Work Packages

The second objective is to explore the extent to which the implementation of workplace interventions promoting active and healthy have taken place in Italy. To meet this objective a unique nation-wide representative survey among Italian employees will be conducted. The results of the survey will display individual sociodemographic characteristics, working conditions (e.g., flexibility), the presence of Workplace Health Promotion (WHP), job resources (e.g., support) and health status (e.g., Muscular-Skeletal Disorders, MSD). Furthermore, with regard to WP 4 (see below), the survey will reflect the impact of technology on working conditions and workers health. The Institute of Medical Sociology lead the WP, but will closely collaborate with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and the Fondazione Policlinico Campus Bio-Medico.

A large European data set on Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) will be investigated to identify country differences in active and healthy workplace conditions. SHARE is based on representative samples of people aged 50 or more from almost all European countries and provides a detailed retrospective assessment of respondents' previous life course including information on employment histories and health along with measures of the current employment and health status. The Institute of Medical Sociology will lead this work package.

A series of methodologies to quantify the level of cognitive, motor, sensory and emotional indexes associated with the use of technology in elderly workers will be developed. To quantify how the use of technology impacts these aspects, an interactive lab study (age and gender-matched) will be designed. The first group will include Italian employees with extensive experience with technology, the second group will include employees with moderate experience, and the third with limited or no experience. Employees’ performance will be assessed by using behavioral measures (i.e., auditory and haptic memory tasks, a programming task) and explicit questionnaire measures. The Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) will be mainly responsible of this WP.

The objective of WP5 is to evaluate how ageing workers deal with remote working. To do so, a cross-sectional study using a multidimensional questionnaire will be created. The study will include workers aged >50 years old affected by MSDs and with a previous and/or active experience of remote working. The target population will be composed of patients attending the outpatient clinic of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery of Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico. The questionnaire will encompass three sections: (1) demographic and occupational information; (2) remote working features and tasks; (3) MSD burden. Internationally renowned scores will be implemented to evaluate pain, disability, depression as well as digital device usability and acceptance. Differences between in-person and remote working will be highlighted. The results will be essential to display the relationship between remote working and the onset and progression of MSDs in elderly employees. The results will allow to derive interventions that optimize working conditions and prevent MSDs.