To work or not to work in an extended working life? Factors in working and retirement decisions
Author
Summary, in English
In most of the industrialised world, the proportion of older and retired people in the population is continuously increasing. This will have budgetary implications for maintaining the welfare state, because the active working section of the population must fund the non-active and old population.
Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to obtain knowledge about older workers’ work and life situation in association with their planning and decision to retire from working life.
Method: The thesis includes one qualitative and three quantitative studies conducted in Sweden.
Result: Self-rated health was found to be a better measure than diagnosed disease of whether older workers believed they could work until 65 years or beyond. Health seems not to be a general impediment to working in old age if older workers are satisfied with their work situation and have enough time and opportunities to recover from fatigue. In one of Sweden’s most hazardous work environments, older workers were not injured significantly more often than younger workers. Good mental and physical work environment, moderate working pace and working time, and the right competence and possibility for skills development were factors determining whether older workers believed they can extend their working life. Attitude to older workers in the organisation, motivation and work satisfaction were factors determining whether older workers want to extend working life. Health, personal economic incentives, family/leisure pursuits and attitude to pension in society affected both whether people believed they can and wanted to extend their working life.
In their final retirement decision, older workers considered: i) their possibility to balance and adapt functional ageing and health to a sustainable work situation; ii) their economic situation; iii) possibilities for social inclusion and coherence; and iv) possibilities for meaningful activities. Whether these requirements were best fulfilled in or outside working life determined the decision to continue working or to retire.
Conclusion: If it is desirable for society that people will to extend their working life, both the “can work” and the “want to work” factors need to be met. It is important to provide a good fit inside working life. This requires a focus not only on older workers, but also on organisations and managers in order to provide incentives that keep older workers in the work force.
Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to obtain knowledge about older workers’ work and life situation in association with their planning and decision to retire from working life.
Method: The thesis includes one qualitative and three quantitative studies conducted in Sweden.
Result: Self-rated health was found to be a better measure than diagnosed disease of whether older workers believed they could work until 65 years or beyond. Health seems not to be a general impediment to working in old age if older workers are satisfied with their work situation and have enough time and opportunities to recover from fatigue. In one of Sweden’s most hazardous work environments, older workers were not injured significantly more often than younger workers. Good mental and physical work environment, moderate working pace and working time, and the right competence and possibility for skills development were factors determining whether older workers believed they can extend their working life. Attitude to older workers in the organisation, motivation and work satisfaction were factors determining whether older workers want to extend working life. Health, personal economic incentives, family/leisure pursuits and attitude to pension in society affected both whether people believed they can and wanted to extend their working life.
In their final retirement decision, older workers considered: i) their possibility to balance and adapt functional ageing and health to a sustainable work situation; ii) their economic situation; iii) possibilities for social inclusion and coherence; and iv) possibilities for meaningful activities. Whether these requirements were best fulfilled in or outside working life determined the decision to continue working or to retire.
Conclusion: If it is desirable for society that people will to extend their working life, both the “can work” and the “want to work” factors need to be met. It is important to provide a good fit inside working life. This requires a focus not only on older workers, but also on organisations and managers in order to provide incentives that keep older workers in the work force.
Publishing year
2013
Language
English
Publication/Series
Lund University Faculty of Medicine Doctoral Dissertation Series
Volume
2013:4
Full text
Document type
Dissertation
Publisher
Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Topic
- Environmental Health and Occupational Health
- Social Sciences
Keywords
- ageing
- older worker
- retirement planning
- retirement decision
- motivation
- meaningful activity
- social inclusion
- macro
- meso
- micro
- work environment
- working life
- work ability
- work injury
- health
- public health
- diagnosed disease
- self-rated health
- organisation
- basic premises for work
- hardware in work
- software in work
- age
- Success and failure factors
- folkhälsa
- demographic shifts
- healthy ageing
- healthy work places
- retirement
- successful ageing
- occupational environment
- Occupational medicine
- work motivation
- demografy
- men and women
Status
Published
Supervisor
- Lars Rylander
- Anna Rignell-Hydbom
- Stefan Pinzke
- Peter Lundqvist
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1652-8220
- ISBN: 978-91-87189-72-2
Defence date
18 January 2013
Defence time
09:00
Defence place
F1 C-blocket, Skånes Universitetssjukhus i Lund
Opponent
- Mikael Stattin (Docent)