This webinar explored the importance of health, work and ageing, and what employers and government need to do to ensure that all employees are supported at work. Find out more: https://www.ageing-better.org.uk/events/health-work-healthy-ageing-webinar

1. Centre for Ageing Better
ageing-better.org.uk
Health and work: Healthy
ageing webinar
In this webinar we'll explore the importance of health, work
and ageing, and what employers and government need to
do to ensure that all employees are supported at work.
Broadcast live on
Friday 25 June 2021, from 10.30am BST

2. ageing-better.org.uk
Alison Giles
Associate Director for Healthy Ageing
Today’s Chair
Healthy Ageing: Health and work
25 June 2021

3. ageing-better.org.uk
Covid-19, health and work
Amy McSweeney, Evidence Officer
Centre for Ageing Better
Healthy Ageing: Health and work
25 June 2021

4. Centre for Ageing Better
Why is health at work important in an ageing
society?
– Poor health pushes more older workers out of the labour market than
any other factor
– The disability employment gap is widest for people age 50-64
– During 2020, disabled workers were significantly more likely than
non-disabled workers to move out of work

5. Centre for Ageing Better
How was this research done?
Institute for Employment studies recruited,
alongside some charity partners, 20 people
over 50-69 with long-term health conditions.
They spoke to participants twice, six months
apart, and asked them to fill in monthly
prompted journals to ask about a range how
their health condition had impacted their work
before Covid, during Covid and how they
expected this to change in the future

6. Centre for Ageing Better
Evergreen
truths about
health and
work
What has
changed
over the last
year?

7. Centre for Ageing Better
Good line management matters just as much as adaptions and
adjustments
‘I felt really let down by my manager, she did not
understand the practices and policies the
organisation has about sickness absence, and she
offered no help or support about adjustments. She is
young and does ask the ‘how are you’, but doesn’t
listen, or even try to understand the experiences that
I face every day.’
Caroline, over 60; arthritis, auto-immune condition, cancer
‘My manager really understands. When I had
time off last year for depression, she would
check in on me to see if I was okay, there was
never any pressure. When I am in work and I
need to move around a bit to help with the back
pain, she just says ‘do what is best for you.’
Laura, 54, mental illnesses, osteoporosis

8. Centre for Ageing Better
Part-time work is part of the solution for older workers with long-
term health conditions
‘When you get that fatigued it takes a long time to get
back, which is why I have the jobs that I can come in
and out of…. More part-time work, that’s always
been my sort of saviour because not being well, a
full-time job sometimes you’re not well enough to do
that, whereas a part-time job you can be reliable’
Penny, 51; auto-immune conditions, anxiety

9. Centre for Ageing Better
Employers who provided good support prior to Covid-19
commonly continued that practice during the pandemic.

10. Centre for Ageing Better
Remote working was a positive change for many – but not for
everyone
‘It’s a real double-edged sword, it’s fantastic that I
can work from home, however because of it in this
new role I haven’t felt that I’ve become part of the
team.’
Susan - working from home and living with a physical health
condition

11. Centre for Ageing Better
Jobseekers with LTCs were worried about the rise of ageism and
ableism in a competitive job market
‘I think it’s very hard to get a job at the minute.
Especially as I’m not a young kid that’s fit and can
just do anything…it limits me for what I can apply
for…and I just think there are going to be a lot of
people better qualified than me.’
Julia – furloughed and living with a mental and physical health
condition
‘Even though I’ve got all these different
skills…suddenly I found myself at the age of 52, 53
looking for employment again…and I was quite
shocked, I just felt everyone was a bit ageist …trying
to get a job and when you haven’t got very current
skills… they couldn’t see past that.’
Susan - working from home and living with a physical health
condition

12. Centre for Ageing Better
But this is not all…
Many people with LTCs value work for its
multitude of benefits, not just financial necessity
The pandemic brought mental health challenges
– but so will returning to ‘normal’
Stigma prevents many older workers from
disclosing their LTC to their employer
Shielding letters provided certainty and clarity for
some vulnerable workers and their employers
All workers need access to decent sick pay The pandemic has given many older workers an
opportunity to reflect on their future.
If the right support was in place, many older
workers with LTCs were thriving

13. Centre for Ageing Better
How can we improve work for people with long-term health
conditions?
Government
– Publish their response to the ‘Health is
everyone’s business’ consultation
– Legislate to ensure the right to request
flexible working from day one, and a single
enforcement body for employment rights
– Increase the rate of Statutory Sick Pay
(SSP) in line with European averages
Employers
– Actively try to learn from the experiences of
mass home working
– Commit to being an anti-ageist and anti-
ableist organisation
– Invest in line management training- and
make sure managers are following policies

14. Centre for Ageing Better
Thank you
amy.mcsweeney@ageing_better

15. ageing-better.org.uk
Ageing, Health & Work
Thriving or Surviving in Lockdown?
Stephen Bevan, Head of HR research development
Institute for Employment Studies (IES)
Healthy Ageing: Health and work
25 June 2021

16. Ageing, Health & Work
Thriving or Surviving in Lockdown?
Stephen Bevan
Head of HR Research Development, IES

17. Living with a long-term condition at 61
Diagnosis of
oesophageal cancer
in 2018
Chemo,
oesophagectomy,
chemo &
radiotherapy in
2018/19
Shielding & WfH
(P/T) during
lockdown
Great RTW support
& adjustments
Look fine on the
outside but…
Reassess the
meaning & role of
work

18. What does previous research tell us?
Older workers want much the same out of work as younger colleagues
– but can be victims of the ‘soft bigotry of low expectations’
Multigenerational workforces can enhance knowledge exchange &
productivity
A focus on ‘capacity’ not ‘incapacity’ aids inclusion
Good work has therapeutic benefits

19. Employers
 Self-management & job-
crafting work
 Peer support
 Remove barriers to disclosure
 Adjustment ‘passports’
 Random act of kindness by a
manager is not weakness
Government
 Right to Flex
 Extend ‘Access to Work’
support
 Enforce Equalities Act & H&S
Act provisions
 Work as a health outcome for
HCPs
Messages for employers & Government

20. Further information:
www.employment-studies.co.uk
@StephenBevan
Stephen.Bevan@employment-studies.co.uk

21. ageing-better.org.uk
Towards an age-inclusive future of
health and work
Angela Matthews, Head of Policy and Research
Business Disability Forum
Healthy Ageing: Health and work
25 June 2021

22. Centre for Ageing Better
ageing-better.org.uk
Health and work: Healthy
ageing webinar
Thank you for watching