Age Innovators - Episode 2: Supporting Healthy Ageing At Work

In this episode of ‘Age Innovators’, Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Manager, Karen Wilkinson, introduces listeners to leading researchers and innovators whose work has the potential to support us as we age.  

Brought to you by the Healthy Ageing Challenge Community of Practice, hosted by Innovate UK, this series spotlights the pioneering innovations being developed to shape the future of our longevity and explores the inspiration behind the work that’s currently taking place.  

Supporting Healthy Ageing at Work 

In today’s older workforce, the fact that one in three people is aged 50 or over poses myriad issues for our economy, social wellbeing, and our health and wellbeing. With around 20% of people in their fifties retiring before they choose to because of health issues, this episode of Age Innovators explores whether a deeper understanding and the provision of more practical and relevant support could help to change that statistic. 

Our host Elaine Douglas, Associate Professor in Ageing at the University of Stirling, talks to Wendy Loretto, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, and Dr Belinda Steffan, Senior Research Fellow both from the SHAW project at the University of Edinburgh Business School (UEBS) and to Mike Douglas, Director of Age Scotland. 

The SHAW project (Supporting Healthy Ageing at Work) at UEBS is exploring how we might extend healthy ageing in the workplace so that workers have a high quality of working life for longer. The project is inviting employers, employees, professional bodies, and other key stakeholders to come together with the aim of deepening our understanding of how best to support, enable, and empower people over 50 to remain in work. 

We hear how the project’s research into the impact of hidden health issues like the muscular skeletal impact of sedentary work, cognitive ageing and decline, and menopause is leading to the development of practical help, including:  

• The launch of a new research-based app with an AI chatbot interface that will give the over-50s a better understanding of their health and empower employees to ask for the support they need from their managers. 
• A co-designed diagnostic menopause support tool which aims to reduce the number of women leaving work due to challenging menopause symptoms and improve workplace culture around menopause awareness. 

“The first thing that comes to my mind when imagining the ideal future workplace for an older worker? More individualised support to support a range of both visible and hidden health factors—and a reduction in the tension around discussing heath issues and the removal of taboo and stigma as we increase awareness.” - Belinda Steffan, Senior Research Fellow at The University of Edinburgh Business School 

You’ll discover how the provision of a safe platform can be the key to unlocking powerful conversations in the workplace around sensitive or taboo issues. Learn how the ongoing research has already identified the important role line managers can play in supporting people’s health. And find out how a training course developed by Age Scotland is upskilling employers to have the conversations needed to create more inclusive and supportive workplace cultures. 

The team’s person-centric approach is breaking down barriers and beginning to transform older people’s experiences at work for the better, enabling people to better understand—and communicate—their health support needs.  

“We’re all different, and those differences become more apparent as we age. Whether that’s the state of our health, our life circumstances, and how and when we choose to retire. We all have a role to play in challenging the myth of the ideal worker who’s always in peak health and is always productive. When it comes to policy, we need to move the conversation forward so we can accept people as they are and empower them to ask for the help they need to feel supported at work.” - Wendy Loretto, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at The University of Edinburgh