scholarly journals PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS FOR CURRENT POLICIES TO EXTEND WORKING LIVES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S820-S820
Author(s):  
Debra A Street ◽  
Debra A Street
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Political Landscapes ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Life Work

Abstract Current policy debates fluctuate between “extending working life” and “delaying retirement”—assuming policies that reflect different conceptual approaches are identical. This presentation uses a different analytic strategy, conceptualizing later life work policies as representing distinctive approaches to consideration of work conditions/income security for older workers. Using data from over 30 countries, I discuss main trends in extended working life policies (mainly in the EU) and the gender and health implications for current and future workers. We find that policies committed to “extending working life”—supporting adequate/meaningful employment for later life work—are enacted rarely, but with potentially positive effects for the health and wellbeing of older workers of either gender. However, “delaying retirement” policies, which dominate the political landscapes of most of the country-specific policies we consider, reproduce or exacerbate gender inequalities and health risks for vulnerable older workers.

scholarly journals Exclusion and Inequality in Late Working Life–On the Gendered Risks for Old-Age Exclusion in Sweden and Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 65-65
Author(s):  
Andreas Motel-Klingebiel ◽  
Jolanta Perek-Białas ◽  
Indre Genelyte ◽  
Susanne Kelfve
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Labour Force Participation ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Institutional Conditions ◽  
Economic Exclusion ◽  
The Uk

Abstract The labour market activity of older workers and their ability and disposition to maintain it depend on institutional conditions, age norms, labour demand and shifting overall economic conditions. The paper discusses exclusion and inequality in later working life from a European comparative perspective and emphasises shifts in late work and retirement patterns as well as later-life outcomes in Sweden and Poland. An emphasis is on changing institutional conditions on the national and branch level. Gendered risks for economic exclusion and later life precarity are stressed. Analyses for the two countries are contrasted with Germany and the UK. The analyses are part of the research program ‘Exclusion and Inequality in Late Working Life: Evidence for Policy Innovation Towards Inclusive Extended Work and Sustainable Working Conditions in Sweden and Europe – EIWO’ (2019-24). Analyses use data from SHARE and EU-SILC and address older workers of age 60 and older in Sweden, Poland, German and the UK. They find increasingly heterogeneous preretirement and transition patterns, new gender gaps and increasing risks of economic exclusion in retirement. Situations differ between countries with the prolongation of late working life in Sweden having a mostly positive effect on gender inequalities with low education and specific migrant groups as an exception. Poland is specific case due to unequally low retirement age for woman (60) and for men (65) with consequently large structural gender differences and increases in the process of increasing labour force participation of older workers and increasingly gendered risks for old-age economic exclusion.

scholarly journals Working Late: strategies to enhance productive and healthy environments for an older workforce

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Haslam ◽  
Myanna Duncan ◽  
Aadil Kazi ◽  
Ricardo Twumasi ◽  
Stacy Clemes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Work Environment ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Quality Of Working Life ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
The Life Course

This chapter discusses the Working Late research project, which investigated the practice and policy issues associated with later life working. This multidisciplinary research project explored later life working across three main themes: employment context, occupational health context and the work environment. The Working Late research was underpinned by active engagement with agencies, employers and older workers to guide the research process and deliver effective and wide ranging dissemination of the findings. The project developed and evaluated new interventions, resources and design solutions to promote health and quality of working life across the life course.

scholarly journals GENDER, HEALTH, AND EXTENDED WORKING LIFE IN IRELAND

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S820-S820
Author(s):  
Aine Ni Leime
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
Forthcoming Book ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Gender And Health ◽  
Life Work

Abstract This presentation is based on a forthcoming book chapter which analyses policies, statistical evidence and qualitative data to investigate the gender and health implications of Extended Working Life policy in Ireland. The qualitative data is from a study conducted in 2018 that investigated attitudes to extended working life and experiences of late life work among sixty older workers, 30 men and 30 women in three different occupations, health care workers/cleaners, teachers and academic faculty.The data were analysed using a lifecourse approach. Workers in physically-demanding occupations, those in precarious employment and women were found to be more likely to be disadvantaged in relation to options for extending their working lives. It is recommended that policies be modified to address the disadvantages faced by these groups of workers.

scholarly journals Is working in later life good for your health? A systematic review of health outcomes resulting from extended working lives

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Baxter ◽  
Lindsay Blank ◽  
Anna Cantrell ◽  
Elizabeth Goyder
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Good For

Abstract Background Work, rather than unemployment, is recognised as being good for health, but there may be an age when the benefits are outweighed by adverse impacts. As countries around the world increase their typical retirement age, the potential effect on population health and health inequalities requires scrutiny. Methods We carried out a systematic review of literature published since 2011 from developed countries on the health effects of employment in those over 64 years of age. We completed a narrative synthesis and used harvest plots to map the direction and volume of evidence for the outcomes reported. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) checklist in our methods and reporting. Results We identified seventeen relevant studies, which were of cohort or cross-sectional design. The results indicate evidence of beneficial or neutral effects from extended working on overall health status and physical health for many employees, and mixed effects on mental health. The benefits reported however, are most likely to be for males, those working part-time or reducing to part-time, and employees in jobs which are not low quality or low reward. Conclusions Extending working life (particularly part time) may have benefits or a neutral effect for some, but adverse effects for others in high demand or low reward jobs. There is the potential for widening health inequalities between those who can choose to reduce their working hours, and those who need to continue working full time for financial reasons. There is a lack of evidence for effects on quality of life, and a dearth of interventions enabling older workers to extend their healthy working life.

