Abstract
Increased life expectancy has resulted in improved health and quality of life, which has accelerated global demographic aging. This phenomenon is a significant source of concern for any country in the 21st century. Simultaneously, several policies have been implemented in a variety of areas, most notably the one advocated by the United Nations—Active Aging—which aims to maintain citizens' active participation in their communities for an extended period, as well as lifelong learning, health, and safety, including in the workforce context. In this chapter, the authors employed a research methodology consisting of two distinct phases, namely scientometrics and web-scraping, to analyze the predefined keywords “aging”/“ageing” and “work” in the context of a business environment. The results presented indicate that the interest in this theme has grown substantially. On the other hand, the keywords investigated are interconnected with other sub-areas, demonstrating the wide dissemination of this study area.
TopBackground
All individuals are affected by aging, which is a constant and complex process that occurs throughout life. Although it exhibits distinct characteristics in specific organs and systems, it corresponds to anatomical and physiological changes caused by molecular and cellular alterations in all types of cells throughout the body (Seeley et al., 2008; Bernardes & Pinheiro, 2014).
Global population growth will be significant, according to various official sources, both international and national. The world's population is estimated to be around 7.9 billion people in 2021. According to the United Nations, the world's population will reach 11.2 billion by the end of this century. It is easiest to visualize this massive global transformation by analyzing Figure 1 (Ritchie & Roser, 2019). In particular, demographic aging in the United States is slower than in other developed economies, probably due to a higher fertility rate (Ferreira, 2014).
Figure 1. Population pyramid (1950-2100)
The elderly population is a highly heterogeneous group, with considerable variation in the aging process, i.e., some individuals experience a significant decline while others experience a less noticeable decline. Regardless of the various aging rhythms to which the body is subjected, additional factors contribute to the phenomenon, such as the influence of genetic, physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors (Bernardes & Pinheiro, 2014; Oliveira & Pinto, 2014).
The onset of aging is imprecise, and its progression is variable; so, it is generally divided into two categories: primary (normal aging) and secondary (pathological aging), the latter of which is characterized by a greater propensity to develop diseases (Bernardes & Pinheiro, 2014). At one age, the ability to repair oneself becomes more challenging until it becomes ineffective. As a result, aging is defined as a decline in the human body's adaptive capacity to deal with the challenges encountered throughout life. Thus, studying aging in its entirety enables us to intervene early and prevent functional decline in the human body, resulting in more active and healthy aging. It will be critical to delay vascular pathologies, metabolic syndrome, elderly frailty syndrome, sarcopenia, and neurodegenerative diseases as much as possible in this context (Oliveira & Pinto, 2014).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Population Aging: A process of the relative growth of the elderly population in relation to the total population.
Web-Scraping: Is the process of collecting structured web data, gathering pages to create indices or collections, it is also called web data extraction.
Healthy Life Expectancy: Is a term generally used as a synonym for life expectancy without physical disabilities, corresponding to the length of time people can expect to live without needing special care.
Lifespan: The developmental period from birth to death. Individual development can be described as the succession of consecutive stages, in which the individual plays an active role in his development and to which he adjusts psychologically.
Active Aging: The process of maximizing opportunities for health, participation, and security, to improve quality of life as people age.
Aging: A natural process, characterized by specific biopsychosocial changes, associated over time, variable from individual to individual, and influenced by lifestyle, environmental factors, and health conditions.
Quality of Life: Is a very broad concept that integrates in a complex way a person's physical health, his psychological state, level of dependency, his social relations, his beliefs, and his relationship with environmental characteristics.
Workforce: The ability of employees to generate value for organizations and society.