by Nomad
You aren't getting any younger, you know.
None of us are.
The American workforce is aging too.
In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of this moment in time, one-third of the total U.S. workforce are 50 years or older and one in every five American workers is over 65.
Barring some unforeseen factor, this progression will continue and by 2050, the US Census predicts that roughly 19 percent of the total workforce will be over the age of 65 years, growing by 75%.
The bottom line is the American workforce is aging. This fact of life will become an increasingly important consideration in business management in the next decades.
The question for management is how will this shift in worker ages affect the labor performance and how can the highest level of performance be maintained.
According to one study, (linked below) one way might just be by shifting to a three-day work week for workers over 40. That may sound counter-intuitive but the researchers noticed that peak performance for this age group was obtained at around 25 hours a week. After that, the overall performance dropped as fatigue and stress caused a negative impact.
While that's not true for every worker or for a particular age, the study found this to be true on average.
(For more information, click on the link below)
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the study findings? How would you like to work a three-day work week?
Study reveals how many days a week people should be working when they hit 40
A three-day-week gets the best performance from workers aged over 40, a study has found. Researchers found the cognitive performance of middle-aged people improved as the working week increased up to 25 hours a week. However, when the week went over 25 hours, overall performance for the test subjects decreased as "fatigue and stress" took effect.
