Older employees’ desired retirement age: a JD-R perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiel Frins ◽  
Joris van Ruysseveldt ◽  
Karen van Dam ◽  
Seth N.J. van den Bossche

Purpose – Using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how job demands and job resources affect older employees’ desired retirement age, through an energy-depletion and a motivational process. Furthermore, the importance of gain and loss cycles (i.e. recursive effects) for the desired retirement age was investigated. Design/methodology/approach – A two wave full panel design with 2,897 older employees ( > 50) served to test the hypotheses. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test the measurement and research model. Cross-lagged analyses tested the presence of gain and loss cycles. Findings – Results from cross-lagged analyses based on two waves over a one-year period indicated the presence of both a gain and a loss cycle that affected the desired retirement age. Research limitations/implications – This is the first longitudinal study applying the JD-R model to a retirement context. Limitations relate to employing only two waves for establishing mediation, and using self-reports. Practical implications – Because work conditions can create a cycle of motivation as well as a cycle of depletion, organizations should pay special attention to the job resources and demands of older workers. The findings can inspire organizations when developing active aging policies, and contribute to interventions aimed at maintaining older employees within the workforce until – or even beyond – their official retirement age in a motivated and healthy way. Originality/value – This is the first longitudinal study applying the JD-R model to a retirement context and finding evidence for gain and loss cycles.

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 477-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Wolfgang Lichtenthaler ◽  
Andrea Fischbach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how promotion- and prevention-focussed job crafting impacts the motivation of older employees to continue working beyond retirement age. The authors hypothesized that promotion-focussed job crafting (i.e. increasing social and structural job resources, and challenging job demands) relates positively and prevention-focussed job crafting (i.e. decreasing hindering job demands) relates negatively with motivation to continue working after reaching the official retirement age, and that these relationships are sequential mediated by work sense of coherence and burnout. Design/methodology/approach Data from 229 older employees (mean age=55.77) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings Promotion-focussed job crafting was positively and prevention-focussed job crafting was negatively related with employees’ work sense of coherence, which was predictive of employees’ burnout, which in turn was predictive of motivation to continue working beyond retirement age. Research limitations/implications Despite the cross-sectional study design, the results unfold how promotion- and prevention-focussed job crafting are related with motivation to continue working beyond retirement age through work sense of coherence and burnout. Practical implications Given today’s aging and shrinking workforce, older employees working beyond their official retirement age are a necessity for organizations’ functional capability. The results suggest that organizations should encourage employees’ promotion-focussed job crafting and limit prevention-focussed job crafting. Promotion-focussed job crafting facilitates employees’ work sense of coherence, which keeps them healthy and motivates older employees to continue working beyond retirement age. Originality/value This study adds to the literatures on job crafting and motivation to continue working beyond retirement age and explicates intervening processes in this relationship.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilmar B. Schaufeli

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to integrate leadership into the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. Based on self-determination theory, it was argued that engaging leaders who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers would reduce employee’s levels of burnout and increase their levels of work engagement. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was conducted among a representative sample of the Dutch workforce (n=1,213) and the research model was tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – It appeared that leadership only had an indirect effect on burnout and engagement – via job demands and job resources – but not a direct effect. Moreover, leadership also had a direct relationship with organizational outcomes such as employability, performance, and commitment. Research limitations/implications – The study used a cross-sectional design and all variables were based on self-reports. Hence, results should be replicated in a longitudinal study and using more objective measures (e.g. for work performance). Practical implications – Since engaged leaders, who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers, provide a work context in which employees thrive, organizations are well advised to promote engaging leadership. Social implications – Leadership seems to be a crucial factor which has an indirect impact – via job demands and job resources – on employee well-being. Originality/value – The study demonstrates that engaging leadership can be integrated into the JD-R framework.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1218-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Ning ◽  
Albi Alikaj

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of employee age in the relationship between work engagement and several job resources.Design/methodology/approachThe study used questionnaire-based surveys completed by 804 employees from firms located in West China. The data were then analyzed by conducting latent moderated structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results of the study show that certain job resources (autonomy, recognition, colleague support, participation, job security and flexible work arrangements) are more effective for older employees in promoting work engagement, while other resources (job feedback, opportunities for development, skill variety and internal promotion) are more tailored toward younger employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe results suggest that job resources are not equally effective in affecting employee work engagement. Therefore, future studies should adopt a dynamic lifespan perspective when studying the relationship between job resources and work engagement.Practical implicationsThe current study indicates that to increase younger employees’ work engagement, organizations need to rely more on development-oriented job resources, and to increase older employees’ work engagement, they need to focus more on maintenance-oriented resources.Originality/valueThe literature on work engagement has assumed that the strength of the relationship between job resources and work engagement is uniform among employees at all ages. This study refers to two life-span theories from the development psychology literature to explain that there are age-related differences in the effect of job resources on employee work engagement.


