A timely piece in The New York Times (including insights from our director Lisa Berkman) that explores what drives some people to retire sooner than planned and what keeps some in their posts longer than they thought (and perhaps, ought).
Study links changes in work environment with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease among most at-risk employees
A reduction in stressful conditions at work has now been linked to a reduction in cardiovascular disease (CVD) among those employees who were at an elevated risk of CVD at the start of the intervention study, especially if they were older workers. Researchers affiliated with The Work, Family & Health Network Study deployed interventions at two different types of works sites (IT and long-term care) designed to increase work-life balance…
Lisa Berkman presents at PAA’s Capital Hill briefing on aging baby boomer generation’s prospects of working longer
Lisa Berkman, Harvard Pop Center Director and President of the Population Association of America (PAA), participated in a Capital Hill briefing titled “Happy Birthday, Baby—Boomers!” A panel of population scientists explored the social and economic policy impacts of an aging population and workforce before an audience of congressional staff. The briefing, sponsored by PAA, along with the Association of Population Centers (APC), is summarized on the PAA website and includes…
TIAA Institute Insights Report: “Policy solutions that implicitly expect almost everyone to delay retirement will leave many Americans behind”
Lisa F. Berkman, PhD, and Beth C. Truesdale, PhD, have published a TIAA Institute Insights Report that pulls from book that they co-edited, “Overtime: America’s Aging Workforce and the Future of Working Longer,” to help answer the question: “Should women just delay retirement and work longer?” The report is part of the TIAA Institute’s Women’s Voices of Expertise & Experience: Insights to Help Retire Inequality series.
Analysis streamlines measurement of physiological ‘wear and tear’
The measurement of allostatic load (cumulative biological dysregulation related to life course stressors) varies widely across studies, making it difficult to rely on the measurement to help predict mortality. An analysis published in Psychoneuroendocrinology has pinpointed five biomarkers that predict mortality as accurately as more elaborate batteries of tests, enabling the researchers, including Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman, to offer recommendations for more efficient biomarker collection in future allostatic…
Continue reading “Analysis streamlines measurement of physiological ‘wear and tear’”
Winter 2023 Harvard Public Health Magazine cites work by Berkman/Truesdale and Subramanian/Kim
In the current issue of Harvard Public Health Magazine, Harvard Pop Center research projects (and researchers) are getting some attention. The book “Overtime: America’s Aging Workforce and the Future of Working Longer” co-edited by HCPDS Director Lisa Berkman and Visiting Scientist Beth C. Truesdale is spotlighted in the “Bookshelf” section, and novel research by Faculty Member S (Subu) V Subramanian and Visiting Scientist Rockli Kim that mapped undernutrition across India’s…
Safeguarding the health of residential addiction treatment center workers could reduce worker turnover (and help their patients have better outcomes!)
In response to the opioid epidemic and the additional strains of the pandemic, a study published in Social Science & Medicine parses out which socio-contextual factors were found to be affecting provider health and turnover. Authors include HCPDS Director Lisa Berkman, faculty member Laura Kubzansky and former postdoctoral fellow Erika Sabbath. Photo: Pix4free.org
The Harvard Gazette: Berkman shares why living longer doesn’t necessarily mean we can work longer
In this interview, HCPDS Director Lisa Berkman points out the complexities involved with having a heterogeneous workforce and the wide variety of reasons (e.g., health reasons, caregiving responsibilities, job qualities) why someone may leave the workforce. Based on findings from the newly published volume “Overtime: America’s Aging Workforce and the Future of Working Longer,” that she co-edited with Beth Truesdale, she shares some hopeful solutions.
Labor Day op-ed in The Nation explains why “investments in better jobs today mean better retirements tomorrow”
Co-editors Beth Truesdale and Lisa Berkman penned an op-ed in honor of Labor Day that shares insights from their new book (that drops tomorrow!), “Overtime: America’s Aging Workforce and the Future of Working Longer.”