by University of Bath

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

People with dementia can enjoy productive and rewarding working lives in the digital era, contrary to the widespread stereotype that dementia is incompatible with the use of modern technology, according to new research from the University of Bath.

The study, “Working lives with dementia: A digital futures perspective,” argues that the digital revolution risks exacerbating inequalities among those with diverse needs but that organizations can and should develop, adapt and deploy digital technology and the working environment to help those with dementia to continue in employment. The research is published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.

“The bottom line is that we have an aging population and workforce in which dementia will feature and which should, and can be, accommodated by the judicious use of digital technology and adapting working conditions. The reality is, this is not dealt with in any meaningful way right now—there are very rarely strategies in place,” said Dr. James Fletcher of the University of Bath School of Management.

“There is widespread prejudice that those with dementia cannot cope with, or benefit from, digital technology, and they often get bundled into the same category as the oldest people. But it’s worth putting some perspective on this—an experienced 60-year-old employee with early stage dementia will have grown up through the digital, internet and social media revolutions—and with the right support, they will still have much to offer,” Dr. Fletcher said.

The study was published as the U.K. government announced its welfare reform plans, part of which is to encourage more disabled people into work. Dr. Fletcher said he hoped the research could be a useful example of the prospects and challenges of fulfilling that goal.

Dr. Fletcher noted that quite simple adjustments to the working environment, such as improving workstation lighting, using appropriate fonts and color schemes, and providing workers with calendars, voice-activated controls, and automatic reminders could make a big difference for somebody diagnosed with dementia.

“And AI offers really interesting opportunities—it is superb at solving many of the problems faced by those with dementia, such as finding words, organizing text and putting words in the right sequence. Couple that with the potential offered by hybrid working for those with dementia, and you can see the benefits for both employees and companies,” he said.

Dr. Fletcher and his co-researcher Dr. Olivia Brown argue that dementia is not inherently disabling and that its impact depends heavily on the environment and surroundings in which an employee is operating. Employers might consider, for example, that an employee with dementia may be able to access a building with a swipe card but may be foiled if access relies on codes that they have to remember.

“We need to approach this in the way we already respond to people with diverse needs, which is already familiar to most employees. Also, there is a misplaced tendency to see a dementia diagnosis in black and white terms when the reality is, the effects can vary day-to-day and hour-to-hour depending on environment and relationships,” Dr. Brown said.

Dr. Fletcher said that employees could suffer tremendous stress from a dementia diagnosis and disclosing this to their employer, with some developing strategies to conceal their condition. He said that, while we lack good statistics, it appears that the ‘vast majority’ of those diagnosed with dementia go into unemployment, often unwillingly.

“There are many who could stay in the workforce and don’t. And this is not just an issue for older people—growing numbers of younger people are being diagnosed,” he said.

The researchers noted that dementia is often considered to be a post-retirement phenomenon, but estimates suggest that 9% of the 35.6 million people worldwide with dementia are under 65 years of age, with around 370,000 new cases of young onset dementia annually.

More information: James Rupert Fletcher et al, Working lives with dementia: A digital futures perspective, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology (2025). DOI: 10.1111/joop.70015

Provided by University of Bath

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