2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bert Schreurs ◽  
Nele De Cuyper ◽  
I.J. Hetty Van Emmerik ◽  
Guy Notelaers ◽  
Hans De Witte

Orientation: Job characteristics play a major role in shaping employees’ early retirement decisions.Research purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the mechanisms through which job characteristics associate with early retirement intention, using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model as a theoretical framework.Motivation of the study: Early retirement presents a threat to existing health and pension systems, and to organisational functioning. Therefore, it is important to examine how workrelated factors contribute to early retirement decisions.Research design, approach and method: Two parallel processes were theorised to shape early retirement intention: a health impairment process (i.e. job demands → recovery need → early retirement intention) and a motivational process (i.e. job resources → work enjoyment → early retirement intention). Survey data were collected from a heterogeneous sample of 1812 older workers (age > 45). Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.Main findings: Job demands and job resources were both associated with work enjoyment, which was associated with early retirement intention. Recovery need did not add to the prediction of early retirement intention.Practical/managerial implications: To retain older workers, companies should promote work conditions and practices that keep older workers motivated. Good health may be a necessary condition for retaining older workers, but it does not appear to be a sufficient one.Contribution/value-add: The results suggest that – for early retirement intention – the motivational process is more prominent than the health impairment process.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Kraemer ◽  
Matthias H.J. Gouthier

Purpose – Personnel turnover entails considerable costs and is a major problem for the call center industry. By modifying the job demands-resources model, this study aims to examine how emotional exhaustion and organizational pride affect turnover intentions. In addition, it investigates how emotional exhaustion and organizational pride are formed by job demands and job resources and how gender and organizational tenure moderate the model. Design/methodology/approach – The paper surveyed 252 call center agents and tested the research hypotheses with component-based structural equation modeling. Two multi-group analyses clarify the proposed moderating effects of gender and organizational tenure. Findings – Emotional exhaustion and organizational pride essentially determine turnover intentions. Organizational pride, which has received little attention in related research, plays a central role. Two job demands and three job resources strongly influence emotional exhaustion and organizational pride, respectively. Gender and organizational tenure moderate several effects. Research limitations/implications – This study is based on a sample of call center agents from three different call centers in one country. Therefore, the generalizability of the findings has to be tested. Furthermore, the paper examines turnover intentions, which are good predictors of turnover behavior. Nevertheless, further research should investigate the relationship between the variables and actual turnover. Moreover, the model included six different job determinants. Future research should test the proposed model with other job demands and resources. Practical implications – Emotional exhaustion and organizational pride substantially affect turnover intentions. Call center managers should protect employees from emotional exhaustion and enhance organizational pride, using specific job demands and resources. This study shows how the importance of certain variables differs for various groups of employees. Originality/value – This study is the first to examine how certain job resource foster organizational pride and how organizational pride affects voluntary employee turnover in call centers. Further, the study demonstrates that the socio-demographic variables gender and organizational tenure moderate the creation of emotional exhaustion and organizational pride, which together explain a large amount of the variance in turnover intentions among call center agents.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Pluta ◽  
Aleksandra Rudawska

PurposeThe contemporary world's pressure, oriented on flexibility and quick actions, has permanently changed work characteristics. Taking the employees' perspective into account, it seems important to identify whether and which of the employees' individual resources help them cope with those job demands. Therefore, the main research question is what is the relation between holistically conceptualised employees' individual resources and perceived work overload?Design/methodology/approachBased on the literature on individual resources and job demands, the authors test for relations between three components of individual resources (physical, emotional, spiritual potentials) and job characteristics (work variability and work diversity) and the perceived work overload. Data were collected using a survey method amongst 336 Polish knowledge workers.FindingsThe results partially supported the posed hypotheses. Both work variability and work diversity relate positively to work overload. Only the physical potential is related directly and negatively to perceived work overload. The spiritual potential relates indirectly to work overload through work diversity. The authors also found that age moderates the relation between physical and spiritual potential and overload.Research limitations/implicationsHuman resource management (HRM) practitioners and supervisors need to consider the level of employee's individual resources, especially when dealing with older employees and their physical resources.Originality/valueThis study contributes to research on the causes of work overload perception by identifying the role of individual resources and employees' age, thereby indicating that taking care of those resources could be another way of preventing occupational burnout in demanding work conditions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Albrecht ◽  
Emil Breidahl ◽  
Andrew Marty

