PHYSICAL WORKLOAD AND THE AGING WORKER - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

In the coming decades, demographic, economic and social changes will r esult in an increased proportion of elderly persons in the workforce i n most industrialized countries. This trend is causing growing interes t in the problems of the ageing worker in current employment. The obje ctive of this particular paper is to provide more insight into the imp act of ageing on the balance between physical work capacity and physic al workload. To this end, the scientific literature in the field is re viewed and ordered by means of a specific conceptual model of ''ageing and physical workload''. A progressive decline in physical work capac ity, characterized by diminished aerobic capacity and muscular capacit y, has consistently been reported. However, inter-individual differenc es appear to be considerable. The question of whether there are system atic differences in physical work demands between younger and older wo rkers within occupations has been answered vaguely. Conflicting result s in this matter bring into discussion the role of the actual working method as one of the determinants of the physical workload. An age-rel ated imbalance between physical workload and physical work capacity is suggested to result in a chronic overload, increasing the risk of lon g-term health effects such as musculoskeletal complaints and disorders , For many ageing workers in physically demanding occupations, extreme physical workloads, increasing the risk of disease or disablement, ar e still reported. The multiconceptual study of ageing and physical wor kload in the present paper reveals several possibilities for preventiv e measures. However, as information is still lacking, additional resea rch is needed, in particular on the onset and development of long-term effects on health in relation to age and work demands.