Impact of employee age on the safe performance of production tasks

The number of occupational accidents reported in Polish industry and the extent of the resulting losses show that safety is critical for the effective performance of production tasks. In view of such high accident rates, a pressing need has been recognized for identifying and undertaking improvement measures. The factors which require a response to secure adequate safety levels for the labor force include worker age. Such age affects worker behaviors, influences the speed of reaction to threats and translates into the scope and nature of effective improvement measures. Thus, worker age ranks among the key criteria for ensuring the safe performance of production tasks. The study revealed relationships between worker age and safety at workstations. Links between the two were found to be particularly pronounced among workers aged 50+. The study’s outcomes were used to define the impact of worker age on the occurrence of threats that impair the ability to perform production tasks