Strategy and actions for achieving productive aging in Japan.
The objective of this study was to develop basic strategies for determining the ideal form of corporate management that meets the needs of an aging work force, specifically with the intent to develop a method of calculating functional age, one of the determining factors of such strategies. A literature search was made of annual reports of research conducted jointly by the Association of Employment for Senior Citizens and Japanese corporations. We tested the physical, physiological, and psychomotor functions of 271 male workers ranging in age from 20 to 59, and we used the results to examine the means of creating a formula to calculate functional age. Many of the measures adopted by Japanese corporations to deal with aging involve job redesign. This category accounts for 58.5% of such measures in all research fields. Night vision, standing trunk flexion, timed vital capacity, systolic blood pressure, and jumping reaction time each have an important influence on functional age calculation.
Kumashiro
M
M
Department of Ergonomics, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Kitakyushu, Japan. m-kuma@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001244:Association; D004526:Efficiency; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006078:Government Programs; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D017132:Workplace