Creative Solutions Needed for Aging Baby Boomers

To ensure healthier lifestyles for people 45 and older, East Jefferson Hospital in Metairie, La., built a Wellness Center. One of the center's features is this cardiovascular fitness room with overhead walking track and stretching area. It also includes a warm water therapy pool, lap pool and garden whirpool, fitness assessment room and wellness education classrooms.

The nation’s aging workforce means employers will see more long-term disability claims from cancer and musculoskeletal disorders such as arthritis. That’s the word from a Unum Provident report on the impact of the estimated 78 million baby boomers reaching the 40 to 60 age group.

Employers will need to consider the age factor when designing appropriate return-to-work scenarios – including setting a threshold for the number of days of lost time that will result in termination. Other strategies for managing increased disability costs and productivity declines from an aging workforce could include:

• Creating retirement benefit plans that encourage phased-in retirements
• Offering exercise programs targeted for arthritis
• Launching educational programs on preventive strategies and applied interventions that can reduce the impact of disease on productivity
• Creating career pathways to support transitions from more physically demanding roles to less demanding ones for older employees
• Promoting a culture that respects and utilizes experience
• Providing training for older employees to enhance skills and help them learn new ones

The report cites Coors Brewing Company as a firm that has successfully addressed aging and productivity in the workplace. The company’s health and productivity programs include a Health Risk appraisal with a $200 premium reduction incentive, a wellness center free to employees and retirees, an onsite physical therapy and medical center with reduced or free care, and a $10 co-pay for lab tests.

Related Link:

• Unum Provident Report: Health and Productivity in the Aging American Work Force: Realities and Opportunities

Source: Plan Sponsor 2005

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