People + Process = Performance

Is 35 the new “Older” worker?

What is the age that you use to define for an “older” worker?  Is it 45, 50, 55 or 65?  Employers across the nation are seeing the average age of their work force getting older each year as people are delaying retirement more than ever before.  This is a trend that has employers concerned for several reasons with two being the most impactful—potential injury/safety ramifications and upcoming knowledge loss.  The “common wisdom” has been that older workers don’t get hurt often but when they do the expenses are very high.  Is this “common wisdom” true?  A research report from NCCI (National Council on Compensation Insurance) has caused me to question this common wisdom.

The research paper starts off by debunking the myth that as one ages there are dramatic physical and mental changes that occur.  It points to research by Ray Fair that shows the rate of decline is much slower than many think.  He compares the physical abilities for people to sprint, run long distances and play chess.  The decline is small until age 80.  The majority of “older” workers today are definitely less than 80 years so this information should provide comfort to employers who are concerned about their older population.  However, this comfort quickly goes away when continuing to read the report.  The report raises an interesting question:  “Are older workers now younger?”

In 2011, NCCI published a study on the aging workforce, which concluded that average costs for workers aged 35 and older tend to be quite similar.  However, they are higher than the average costs for workers aged 16 to 34.  They add “from a workers compensation perspective the higher costs are largely offset by the higher premium due to higher wages of older workers. Overall, the findings can be viewed as reassuring, in that an aging workforce appears to have a far less negative impact on workers compensation claim costs than might have been thought.”  The 2012 NCCI report basically extended on what the 2011 report findings.  There are similarities in claims and costs for workers between ages 16-34 and for workers 35 years old or older.

Another interesting finding in the report was the convergence of costly injuries between young and older workers.  Historically there has been a difference in the types of injuries sustained by older workers relative to younger ones.  Older workers were more likely to experience more costly rotator cuff and knee injuries while younger workers were more likely to have less costly back sprains. NCCI has seen that these more expensive types of injuries are becoming more prominent even for younger aged workers.  A suggested cause is the sedentary lifestyle of the majority of employees at home and work, which reduces blood flow to muscles and joints, is likely a factor in causing the relative increases in knee and rotator cuff injuries in younger people.  Whatever the cause, the NCCI findings show that younger workers are experiencing injuries that were once associated with older workers.

What does this mean to employers?  It means that the definition of “older” workers needs to be updated.  Older is now younger which according to NCCI’s findings is 35 years and older.  With this in mind, employers should be encouraged to retain older workers as their impact on workers compensation costs is not nearly as great as once thought.  The key will be to design the work (work flow, work tasks and work environment) to accommodate the mental and physical abilities of all ages, i.e. implementing ergonomics and human factors in all aspects of operations.  By doing so employers will reap the benefits—they will have a healthy and productive work force regardless of age.