Fashion designer and icon Giorgio Armani died last week at the age of 91. The New York Times credited him for rewriting the rules of fashion, “not once but twice in his lifetime”, and for bringing an inventive, iconoclastic approach to modern clothing design.
His namesake company’s announcement of his death declared that he had “worked until his final days,” a reflection of both his famous work ethic, and his belief that the social connection, purpose, and engagement provided by work was critical to healthy longevity. Last year, Armani described work as, “the best medicine” to explain his return to the office after a significant health scare.
Armani is not alone in that belief, which explains in part why employment of workers aged 65 or older has grown by 117% within 20 years, and employment of individuals 75 years or older has also increased by 117%, and indeed there is some significant evidence that working for more years (under the right conditions) can support healthy aging.
But when it comes to healthy longevity, not all work is created equal. Armani himself noted that one of his greatest regrets is spending too much time at work, and some of the research points to greater benefits from part-time work and less physically taxing work. That is unfortunately not always available to older workers, though an increasing number of companies in places like Japan are creating supportive systems for older workers that include part-time work, job sharing opportunities, flexible work conditions, and greater use of assistive technology. Now that is a redesign we can get behind.