Within any company wellness program, there is a small number of employees that fall into this unfocused demographic. This demographic would consist of your aging workforce and those that have disabilities, which prevent them from having access and or participating in a wellness program activity. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will help employers with the development of a well-rounded wellness program that will benefit all their employees. With the aging workforce, these employees have reported difficulty with sight, hearing, and arthritis. This classifies them in a disability category. In 2010, 19.7% of the 45 to 54-year-old workforce and 28% of the 55 to 64-year-old reported …show more content…
This will require the company’s Human Resource (HR) department to focus on the priorities of employees as they age and shift to a heavier focus on their well-being over career progression (Kooij, Guest, Clinton, Knight, Jansen, & Dikkers 2013). The aging workforce is the focus demographic for this literature review and is classified as any employee over the age of 40. This age was selected because the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only prohibits age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. We all are living longer which places a strain on the workforce and health care. It is predicted that by 2020 people over the age of 60 is projected to reach 1 billion and by 2050 almost 2 billion this representing 22 percent of the world’s population (Bloom, Canning, & Fink 2010), (Dall, Gallo, Chakrabarti, West, Semilla, & Storm 2013). The Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2016 report the workforce of employees 45 and older at an all-time high of 44 percent (Tishman, Van Looy, & Bruyère 2012). This increase in older employees comes at the same time that the entry-level workforce is on a downward slide. This is all due to the downsizing of many labor positions in the workforce to the economical downturn of the past few years that has forced many older employees of retirement age to postpone
The Impact of the Aging Population on the Health Workforce in the United States: Summary of Key Findings. (2006, March). Retrieved April 27, 2016, from
With longer life spans and a decrease in birth rates, older generations are working longer (age diversity). Age diversity is the acceptance of all age groups and their differences within an organization. Besides providing years of experience to younger generations, older employees can also increase organizational value (age diversity). In regards to Target, there are many older employees working, some due to the recessions and lost their higher paying jobs and could only get minimum wage jobs, since they were the only job openings. Bringing their experiences to the corporate culture allow for the ability to avoid certain
Age discrimination in the workforce is a major issue in Today’s society. Although this is hardly ever mentioned, it is a concern that affects the aging population and their work performance. Those who are of old age are often not given a chance and looked down on. They are thought of as being mentally and physically in decline, less adaptable, unwilling to be trained, and costly to the organization. The elderly are considered “slow workers.” They are often forced to work extra hard to prove to their employer, they are capable of working as effective as the young. Defining someone’s work performance according to their age is against the law. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) addresses discrimination against the older population. This Act was passed by congress to ensure people of age 40 and older are given fair judgment in the workforce; however, the maturing population of baby boomers has led to an increasing number of elderly workers. This has cause age discrimination to rise. It is important that we review and analyze age discrimination has a political issues that must be changed. Although ADEA sets out to help the aging population, changes should be made within the employer. In order to seek change, one must first understand ADEA and how it promotes fair treatment for the elderly.
By 2020, approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population will be 65 years or older and employers have yet to come to grips with this fact. The aging population will affect the workforce through retirement and those continuing to work. Medicare and Social Security are very likely to undergo profound changes. Some who reach the age of 65 will not be able to retire due to the fact that they require outside income. Retired or not, the aging population will contribute heavily to the consumer market. Their demand for leisure-time pursuits and professional services will fuel local labor markets. This boom in the service sector may replace many low-skilled or unskilled jobs. The aging of the population will be far more dramatic that ethnic
This is an unavoidable issue for nearly all employers, but some businesses are particularly vulnerable because their employees are concentrated in the age range when eldercare is most common (i.e., ages 45 to
Workspace demographics now span four generations. A twenty-something hired this year can expect to find that they working with colleagues who are older than they are by fifty or more years. The reason for this is primarily due to labor shortages for trained personnel in many industries. In addition, many older workers are now delaying retirement due for economic or other reasons. Many of the baby boomer generation can now be expected to delay retirement into their seventies. (Randstad USA)
Over the last few years there has been a growing concern over ageism in America’s places of business, not only through job advertisement, but also during the hiring process, among current employees, and even issues during the end of a person’s career. While there are many types of discrimination in the workplace, all of which are illegal, ageism is prevalent at every stage of a person’s career and can impact not only the employee or potential employee, but the whole company as wellcompany as a whole. Individuals who are over the age of sixty-five make up a large percent of the workforce, and many are dedicated to their employers, it’s when the employer believes that they can hire someone who is much young to do the work that ageism begins to play a role in their career. It isn’t till they companies see that it may take three younger employees to complete the task that of a senior employee.
