Issues and concerns in accommodating the elderly in the workplace

Aging is a natural phenomenon affecting mankind. The more recent interest in the elderly is probably derived from the facts that: (1) currently more and more people are living into old age as compared to populations prior to early twentieth century, (2) people now recognize and appreciate the concept of retirement (until comparatively recently only a small proportion of the population lived into old age), and (3) economic necessities are pushing retirees back into the workforce. With people living and working longer, employers, social scientists, and medical and health professionals are having to gear themselves to solve a special category of problems-problems dealing with accommodating the elderly in the workplace, homes, recreational facilities, vehicles, etc. The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the important issues that must be addressed when bringing, or retaining, the elderly in workplaces. The paper is divided into four main sections. The first section is devoted to defining the elderly. In the second section, discussion is focused on how and why the elderly have become an increasingly important part of the working environment. The biological effects of aging are discussed in the third section. In the last section, attention is paid to those age-related functional abilities that are essential consideration in accommodating the elderly in the workplaces.