AGING, COMPUTER-BASED TASK-PERFORMANCE, AND STRESS - ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

An emerging problem that encompasses both traditional ergonomic as wel l as macroergonomic concerns involves assessing the potential implicat ions of computer-based tasks for older workers. An increasing older wo rkforce and the influx of computer technology into a wide variety of w ork settings has motivated both a re-examination of the literature con cerning ageing and work performance and research that more directly ad dresses the computer-interactive task domain. In this paper, we overvi ew this literature and raise a number of crucial issues concerning pot ential age differences in performance and stress associated with compu ter-based tasks. Underlying our discussion throughout is the intention of identifying the challenges that await interested practitioners and researchers.