Aviva’s annual Health of the Workplace report has revealed that companies are already starting to see a change in their workforce demographics, prompting fears that ageing workforce health issues will affect their company.

The removal of the Default Retirement Age, increased longevity and continued financial pressures on the over 55s mean nearly a third (29%) of employers are already seeing a rise in the average age of their workforce, while 37% expect to see it get older in the future. And although half (50%) of employers believe there are positive benefits for individuals working past the traditional retirement age, nearly two fifths (38%) predict that health issues associated with an ageing workforce will impact their business.

A quarter (24%) of employers are concerned that an increase in the numbers of older employees will see sickness absence rates rise. A similar proportion of employers (26%) were concerned that older employees would be absent with more serious conditions than their younger colleagues. Not surprisingly, nearly three-quarters (70%) of employers believe that health issues in the workplace will increase because older employees suffer from different medical complications to younger employees.