Whether we admit it or not, as we age we lose a lot of our energy and impulse for work. Time may make us calmer and more mature, but our concentration and determination to put efforts and achieve different goals appear to decrease as the years pass by. That's, of course, entirely normal, because neither the body nor the mind is as fresh and energetic as they were when we were younger.
A recent research published in the Melbourne Institute Worker Paper series confirms this stating that people over 40 should not work a full five-day working week.
According to the research employees that are forty or older manifest the highest performance rates if they work three days a week, and that's the recommended time they should be working.
Researchers from the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research that conducted the study examined the results of the brain tests and the work habits of approximately 3,000 men and 3,500 women in Australia. All the participants are 40 years old or older.
The study researched these people's financial and moral well-being, type of family structures, and the job the participants are working.
After a detailed analysis, the researchers discovered that thirty-hour weekly work is beneficial to the cognitive function at a later stage; however, workers who exceed the thirty working hours a week seemed to show a decline in their performance.
It turned out that people, that exceed 55 working hours a week showed a more significant cognitive decrease than the ones who aren't working.
The Independent published the views of one the three authors of the research that Professor Colin McKenzie from Keio University had shared with the Times:
"Many countries are going to raise their retirement ages by delaying the age at which people are eligible to start receiving pension benefits. This means that more people continue to work in the later stages of their life."
He added:
"The degree of intellectual stimulation may depend on working hours. Work can be a double-edged sword, in that it can stimulate brain activity, but at the same time, long working hours can cause fatigue and stress, which potentially damage cognitive functions. We point out that differences in working hours are important for maintaining cognitive functioning in middle-aged and elderly adults. That means that, in middle and older age, working part-time could be effective in maintaining cognitive ability."
Therefore, what he's saying is that there's a difference between keeping the brain intellectually engaged and the fact someone has been overworking, something could lead to severe consequences.
Here's why the government should reconsider the pension age. For example, the state pension period for people born in 1989 begins when they become 68.
Working full time after 40 could be harmful and not beneficial to the employers because of the lower productivity of the employees.
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