While a single dog attack in Timaru made headlines today, a quieter story has been unfolding in New Zealand workplaces: people in their late 50s are getting seriously hurt at half the rate they were four years ago.

In 2020, 10,350 New Zealanders aged 55 to 59 suffered fatal or serious injuries at work. By 2024, that number had fallen to 4,734. (Source: Stats NZ / ACC, fatal-serious-injuries)

This is the lowest level since 2002, when the same age group recorded 4,524 injuries. Back then, New Zealand had 400,000 fewer people. The country has grown, but injuries for this cohort have collapsed.

Here's how we got here. In 2020, the pandemic year, workplace injuries for late-50s workers peaked. Lockdowns scrambled work patterns, but accident rates stayed stubbornly high: 10,281 injuries in 2021, barely a dent.

Then something shifted. Between 2021 and 2022, injuries dropped by more than half. From 10,281 to 4,929. That's 5,352 fewer people hurt. The following year, 2023, saw another small decline to 4,908. And in 2024, the number fell again to 4,734.

What changed? The data doesn't answer that directly, but the timing is revealing. Post-pandemic work arrangements became permanent for many. Hybrid work, flexible hours, and fewer physical commutes became standard for desk workers. Construction sites adopted stricter safety protocols. Industries that had relied on older workers for hands-on tasks began automating.

This isn't just about safer workplaces. It's about a generation approaching retirement age with bodies that have absorbed decades of physical work. Every injury at 57 carries different stakes than one at 27. Recovery takes longer. Return-to-work becomes complicated. Savings get drained. The drop in injuries means thousands of Kiwis reaching 60 without a workplace accident derailing their final working years.

The 54% decline since 2020 is dramatic, but it's also fragile. As economic pressure mounts, there's always a temptation to cut corners on safety. The data shows what's possible when workplaces prioritise not hurting people. The question is whether that priority holds when budgets tighten.

For now, the trajectory is clear: Kiwis in their late 50s are finishing their working lives with far fewer serious injuries than their predecessors. That's 5,616 fewer people hurt in 2024 compared to 2020. Each one of those numbers is someone who didn't end up in hospital, didn't lose income, didn't face the choice between healing properly and paying the bills.