While the population of Europe is rapidly aging, extended working life has been increasingly promoted. However, a fair amount of older workers prefer to retire early. The question is, whether we know ...enough about what makes people want to retire as soon as they can. Research on the relationship between the quality of work and retirement intentions has received significant attention but delivered ambiguous results, which may mean that the relationship between retirement intentions and the quality of work is more complex, i.e. moderated by other constructs. Therefore, using data obtained from the seventh wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we assess the relationship of the retirement intentions with the quality of work, and personality traits. In addition, we investigate whether personality traits moderate the relationship between retirement intentions and the quality of work. We found that physical demands, psychosocial demands, social support at work, control, and reward predict retirement intentions. Neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness predict retirement intentions too. The relationship between the quality of work and retirement intentions is not moderated by personality traits.
This research examines a newer breed of globally mobile international employee, older academic international business travellers (AIBTs). This is the first study to examine older academics who retire ...or reduce their responsibilities but continue to work - and to work internationally. Using semi-structured interviews with older academics from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, we found ten key drivers for continuing to work, albeit in a different capacity, as academic international business travellers; most of which related to strong identification with occupation. We also found interviewees have generally greater satisfaction levels than experienced in their previous work. Interviewees expressed intentions to continue working as long as opportunities are presented to them and their interest in doing so and health allows. We note implications for further research and opportunities for universities to make use of the invested human capital of older academics.
Older job seekers dropping out of the active workforce is a major challenge for individuals, organizations, and society, resulting in the need to protect and extend their working lives. Based on the ...discouraged workers approach, this study used career construction theory to study how past experiences can discourage older job seekers and make them withdraw from the job search. Specifically, we explored how age discrimination is connected to lower levels of older job seekers' occupational future time perspective (i.e., remaining time and future opportunities) and how it results in less career exploration and higher retirement intentions. Using a three-wave design, we followed 483 older job seekers in two countries (the United Kingdom and the United States) over a total period of two months. Results of structural equation modeling showed that perceived age discrimination decreased older job seekers' remaining time and future opportunities. Further, remaining time was negatively linked to retirement intentions, whereas future opportunities were positively linked to career exploration. Furthermore, results revealed two indirect effects of age discrimination on (1) retirement intentions via remaining time and (2) career exploration via future opportunities. These results show how damaging age discrimination can be in the job search context and we call for the search of potential moderators that can buffer the negative impact of age discrimination. Practitioners should work on protecting older job seekers' occupational future time perspective to keep them active instead of losing them to early retirement.
Population ageing in Western countries has made delayed retirement and extended working life a policy priority in recent years. Retirement timing has been linked to individual factors such as health ...and wealth, but less is known about the role of the psychosocial work environment. This paper drew upon longitudinal data on 3462 workers aged 50–69 from five waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Regression models were used to assess the association of working conditions with preferred timing of retirement and actual work exit. Adjusting for a range of covariates, job demands (aspects of the job requiring sustained physical or psychological effort) were associated with preferences for earlier retirement (by 0.18 years; 95 % C.I. 0.06, 0.31). Decision authority was associated with preferences for later retirement (by 0.38 years; 95 % C.I. 0.23, 0.53) and reduced odds of work exit (OR = 0.93; 95 % C.I. 0.88, 0.97). Low recognition at work was associated with increased odds of work exit (OR = 1.23; 95 % C.I. 1.10, 1.43). There was little evidence of any interactive relationship between demands and resources. Efforts to extend working life should address issues relating to the immediate psychosocial work environment. Providing older workers with increased sense of control, and ensuring contributions are adequately recognised, may delay retirement intentions and the timing of labour market exit.
The combination of work and family obligations can lead to two-way interference, resulting in Family Care Interference with Work (FCIW) and Work Interference with Family Care (WIFC). Both can impact ...late career motivation and intentions to continue working or retire and reduce their occupational time perspective (OFTP). Through two studies, this paper shows how OFTP mediates the relationship between FCIW/WIFC and mid and late career indicators such as early retirement intentions and motivation to continue working beyond the retirement age. Our findings contribute to increasing knowledge of how increasing family caregiving obligations may impact the career intentions of working carers in their mid and late career stages.
Psychosocial work characteristics are potential determinants of retirement intentions and actual retirement. A systematic review was conducted of the influence of psychosocial work characteristics on ...retirement intentions and actual retirement among the general population. This did not include people who were known to be ill or receiving disability pension. Relevant papers were identified by a search of PubMed, PsycINFO and Web of Science databases to December 2016. We included longitudinal and cross-sectional papers that assessed psychosocial work characteristics in relation to retirement intentions or actual retirement. Papers were filtered by title and abstract before data extraction was performed on full texts using a predetermined extraction sheet. Forty-six papers contained relevant evidence. High job satisfaction and high job control were associated with later retirement intentions and actual retirement. No consistent evidence was found for an association of job demands with retirement intentions or actual retirement. We conclude that to extend working lives policies should increase the job control available to older employees.
