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Lookup NU author(s): Professor David Lain
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The UK government has called for employers to make work adaptations in response to changes in health individuals may experience as they age. However, government assumptions place too much emphasis on the voluntary actions of employers and managers, without placing the management of health in a wider context. Drawing on insights from Thompson’s disconnected capitalism thesis, we explore whether financial/competitive pressures facing many private and public sector organisations today, alongside other factors, contribute to organisations not considering or implementing work adaptations. In this context, it is suggested that older workers may also hide health issues because of anxiety, or ‘ontological precarity’, regarding working longer. Qualitative case studies compare the delivery of work adaptations in three organisations: ‘Local Government’, ‘Hospitality’ and ‘Trains’. Work adaptations were only widely available in ‘Trains’; this was for a range of reasons, including the fact that Trains was relatively insulated from financial pressures and able to deliver job and financial security for older workers. As many older workers will continue to be employed by organisations similar to ‘Local Government’ and ‘Hospitality’, we argue that policy makers cannot rely solely on employers to make adaptations.
Author(s): Lain D, van der Horst M, Vickerstaff S
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Social Policy
Year: 2024
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 18/09/2024
Acceptance date: 22/06/2024
Date deposited: 29/06/2024
ISSN (print): 0047-2794
ISSN (electronic): 1469-7823
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279424000163
DOI: 10.1017/S0047279424000163
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