Workplace health promotion as a tool for reducing the consequences of ageing of the working population

摘要

A significant intensification of the ageing process in Poland, projected for the upcoming years, will have serious socioeconomic consequences. This demographic process at the macro level will result in lower contributions to the state budget (due to decreased workforce) and higher public expenses (on pensions, healthcare and long-term care). Implications at the meso (workplace) level will include the diminishing and ageing of workforce, which will then cause troubles in recruitment. Decreased ageing personnel’s productivity due to absence and presenteeism is also probable. One way of coping with such challenges by the state is to support social and occupational activity of the society. One of the tools to be employed within such a policy is workplace health promotion (WHP). In literature there are no thorough elaborations summarizing WHP advantages in this field. The aim of this paper is to outline the scientific evidence of WHP effectiveness in counteracting/reducing the consequences of the ageing process (the shrinking workforce and the declining productivity of the ageing personnel, associated with absence/presenteeism). A narrative literature review was conducted (Polish and English publications identified in the EBSCO/PubMed databases, using the Google engine and a snowball method). The potential of WHP stems from its effectiveness in enhancing employees’ health/preventing health problems. A good health condition reduces the shrinking of workforce via sustaining workability/occupational activity. It also mitigates the impact of absence and/or presenteeism. Health problems have the opposite effect. Although the analysis of the WHP effectiveness in strengthening workability, extending occupational activity, reducing absence/presenteeism/related loss of productivity belongs to poorly developed scientific areas, the systematic literature reviews that have been gathered reflect the WHP potential in these fields.