Working Conditions,Psychological Well-Being of Older Employees and Retirement Timing: Results From Linked Survey and Register Data in Finland

Abstract

As populations age, supporting longer working lives becomes increasingly important. We investigate the relationships between working conditions, pre-retirement psychological well-being, and retirement timing using survey and register data on 3,261 Finnish employees who retired between 2019 and 2021. Rather than early retirement, our focus is to examine retirement at the statutory age versus retirement postponed by at least one year. Our results show that job autonomy and good leadership are associated with better psychological well-being, while psychosocial job demands are linked to poorer well-being. Poor well-being increases the likelihood of earlier retirement. Schedule flexibility and job autonomy reduce the risk of earlier retirement, whereas physical and psychosocial demands decrease the likelihood of later retirement – psychosocial demands also indirectly through their impact on well-being. Well-being mediates the effect of poor self-rated health on retirement. These results underscore the importance of working conditions and well-being in shaping retirement behavior.

Keywords

well-being self-rated health working conditions retirement careers

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Almroth

Hemmingsson

Sorberg Wallin

Kjellberg

Burstrom

Falkstedt

(2021). Psychosocial working conditions and the risk of diagnosed depression: A Swedish register-based study. Psychological Medicine, 52(15), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329172100060X

Andersen

L. L.

Thorsen

S. V.

Larsen

Sundstrup

Boot

C. R. L.

Rugulies

(2021). Work factors facilitating working beyond state pension age: Prospective cohort study with register follow-up. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 47(1), 15–21. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3904

Ardito

Fleischmann

(2023). Health, working conditions and retirement. In Burnay

Ogg

Krekula

Vendramin

(Eds.), Older workers and labour market exclusion processes. Life course research and social policies, vol 14. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11272-0_9

Aronsson

Theorell

Grape

Hammarström

Hogstedt

Marteinsdottir

Skoog

Träskman-Bendz

Hall

(2017). A systematic review including meta-analysis of work environment and burnout symptoms. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 264. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4153-7

Bakker

A. B.

Demerouti

(2017). Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 273–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000056

Bakker

A. B.

Demerouti

Sanz-Vergel

A. I.

(2023). Job demands–resources theory: Ten years later. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10, 25–53. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-05393

Bandyopadhyay

(2018). Well-being and its determinants. In Gatchel

R. J.

Schultz

I. Z.

(Eds.), Handbook of occupational health and wellness (pp. 123–145). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4839-6_10

Bonsang

Garrouste

Perdrix

(2023). Retirement and well-being. In Zimmermann

K. F.

(Ed.), Handbook of labor, human resources and population economics (pp. 1–14). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_391-1

Breen

Karlson

K. B.

Holm

(2013). Total, direct, and indirect effects in logit and probit models. Sociological Methods & Research, 42(2), 164–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124113494572

10.

Browne

Carr

Fleischmann

Xanthopoulou

Head

(2019). Working conditions and retirement: A systematic review. Journal of Occupational Health, 61(5), 345–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03632-6

11.

Carr

Hagger-Johnson

Head

Shelton

Stafford

Stansfeld

Zaninotto

(2016). Working conditions as predictors of retirement intentions and exit from paid employment: A 10-year follow-up of the English longitudinal study of ageing. European Journal of Ageing, 13(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-015-0357-9

12.

Demerouti

Bakker

A. B.

Nachreiner

Schaufeli

W. B.

(2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499

13.

de Wind

Geuskens

G. A.

Ybema

J. F.

Bongers

P. M.

van der Beek

A. J.

Burdorf

(2014). Health, job characteristics, skills, and social and financial factors in relation to early retirement: Results from a longitudinal study in the Netherlands. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 40(2), 186–194. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3393

14.

Diener

Chan

M. Y.

(2011). Happy people live longer: Subjective well-being contributes to health and longevity. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 3(1), 1–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01045.x

15.

Fisher

G. G.

Chaffee

Sonnega

(2016). Retirement Timing: A Review and Recommendations for Future Research. Work, Aging and Retirement, 2, 230–261. https://doi.org/10.1093/workar/waw001

16.

Geuskens

G. A.

Oude Hengel

K. M.

Koppes

L. L. J.

Ybema

J. F.

(2012). Predictors of the willingness and the ability to continue working until the age of 65 years. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 54(5), 572–578. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e318248057a

17.

Häusser

J. A.

Mojzisch

Niesel

Schulz-Hardt

(2010). Ten years on: A review of recent research on the job demand-control (-support) model and psychological well-being. Work & Stress, 24(1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678371003683747

18.

