Supporting Healthy Ageing at Work (SHAW)
The SHAW project
The three year SHAW project involved academics and industry working closely together to deepen our understanding of how work and health are intertwined in older workers’ everyday lives and to solve a key societal challenge — how to support healthy ageing at work and enable productive later-life employment. The aim of the study was to design innovative workplace interventions to support the health and wellbeing of older workers (aged 50+).
The project has finished, but our work continues.
Learn more about the SHAW project's findings and outcomes, and the next course of action.
Introducing the SHAW project
Our Supporting Healthy Ageing at Work (SHAW) research project, led by the University of Edinburgh Business School Dean, Wendy Loretto, looked at how we could give more visibility to older workers as Scotland's workforce continues to age.
In Conversation with Wendy Loretto and Jakov Jandric
Wendy Loretto, Belinda Steffan and Jakov Jandric undertake research that addresses age discrimination and creating age-inclusive work environments.
Age Innovators
Wendy Loretto, Belinda Steffan and Mike Douglas (Age Scotland) discuss their collaboration which is supporting, enabling and empowering people over 50 to remain in work.
One in three workers in the UK are aged 50+, a figure that is set to rise in coming decades.
The onset of health problems becomes more common among people in their 50s — almost half of those aged 50 to 64 have at least one long-term health condition. For one in five older workers who stop working before State Pension Age, health problems are the main reason why they left their job.
However, with the right workplace supports in place, older people with long-term health issues are more likely to be able to remain in work.