Professional Risk Management: The Challenge of Population Ageing

Abstract

A discussion on the ageing of the working population and the necessary management strategies for this new paradigm is presented in this paper. The purpose of this article is to show that "older worker" is not, in itself, a risk for the management of occupational risk. A literature review was carried out concerning prejudices towards seniors workers (age over 50); e.g., it is a common belief that seniors workers are: i) more susceptible to accidents, ii) less reliable and iii) more resistant to change. However studies of the working population in Europe contradict such prejudice, showing that with adequate management of organizational environment, corporations have much to gain from the diversity of ages and experiences.