitudes of employees, employers, job seekers and retired individuals. Utilising focus groups, this thesis also presents data from a range of charity representatives, human resources professionals, line managers, employment advisors, health and safety practitioners, and trade union representatives in order to explore the influence of changes in later life working policy and practice. The research of this thesis also includes a consultation exercise to engage the potential users of the research and develops a policy and practice framework providing recommendations which could lead to better outcomes and improved opportunities for older workers. Finally, a series of video case studies presents the research findings in an accessible visual format. This varied use of communication methods was specifically selected in order to increase the impact of the research and potential user audience. Research findings highlighted that managing age diversity was perceived as essential for employee motivation and organisational competitiveness. In particular, interviewees from generationally diverse workforces also reported a more positive attitude to age. Evidence from this thesis presents direct examples of age discrimination limiting the employment opportunities of older workers. Potential victims of age discrimination often struggle to gather evidence to support their perception that they may have been mistreated due to their age. Especially for job seekers, the perception of age discrimination presents a significant barrier to confidence, motivation, and opportunities during the employment search. These concerns are also exacerbated by the most widely reported barrier to securing employment for older jobseekers which was insufficient feedback. While a small minority of employers discussed discriminatory practices, the majority were positive towards age diversity and embraced the benefits of older workers. Responsibility for retirement transitions and performance management as older employees reach the end of their careers were issues employers reported struggling with in light of the removal of the default retirement age. The findings of this thesis highlight the importance of challenging age stereotypes and embracing the opportunities that a multi-generational workforce offers in order to increase equality of opportunity and promote age positive organisational culture. All parts of society have a shared responsibility to change attitudes towards older workers, and offer workers of all ages the equality they deserve

The Fable of Neuroplastic Lyra

This paper tells a folktale of two tribes and the neurodivergence that brought them together, through language and the patterns of the sounds that surrounded the tribes. Acknowledgements: Thank you to Alex Higson for editing an early version of this article. Thanks to Maximin Lange, Lewis Burton, Juliet Foster, Sukhi Shergill and Oliver Runswick for your comments