[Aging and work capability]

With the average life duration becoming longer there is an increasing number of old people in the population. In the literature the problem of old people is still neglected. The most visible changes in old people occur in physical characteristics and functions; at first a change in psychological functions was also reported to take place. However, it was shown that results depended to a great extent on the method used: the longitudinal method (following up one and the same generation) frequently gave rather different and much better results than the cross-sectional method. The question of old age and working abilities is an important one. Certain positive personality traits seem to compensate for a drop in certain abilities. In the modern automated industry time pressure and adaptation to new working conditions are a handicap for the elderly, but the application of different ergonomic principles can greatly improve the situation.