The careful examination of factors influencing bridge employment among retired police officers is largely absent in the literature. Two hundred and eleven retired police officers participated in a survey exploring factors that contributed to the participation in bridge employment or employment upon retiring from primary careers in law enforcement. The results indicate that retired officers who held part-time positions while fully employed as police officers were more likely to participate in bridge employment when compared with individuals who did not hold additional part-time employment while fully employed as police officers. Opportunities for training and interventions exist to help retired police officers navigate the working transition at this later-life juncture.
Armstrong-StassenM. (2008) Organisational practices and the post-retirement employment experience of older workers. Human Resource Management Journal18(1): 36–53. doi:10.1111/j.1748-8583.2007.00057.x.
2.
BeehrT. A. (2014) To retire or not to retire: That is not the question. Journal of Organizational Behavior35: 1093–1108. doi:10.1002/job.1965.
3.
BelousR. S. (1990) Flexible employment: The employer’s point of view. In: DoeringerP. B. (ed.) Bridges to retirement: Older workers in a changing labor market, Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, pp. 111–129.
4.
CarstensenL. L.IsaacowitzD. M.CharlesS. T. (1999) Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist54(3): 165–181. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.3.165.
5.
CarstensenL. L.PasupathiM.MayrU.NesselroadeJ. R. (2000) Emotional experience in everyday life across the adult life span. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology79(4): 644–655. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.4.644.
6.
DenstenI. L. (2003) Senior police leadership: Does rank matter?Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management26(3): 400–418. doi:10.1108/13639510310489467.
7.
De VosA.SoensN. (2008) Protean attitude and career success: The mediating role of self-management. Journal of Vocational Behavior73: 449–456. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.08.007.
8.
DoeringerP. B.TerklaD. G. (1990) Business necessity, bridge jobs, and the nonbureaucratic firm. In: DoeringerP. B. (ed.) Bridges to retirement: Older workers in a changing labor market, Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, pp. 146–171.
9.
FeldmanD. C.BeehrT. A. (2011) A three-phase model of retirement decision making. American Psychologist66(3): 193–203. doi:10.1037/a0022153.
10.
GershonR. R. M.LinS.LiX. (2002) Work stress in aging police officers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine44(2): 160–167.
11.
GobeskiK. T.BeehrT. A. (2009) How retirees work: Predictors of different types of bridge employment. Journal of Organizational Behavior37: 401–425. doi:10.1002/job.547.
12.
HallD. T. (1976) Careers in organizations, Pacific Palisades, CA: Goodyear Publishing Company, Inc.
13.
Hall, D. T., & Mirvis, P. H. (1996). The new protean career: Psychological success and the path with a heart. In D. T. Hall and Associates (Eds.), The career is dead—Long live the career: A relational approach to careers (pp. 15–45). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
14.
HarpazI. (1985) Meaning of working profiles of various occupational groups. Journal of Vocational Behavior26: 25–40. doi:10.1016/0001-8791(85)90023-5.
15.
KimS.FeldmanD. C. (2000) Working in retirement: The antecedents of bridge employment and its consequences for quality of life in retirement. Academy of Management Journal43(6): 1195–1210. doi:10.2307/1556345.
16.
Mor-BarakM. E. (1995) The meaning of work for older adults seeking employment: The generativity factor. International Journal of Aging and Human Development41(4): 325–344. doi:10.2190/VGTG-EPK6-Q4BH-Q67Q.
17.
PaolineE. A.MyersS. M.WordenR. E. (2000) Police culture, individualism, and community policing: Evidence from two police departments. Justice Quarterly17(3): 575–605. doi:10.1080/07418820000094671.
18.
RothwellW. J.SternsH. L.SpokusD.ReaserJ. M. (2008) Working longer: New strategies for managing, training, and retaining older workers, New York, NY: American Management Association.
19.
SegersJ.InceogluI.VloeberghsD.BartramD.HenderickxE. (2008) Protean and boundaryless careers: A study on potential motivators. Journal of Vocational Behavior73: 212–230. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.05.001.
20.
ShultzK. S. (2003) Bridge employment: Work after retirement. In: AdamsG. A.BeehrT. A. (eds) Retirement: Reasons, processes, and results, New York, NY: Springer, pp. 214–241.
21.
SternsH. L.SubichL. M. (2005) Counseling for retirement. In: BrownS. D.LentR. W. (eds) Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Brown, pp. 506–521.
22.
TabachnickB. G.FidellL. S. (2007) Using multivariate statistics, 5th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
23.
ViolantiJ. M. (1992) Police retirement: The impact of change, Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
24.
von BonsdorffM. E.ShultzK. S.LeskinenE.TanskyJ. (2009) The choice between retirement and bridge employment: A continuity and life course perspective. International Journal of Aging and Human Development69: 79–100. doi:10.2190/AG.69.2.a.
25.
WangM.AdamsG. A.BeehrT. A.ShultzK. S. (2009) Bridge employment and retirement: Issues and opportunities during the latter part of one’s career. In: BaughS. G.SullivanS. E. (eds) Maintaining focus, energy, and options over the career, Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, pp. 135–162.
26.
WangM.ShultzK. S. (2010) Employee retirement: A review and recommendations for future investigations. Journal of Management36: 172–206. doi:10.1177/0149206309347957.
27.
ZhanY.WangM. (2015) Retirement and bridge employment: People, context and time. In: FinkelsteinL.TruxilloD.FraccaroliF.KanferR. (eds) Facing the challenges of a multi-age workforce: A use-inspired approach, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 230–249.
28.
ZhaoJ.ThurmanQ.HeN. (1999) Sources of job satisfaction among police officers: A test of demographic and work environment models. Justice Quarterly16(1): 153–174. doi:10.1080/07418829900094091.
