A team of researchers from the University of Bonn, Germany, has developed a program to increase the performance and well-being of those over 50s. This work was published in the European Journal of Ageing.
Often, people over 50 start to wonder if their productivity at work is going down. A common prejudice is that efficiency and stress tolerance decrease with age, but a team from the Section of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Bonn has developed a program to improve mental performance, self-confidence, psychological resilience, and well-being in the 50-plus generation.
Companies are worried that older workers are no longer able to keep up with technological innovations. “In the working world, for a long time, employees were frequently offered no opportunities for further training after the age of 45,” said Prof. Dr. Una Röhr-Sendlmeier of the Developmental and Educational Psychology Department at the University of Bonn. “It was assumed that such an investment would not be worthwhile.”
However, results showing that lifelong learning is possible contradict this view. During the study, the team assessed the impact of training sessions on mental speed and concentration, perception of one’s own competence, self-efficacy, and stress management in more than 800 women and men aged 50-plus during the years 2013 to 2019. The sessions were varied to cover different aspects of learning. For instance, physical activity was followed by cognitive training or skills reinforcement and then, after a break, information on stress development and relaxation exercises. “It was important to us that in each of the training sessions, the content on the different training areas was offered in a varied and interlocked way,” reported first author Tanja Hüber.
The complete training sessions consisted of five courses done over two and half hours every week for 15 weeks. During the skills training, workers assessed the skills and strengths that they managed to acquire during their career, while stress management was included ways to develop individual strategies to deal with complicated situations. The participants trained problem-solving skills and mental abilities using the game “Go,” which most of them didn’t know how to play before the study. Coordination and relaxation exercises were also part of the program. In contrast, the control group received no training.
Some participants completed all modules, while others focussed on just one combined with sessions of physical activity.” We wanted to find out what effects the cognitive training, the skills training or the stress management training each had on their own,” explained co-author Dr. Udo Käser.
Six months after completing the training modules, the researchers assessed how much the participants improved using questionnaires and tests. The results showed significant improvements, including speed of processing information, relaxation, and willingness not to give up. Virtually all participants would recommend the training to others, and many companies are asking how to implement the course for their workers. “Professionals over 50 gain quality of life, and companies gain the opportunity to offer these professionals a perspective for longer,” Röhr-Sendlmeier concludes. This is a win-win situation for both sides.
Tanja Hüber, Udo Käser, Lena Stahlhofen, Lara Görtner & Una Röhr‑Sendlmeier: Evaluation of a multi‑component training programme for employees aged 50+, European Journal of Ageing, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-022-00715-0