Purpose The majority of job demands-resources (JD-R) research has focused on identifying the job demands, job resources, and personal resources that influence engagement. The purpose of this paper is to assess the significance of proposed associations between organizationally focused resources, organizational engagement climate, and engagement. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested a model proposing that six specific organizational resources would have positive associations with organizational engagement climate, and positive direct and indirect associations with job resources and employee engagement. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted on cross-sectional survey data provided by 1,578 employees working in a range of different organizations. Findings The CFA and SEM analyses yielded good fit to the data. As proposed, all six organizational resources were positively associated with organizational engagement climate. Four were positively associated with job resources, and two were positively associated with engagement. Organizational engagement climate was positively associated with job resources and employee engagement. Significant indirect relationships were also observed. Research limitations/implications Despite self-reported data and a cross-sectional design, tests of common method variance did not suggest substantive method effects. Overall, the results contribute new insights about what may influence engagement, and highlight the importance of organizational engagement climate as a motivational construct. Practical implications The research offers up potentially useful measures of six organizational resources and a measure of organizational engagement climate that can complement and broaden the current focus on job-level diagnostics. As such, targeted management action and survey feedback processes can be used to identify processes to build sustainable organizational engagement capability. Originality/value No previous research has identified a comprehensive set of organizational resources, operationalized organizational engagement climate, or examined their relationships within a JD-R context. The results suggest that the JD-R can perhaps usefully be extended to include more organizationally focused constructs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 777-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Chuan Chen ◽  
Ching-Fu Chen

Purpose Healthcare is recognized as a fertile field for service research, and due to the fact that nurses are stressed physically and emotionally, reducing burnout among frontline healthcare staff is an emerging and important research issue. The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible antecedents and consequences of nurses’ burnout and to examine the moderating effects of personal trait and work-environment issue. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on Bagozzi’s (1992) reformulation of attitude theory (appraisal→emotional response→behavior), data from a survey of 807 nurses working in a major hospital in Taiwan were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique and hierarchical regression analysis. Findings The results reveal the positive causality between job stressors and nurses’ burnout, whereas supervisor support negatively relates to burnout. In addition, the full moderating effects of leadership effectiveness and partly moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the relationships among job demands, job resources, and burnout are confirmed. Practical implications The findings provide practical insight regarding how supervisors play an essential role in alleviating nurses’ burnout. The supportive attitude and leadership effectiveness are recommended to be effectual managerial strategies. Originality/value The empirical results support the job demands-resources model by applying reformulation of attitude theory. The work-environment issue surpasses the personal trait in moderating the relationships among job demands, job resources, and burnout.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Afshari ◽  
Aamir Hayat ◽  
K.K. Ramachandran ◽  
Timothy Bartram ◽  
Bamini K.P.D. Balakrishnan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of accelerated job demands on employee outcomes during the COVID-19 crisis. An integrated model was developed to explore the relationships between different types of job demands (learning, decision-making, work intensification), employee turnover intention (TI) and burnout (BU).Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from professionals whose work conditions were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. An online survey was distributed anonymously. A total of 566 questionnaires were included in the analysis. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data.Findings The findings revealed that employees' perception of job demands impacts the significance and direction of the relationships between different forms of job demands and employee outcomes. Furthermore, the findings confirm that mediating role of perceived organizational support alleviates the adverse effects of job demands on employee outcomes. Finally, the present study supported the moderation effect of positive affectivity between work intensification and employee BU.Practical implications This study provides employers with insights about supporting employees to cope with increased job demands in conditions where rapid changes are inevitable.Originality/value The unique context of research (COVID-19) enabled this study to account for the acceleration of job demands that employees experience in rapidly changing situations. This study employed an instrument that allowed for the assessment of acceleration in job demands. Furthermore, the granular approach of the measurement model extended the perspectives of job demands and work intensification.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dannii Y. Yeung ◽  
Xiaoyu Zhou ◽  
Sherry Chong

PurposeWith a growing number of older workers in the labor force, cultivating an age-friendly working environment becomes increasingly important. Inspired by the job demands–resources (JD-R) model, this study aims to investigate whether the negative effects of perceived age discrimination (PAD) on work-related outcomes would be explained by job resources and demands.Design/methodology/approachA total of 333 Hong Kong Chinese employees aged 40 and above (M = 46.62, SD = 6.21; 60% female) completed an online survey that covered measures on workplace age discrimination, job resources and demands, work engagement, intention to stay and work strain.FindingsPAD at work was associated with reduced job resources and increased job demands. The results of the mediation analyses showed support from supervisor and coworkers could account for the effects of PAD on work engagement and intention to stay, whereas emotional demand or workload could explain the effects of PAD on work engagement and work strain.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research unveil the underlying mechanisms between age discrimination and work-related outcomes through job resources and job demands. Cultivating a supportive organizational climate toward older employees and offering awareness-based training programs are necessary to mitigate age biases in the workplace.Originality/valueBuilding on the JD-R model, this study revealed the possible mechanism underlying the negative effects of PAD. Perceptions of age discrimination decrease older workers' job resources and increase their job demands, subsequently lower their work engagement and intention to stay and increase their work strain.


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