August 2021 saw the launch of our eagerly-awaited older workers toolkit, aimed at helping colleagues aged 50+ to make the most of working life and manage the challenges that can sometimes arise for this group of staff.

Wellbeing of older workers banner

The toolkit aims to support older workers through signposting towards policies, information and resources and will be of particular interest to older workers and their line managers.

The toolkit’s distinctive images were created by PhD student Yixuan Wang through the Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities Artist-in-Residence internship scheme. The WOW toolkit is available university wide, and it is hoped that the older workers group will be able to extend its reach to provide events and resources for all university staff. 

Co-chairs of IHW's Wellbeing of older workers (WOW) group, Janet Bouttell and Nicola McMeekin, said: 

"It's fantastic to be able to share this resource with you. Since our group was founded in 2018, we consulted older workers in the institute and found out what information would be useful to them. Through Wellcome Trust funding we were able to employ Dr Rebecca Robinson as project officer and she has worked very hard to produce this Wellbeing of Older Workers Toolkit for older workers and their line managers. We hope you find it useful and please let us know if there are areas which could be improved or if there are additional resources we could add”. 

Commenting on the launch and the culmination of this important piece of work, Dr Breda Cullen, IHW's Athena SWAN champion, said: 

"I am delighted that the WOW toolkit has now been launched in IHW and beyond. This is a pioneering initiative which collates, for the first time in one place, a wealth of information and resources relevant for older workers in our institute. The toolkit will be invaluable for older workers and their line managers and colleagues, as part of our ongoing endeavours to make IHW a great place to work for all."

The toolkit is available from the IHW Athena SWAN webpages and from the University of Glasgow's Equality and Diversity Unit website

View the toolkit


First published: 2 May 2018