scholarly journals ‘Fuller’ or ‘extended’ working lives? Critical perspectives on changing transitions from work to retirement

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRIS PHILLIPSON
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Essential Requirement ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Part Time ◽  
New Forms Of Work

ABSTRACTResearch on older workers and retirement has yet to adjust fully to an environment influenced by a combination of demographic change, technological developments and economic recession. A key dimension to the changing relationship between ageing and work is the tension between policies to extend working life and the increasingly fragmented nature of late working life, with the emergence of varied transitions, including: bridge employment, second/third careers, part-time working, early retirement and other variations. These developments indicate both the challenge of conceptualising new forms of work-ending, and – in policy terms – the extent to which these can successfully accommodate longer working lives. The paper provides a critical perspective to the policy of extending working life and the narrative which underpins this approach. The paper argues that retirement has become a ‘contested’ institution in the 21st century, fragmented across different pathways and transitions affecting people in their fifties and sixties. The paper argues the case for improving work quality and security as a precondition for supporting policies for encouraging working in later life. An essential requirement for this will include linking debates on extending working life with technological developments and changes affecting the workplace, creating differentiated paths to retirement and labour force exit, enhancing the provision of training and continuing education, and re-thinking the idea of the ‘older worker’.

scholarly journals Social Islands: Examining the Intersection of Isolation and Technology Use

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 462-463
Author(s):  
Joseph Svec ◽  
Megan Gilligan
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Life course theory suggests that social relationships are tied to overall well-being. In the extant literature social isolation negatively impacts physical and mental health outcomes in later life. In this study, we focus specifically on the association between social isolation and older adult’s self-rated health status. We also examine whether and the extent to which technology use augments negative health consequences attributed to isolation. Using data on 3,758 older adults (ages 65+) from the 2018 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, we contribute to current scholarly examinations at the intersection of technology and isolation. We conduct a series of ordinal logistic regressions to estimate the odds of respondents’ higher self-rated health (from poor = 1 to excellent = 5) on subjective measures of social isolation (i.e. feel left out, lack of companionship and isolated from others) in addition to whether respondents live with a partner and have an adult child who lives in close geographic proximity. Preliminary results show that individuals who perceived higher levels of social isolation evaluated their own health status as poorer. We also find that the use of computers for virtual communications corresponds with higher self-rated health statuses, regardless of the proximity of children or other family members. However, a negative interaction between computer use and isolation indicates the positive effects of technology are limited for those who are highly isolated. These findings suggest that technology impacts on health are nuanced, where an overreliance on technology as a substitute may not consistently yield positive outcomes.

scholarly journals Using O*NET Linkages to Advance Research: An Example Evaluating Cognitive Function and Work Transitions

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 231-231
Author(s):  
Dawn Carr
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Potential Influence ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Advance Research ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract The type of work older adults engage in has potential to play a key role in shaping health and wellbeing. In this presentation, using data drawn from an O*NET crosswalk linked with the Health and Retirement Study, I show how different types of transitions out of the workforce shapes cognitive function differently for individuals retiring from different types of occupations. Based on a factor analysis of 36 job-related abilities, activities, and contexts, this paper shows that retirement has a more significant consequence for cognitive function for those who retire from jobs with low levels of cognitive complexity, but no significant consequences for those who retire from jobs with high levels of cognitive complexity. I discuss these results in the context of the ways in which O*NET classifications of jobs can provide critical insights into the potential influence of changing retirement trajectories on wellbeing in later life.

Retirement - Not Necessarily a Farewell to Work Life

2012 ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
Anne Inga Hilsen ◽  
Robert Salomon
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Pension Reform ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Managerial Practices ◽  
Three Phase ◽  
Social Link ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Life Work

Due to financial and demographic reasons, many countries are trying to increase the actual retirement age. Pension reforms are taking place in countries such as France, Greece and the UK. Norway has recently introduced a new pension reform from January 1st 2011 to encourage longer work life careers. These reforms may lead to a variety of options on life/work balance choices at the later stages of working life. Based on earlier studies, the article illustrate the identification of a three overlapping phases of good managerial practices and worker responses affecting the employment of older workers by developing an analytical model ("a three phase perspective on senior policies") of organisational orientations towards older workers. This paper focuses on a possible fourth phase at the end of the working career as well as the transition from work to retirement. The fourth phase consists of both an economic and a social link between employer and employee.

scholarly journals Are high performance work systems compatible with the extending working life agenda?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Getinet Haile
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
High Performance Work Practices ◽  
Appraisal Systems ◽  
Using Data

PurposeThe paper examines the compatibility of two UK policy priorities – extending working life (EWL) and the promotion of national economic performance through high performance work practices (HPWP).Design/methodology/approachEmpirical analysis has been conducted using data from WERS2011 to test hypotheses on whether age moderates the link between HPWP and employee well-being outcomes.FindingsDevelopment-oriented human resource strategies are found to compromise the wellbeing of older workers relative to younger ones, while some dimensions of HPWP lead to more favourable wellbeing outcomes for older workers relative to their younger counterparts (flexible working, performance-related pay and appraisal systems).Research limitations/implicationsAt older ages those still in the workforce may be over-represented by happier and psychologically more robust individuals who have settled into jobs they find fulfilling, matching their personal characteristics and abilities. If so, the adverse well-being influence of development-oriented strategies may be understated, while favourable well-being outcomes for older workers may be overstated.Practical implicationsHRM strategies may need to be more age sensitive to support the EWL agenda better.Originality/valueWhile many studies have examined the link between HPWP and a range of individual-level outcomes, less widely researched is whether responses vary by age, which the paper addresses.

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