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The effects of age on productivity have been a long-standing concern for employers. A commonly held stereotype is that worker productivity declines with age. However, the available literature regarding occupational performance and age does not support this conjecture. This article provides an overview of the existing literature regarding aging and work and identifies those areas in the current knowledge base where additional research is needed.

Institutional and individual responses to structural lag : the changing patterns of work at older ages / Richard V. Burkhauser and Ludmila Rovba -- Caregiving and employment / Richard Schulz and Lynn M. Martire -- Aging and work : an international perspective / Juhani Ilmarinen -- The politics of work and aging : public policy for the new elders / Fernando M. Torres-Gil -- Implications of an aging workforce : an industry perspective / Vicki L. Hanson and Eric Lesser -- Trends in job demands, and the implications for older workers / Peter Cappelli -- Telework and older workers / Joseph Sharit and Sara J. Czaja -- Collaborative work : what's age got to do with it? / Michael A. Smyer and Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes -- The issues and opportunities of entrepreneurship after age 50 / Edward G. Rogoff -- Managers' attitudes toward older workers : a review of the evidence / Richard W. Johnson -- Work and older adults : motivation and performance / Ruth Kanfer -- Skill acquisition in older adults : psychological mechanisms / Neil Charness -- Preparing organizations and workers for current and future employment : training and retraining / Sara J. Czaja and Joseph Sharit -- Age and performance measures of knowledge-based work : a cognitive perspective / Pamela S. Tsang -- Ergonomic design of workplaces for the aging population / Karl H. E. Kroemer -- Safety and health issues for an aging workforce / James W. Grosch and Glenn S. Pransky -- Work organization and health in an aging workforce : observations from the NIOSH quality of life survey / Steven L. Sauter, Jessica M. Keel, and Dennis J. Hanseman -- Health promotion and wellness programs for older workers / Robert B. Wallace and Gwenith G. Fisher

A coincidence of two trends—the current technological revolution and the rapid increase in the size of the U.S. older population—has created an urgent need to consider the characteristics, capacities, and limitations of older adults in relation to new technologies. This article proposes that older adults should be perceived as active users of these technologies rather than as passive recipients. Everyday interactions with technology at work, in the home arena, in medical and health care settings, and on the highway are identified. Characteristics of older adults relevant to these environments are discussed. Both positive and negative potential consequences of technological change for older people are identified.

A coincidence of two trends -- the current technological revolution & the rapid increase in the size of the US older population -- has created an urgent need to consider the characteristics, capacities, & limitations of older adults in relation to new technologies. Here, it is proposed that older adults should be perceived as active users of these technologies rather than as passive recipients. Everyday interactions with technology at work, in the home, in medical & health care settings, & on the highway are identified. Characteristics of older adults relevant to these environments are discussed. Both positive & negative potential consequences of technological change for older people are identified. HA

This article explores the role of age, cognitive abilities, prior experience, and knowledge in skill acquisition for a computer-based simulated customer service task. Fifty-two participants aged 50–80 performed the task over 4 consecutive days following training. They also completed a battery that assessed prior computer experience and cognitive abilities. The data indicated that overall quality and efficiency of performance improved with practice. The predictors of initial level of performance and rate of change in performance varied according to the performance parameter assessed. Age and fluid intelligence predicted initial level and rate of improvement in overall quality, whereas crystallized intelligence and age predicted initial e-mail processing time, and crystallized intelligence predicted rate of change in e-mail processing time over days. We discuss the implications of these findings for the design of intervention strategies.

Because of the increased presence of computers in work and everyday life and the demographic "graying" of America, there is a need for interface designs that promote accessibility for older people. This study examined age differences in the performance of basic computer mouse control techniques. An additional goal of the study was to examine the influence of age-related changes in psychomotor abilities on mouse control. A total of 60 participants in 3 age groups (20--39 years, 40--59 years, and 60--75 years) performed 4 target acquisition tasks (pointing, clicking, double-clicking, and dragging) using a computer mouse. The data indicated that the older participants had more difficulty performing mouse tasks than the younger participants. Differences in performance attributable to age were found for the more complex tasks (clicking and double-clicking). Furthermore, age-related changes in psychomotor abilities were related to age differences in performance. We discuss applications to computer interface designs. Actual or potential applications of this research include specifications for computer mouse design to accommodate older populations.

This paper describes data generated from a comprehensive study in which human factors techniques were applied to the analysis of 25 personal and instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs) performed by 60 older adults (age 55 to 93 years) living in the community. Demand profiles generated from task analysis of videotaped ADLs identify the demands inherent in task activities and the objects and environments associated with them. Examples of four different approaches to examine ADL performance using demand profiles are presented: global descriptions of demands across all ADL tasks, task component profiles, task-specific profiles, and action profiles.

Reaction time in double stimulation tasks was investigated, and a simultaneous regression model was proposed within the concept of variable capacity allocation theory. The model was tested using a double stimulation task paradigm. In the experiment, six levels of inter-stimulus interval (ISI) and three levels of stimulus complexity were employed. The regression analysis showed that the effects of stimulus complexity and ISI were significant. From the simultaneous regression model, reaction times to the first and to the second stimulus were predicted for the different experimental conditions.

The aging of the population and, concomitantly, of the workforce has a number of important implications for governments, businesses, and workers. In this article, we examine the prospects for the employability of older workers as home-based teleworkers. This alternative work could accommodate many of the needs and preferences of older workers and at the same time benefit organizations. However, before telework can be considered a viable work option for many older workers there are a number of issues to consider, including the ability of older workers to adapt to the technological demands that are typically associated with telework jobs and managerial attitudes about older workers and about telework. Through an integrated examination of these and other issues, our goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges associated with employing older workers as teleworkers. We also present findings from a questionnaire study that assessed managers' perceptions of worker attributes desirable for telework and how older workers compare to younger workers on these attributes. The sample included 314 managers with varying degrees of managerial experience from a large variety of companies in the United States. The results presented a mixed picture with respect to the employability of older workers as teleworkers, and strongly suggested that less experienced managers would be more resistant to hiring older people as teleworkers. We conclude with a number of recommendations for improving the prospects for employment of older workers for this type of work arrangement.

Age differences in the use of telephone menu systems were investigated in two experiments. Participants from three age groups (younger: 18--39; middle-aged: 40--59; older: 60+ years) were required to obtain specified information or perform some action using simulated voice menu systems. Measures reflecting task performance, menu navigation, and subjective responses were collected. The focus in Experiment 1 was on examining the effect of speech rate. Data from 196 participants indicated age differences in performance, especially for complex problems. There was no effect of speech rate on any of the performance measures. Experiment 2 examined two types of support devices: a screen phone and a graphical aid. Data from 114 participants indicated that the screen phone provided some benefits in navigational efficiency. In terms of performance, the older participants benefited more from the graphical aid and the younger participants performed better with the screen phone. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance in the use of support devices that can reduce memory demands and the identification of appropriate speech rates.