Between 2000 and 2010, the population 45 to 64 years old grew 31.5 percent to 81.5 million. This age group now makes up 26.4 percent of the total U.S. population. The large growth among 45- to 64-year-olds is primarily because of the aging of the baby boom population. The 65-and-older population also grew faster than younger population groups at a rate of 15.1 percent to 40.3 million people, or 13.0 percent of the total population. Growth rates for those fewer than 18 and between the ages of 18 and 44 were much slower. The 18 and younger group grew 2.6 percent to 74.2 million people, comprising 24.0 percent of the total population, while the 18 to 44 age group grew at an even slower rate of 0.6 percent to 112.8 million, comprising 36.5 percent of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).
It no stretch to see that the majority of workers nowadays are above forty. The population of youth is unable to get the jobs to support themselves and the seniors are given them instead due to more work experience and the fact that the better part
It has recently come to my attention that there are talks of cutting the wellness program here at Dynamic Wellness Center. Should this program be cut there will be a direct negative impact on the employees within the company. With the shift in the composition of the work force our company will need to stay up to date with competitors in attracting qualified employees. The following summarizes what factors prompt the need for a Workplace Wellness Program, the results are program is obtaining, and ways the program can improve and become more cost effective.
In general, seniors are vulnerable to a range of chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, chronic heart diseases, arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease which adversely influence their quality of life. These diseases also increase demands on the healthcare system (5). It was reported in 2012 that approximately 85% of seniors aged 65 to 79 years and about 90% of seniors aged over 80 years have at least one chronic condition (6). In 2004, about 1.7% of the total Canadian labour force were seniors. The number of Canadian seniors aged 65 or over participating in the labour force was approximately 300,000 (287,000 of them are employed and 9,000 actively looking for work) (7). This impacts the health of seniors because the more the number of seniors participating in the workforce, the more physically active and healthier they are. Working also provides an additional means of income besides their pension funds which would help improve the quality of life.
The aging population will create many new obstacles for the healthcare industry because as people age they are more likely to develop illness and disease. According to the EWA, nearly 65% of all people 65 and over and 60% of people between 50 and 64 have at least one chronic illness. The healthcare workforce is not nearly large enough to treat the number of patients that will require medical attention. Health professionals will be in high demand because it is estimated that over 3,000,000 additional medical workers will be needed to meet the needs of the aging population. Diseases that are associated with aging are very expensive to treat
In 2007 approximately, thirteen percent of Americans that were sixty-five years or older reported that they were still working and in 2016 this number
“The number of employees over the age of 55 has increased by 30 percent; however, the number of 25- to 54-year-olds has only increased by 1 percent” (Claire, 2009). In 2008 the eldest of the 77 million baby-boomers turned 62. Estimates are that by the end of the decade about 40 percent of the work force will be eligible to retire. As people begin to reach the age of retirement there may be not be enough new employees to fill the gap (Clare, 2009). Companies need to find ways to attract Boomers and Millennials. Companies that want to attract Boomers and Millennials need to be creative in their culture, HR policies and work environments.
By making a healthy business case for age diversity, many employers have driven significant change within their organization. The business case is based on a simple premise; people are living longer than ever before and are having fewer children. As a result the population is aging. From an employment perspective, the dramatic drop in numbers of young people