Sustainable work through technology-assisted enhancement of cognitive abilities of older employees: the sustAGE approach.

Purpose Cognitive ageing may impair the ability of older employees to remain in the workforce. The interdisciplinary EU-project sustAGE draws upon digital technology trends to support older workers by providing guidance for health-promoting activities in and outside the working context. One of sustAGE’s objectives is the enhancement of age-affected cognitive abilities through targeted training interventions. A combination of personalized recommendations and corresponding cognitive trainings in form of digital serious games serves this purpose. Three interlinked steps are necessary for implementing the sustAGE approach: base-line assessment of cognitive abilities of potential groups of users; derivation and implementation of user-specific recommendations; and development and evaluation of training. The first step within sustAGE development included an empirical assessment of cognitive abilities from a sample of older employees in two of the most important sectors of EU industry: automotive industry (AI) and maritime logistics (ML).

Methods A psychometric test battery measuring attentional, memory and executive functions was administered to a sample of 60 older employees (M = 53.4; SD = 5.1) from the two industries.

Results Comparisons between occupational groups revealed significant effects regarding cognitive performance (AI > HL; sustained attention, p < .0001; processing speed, p < .005; task switching, p < .0001).

Conclusions Group differences in cognitive performance may relate to specific job characteristics of the two occupational domains and provide evidence for differentiated, group-specific needs and respective interventions. Current results as well as additional sample analysis will serve as basis for the development of targeted recommendations and cognitive trainings based on the inferred group profiles.

Publication History

Article published online:
02 September 2021