Health and productivity of older workers

The purpose of this paper is to present a summary of a critical review of the literature on age, health, and work. The health of older workers is a concern to the extent that the productivity of older workers is considered to be a function of age-related health, the general conclusion being that age-related declines in health inevitably lead to decreased productivity. This paper investigates the implications of age-related physiological and psychological changes on the productivity of older workers, by focusing on a critical examination of the ways in which productivity has been conceptualized and operationalized. This paper concludes that the emerging concept of "work capacity" has the greatest potential for addressing the productivity issues of workforce aging. Implications for public and corporate policy and for further research are also examined.