ObjectivesThe objectives of this study are twofold. First, to examine the direct effect of psychosocial work characteristics (as measured by job autonomy and work-related pressure) in relation to ...self-reported psychological morbidity symptoms and early retirement intentions among a sample of hospital consultants in the National Health Service (NHS). Second, to investigate burnout as mediating variable (ie, indirect effect) of these postulated associations.DesignA cross-sectional observational study.Participants593 NHS consultants (male=63.1%) from hospitals in England, Scotland and Wales.MeasuresSelf-reported online questionnaires on work-related pressure and job autonomy (Job Demands-Resources Questionnaire); emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation (Maslach Burnout Inventory); depressive and anxiety symptoms (State Trait Personality Inventory) and a single-item on early retirement intention.ResultsThis study observed high prevalence rates across all adverse health measures: emotional exhaustion (38.7%), depersonalisation (20.7%), anxiety symptoms (43.1%) and depressive symptoms (36.1%). Multiple linear regressions examined the postulated direct and indirect effects. Job autonomy had significant negative direct effects on the frequency of NHS consultants’ anxiety and depressive symptoms, and their intention to retire early. Both emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation mediated the relationships that work-related pressure (full mediation) and job autonomy (partial mediation) had with self-reported symptoms of psychological morbidities. Only emotional exhaustion mediated the relationships where early retirement intention was the outcome. In terms of sociodemographic factors, age and years’ experience predicted both burnout dimensions and psychological morbidity.ConclusionsThis is the first study to observe job autonomy to be associated with the number of self-reported psychological morbidity symptoms and early retirement intentions in a sample of NHS consultants. Burnout dimensions mediated these relationships, indicating that interventions need to focus on enhancing working conditions and addressing burnout among NHS consultants before more severe symptoms of psychological morbidity are reported. This study has implications for NHS policy makers and senior leadership.
In view of the aging and dejuvenation of the working population and the expected shortages in employees’ skills in the future, it is of utmost importance to focus on older workers’ employability in ...order to prolong their working life until, or even beyond, their official retirement age. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between older workers’ employability (self-)perceptions and their intention to continue working until their official retirement age. In addition, we studied the role of potential antecedents of their perceived employability at three different levels: training and education in current expertise area as well as in an adjacent expertise area (individual level factor), learning value of the job (job level factor), and organizational career management practices (organizational level factor). Data were collected by means of e-questionnaires that were distributed among two groups of Dutch older (45-plus) white collar workers. The samples consisted of 223 employees of an insurance company, and 325 university workers, respectively. Our research model was tested separately in each sample using Structural Equation Modeling. We controlled for effects of respondents’ (self-)perceived health and (self-)perceived financial situation. Similar results were found for both samples. First, the relationship of perceived employability with the intention to continue working until one’s retirement age was positive, whereas the relationship between a perceived good financial situation with the intention to continue working until one’s retirement age was negative. Secondly, as regards the potential antecedents, results showed that the learning value of the job was positively related to perceived employability. In addition, an employee’s perception of good health is a relevant correlate of perceived employability. So, whereas perceived employability contributes to the intention to continue working until one’s retirement age, a good financial situation is a push factor to retire early. In order to promote the labor participation of older workers, this study indicates that organizations should focus on the learning possibilities that are inherent to one’s job rather than on providing additional training or career management. Further research is needed to test the generalizability of our results to other samples.
Organizational researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in how subjective age - employees' perceived age - is related to important work and career outcomes. However, the ...direction of the relationship between employees' subjective age and retirement intentions remains unclear, thus preventing theoretical advances and effective interventions to potentially delay retirement. We contribute to the literature on work and ageing by investigating the relationship between subjective age and retirement intentions longitudinally, using a sample of n = 337 workers who participated in a study with six measurement waves across 15 months. Results of a random intercept cross-lagged panel model show unique between-person and within-person relationships linking subjective age and retirement intentions. As expected, we found a positive relationship between subjective age and retirement intentions at the between-person level of analysis. At the within-person level of analysis, results suggest that retirement intentions positively predicted subjective age, but not vice versa. Overall, these findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of subjective age in the context of work and retirement.
PurposeTo cope with the workforce shortages brought by population ageing, it is critical to understand the workplace micro-foundations that determine the mechanisms of older workers' early retirement ...intentions. Drawing on the conservation of resource theory, this study examines the spillover effect of strain-based family-to-work conflict (SFWC) on early retirement intentions, with emotional exhaustion as a mediator. Additionally, it investigates the contextual resources, HR practice flexibility, as a boundary condition for the above relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe study tests the hypotheses by employing a multi-sourced matching sample of 231 workers (aged 45–65) and their 49 managers.FindingsThe results of cross-level analysis revealed that SFWC has a positive indirect relationship with early retirement intentions, through increased emotional exhaustion. The relationship between emotional exhaustion and early retirement intentions is weaker when older employees experience higher HR practice flexibility.Originality/valueThis study is the first to use a resources perspective to analyse early retirement mechanisms, and it examines the spillover effect of SFWC on early retirement intentions. The findings also contribute to the literature on the role of HR practice for ageing workers.
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