Helkavaara

Saastamoinen

Lahelma

(2011). Psychosocial work environment and emotional exhaustion among middle-aged employees. BMC Research Notes, 4, 101. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-4-101

19.

Henkens

Leenders

(2010). Burnout and older workers’ intentions to retire. International Journal of Manpower, 31(3), 306–321. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437721011050594

20.

Hsu

H.-C.

(2019). Age differences in work stress, exhaustion, well-being, and related factors from an ecological perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16010050

21.

Hulsegge

Eekhout

van de Ven

H. A.

Burdorf

Oude Hengel

K. M.

(2023). Educational inequalities in self-rated health and emotional exhaustion among workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 1234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-022-01931-y

22.

Khatun

Bharti

Tiwari

(2022). Effects of work stress on psychological well-being and job satisfaction: A review. In Gatchel

R. J.

Schultz

I. Z.

(Eds.), Handbook of occupational health and wellness (pp. 555–572). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4839-6_27

23.

Lahdenperä

Stenholm

Vahtera

Virtanen

Pentti

Myllyntausta

(2021). Psychological distress during the retirement transition and the role of psychosocial working conditions and social living environment. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 77(1), 135–148. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab054

24.

Latif

(2011). The impact of retirement on psychological well-being in Canada. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 40(3), 373–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2010.12.011

25.

Leijten

F. R.

van den Heuvel

S. G.

van der Beek

A. J.

Ybema

J. F.

Robroek

S. J.

Burdorf

(2015). Associations of work-related factors and work engagement with mental and physical health: A 1-year follow-up study among older workers. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 25(1), 86–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-014-9525-6

26.

Marchand

Blanc

M.-E.

Beauregard

(2018). Do age and gender contribute to workers’ burnout symptoms? Occupational Medicine, 68(6), 405–411. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqy088

27.

Michèle

Guillaume

Alain

Nathalie

Claude

Kamel

(2019). Social and leisure activity profiles and well-being among the older adults: A longitudinal study. Aging & Mental Health, 23(1), 77–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2017.1394442

28.

Nivalainen

(2022). From plans to action? Retirement thoughts, intentions and actual retirement: an eight-year follow-up in Finland. Ageing and Society, 42(1), 112–142. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X20000756

29.

Population Reference Bureau . (2020, March 23). Countries With the Oldest Populations in the World. Population Reference Bureau. https://www.prb.org/resources/countries-with-the-oldest-populations-in-the-world/

30.

Schultz

P. P.

Ryan

R. M.

Niemiec

C. P.

Legate

Williams

G. C.

(2012). Mindfulness, work climate, and psychological need satisfaction in employee well-being. In Gatchel

R. J.

Schultz

I. Z.

(Eds.), Handbook of occupational health and wellness (pp. 555–572). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4839-6_27

31.

Schütte

Chastang

J.-F.

Malard

Parent-Thirion

Vermeylen

Niedhammer

(2014). Psychosocial working conditions and psychological well-being among employees in 34 European countries. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 87(8), 897–907. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0930-0

32.

Sousa-Ribeiro

Bernhard-Oettel

Sverke

Westerlund

(2021). Health- and age-related workplace factors as predictors of preferred, expected, and actual retirement timing: Findings from a Swedish cohort study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2746. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052746

33.

Stengård

Leineweber

Virtanen

Westerlund

Wang

H.-X.

(2022). Do good psychosocial working conditions prolong working lives? Findings from a prospective study in Sweden. European Journal of Ageing, 19(4), 677–688. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-021-00672-0

34.

Sundstrup

Hansen

Å. M.

Mortensen

E. L.

Poulsen

O. M.

Clausen

Rugulies

Møller

Andersen

L. L.

(2018). Retrospectively assessed psychosocial working conditions as predictors of prospectively assessed sickness absence and disability pension among older workers. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 149. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5047-z

35.

Thorsen

S. V.

Rugulies

Longaard

Borg

Thielen

Bjorner

J. B.

(2016). The association between psychosocial work environment, attitudes towards older workers (ageism), and planned retirement. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 89(6), 891–900. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-016-1147-4

36.

Topa

Depolo

Alcover

C. M.

(2018). Early retirement: A meta-analysis of its antecedent and subsequent correlates. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2157. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02157

37.

van Solinge

Henkens

(2014). Work-related factors as predictors in the retirement decision-making process of older workers in the Netherlands. Ageing and Society, 34(9), 1551–1574. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X13000330

38.

Virtanen

Oksanen

Batty

G. D.

Ala-Mursula

Salo

Elovainio

Pentti

Lybäck

Vahtera

Kivimäki

(2014). Extending employment beyond the pensionable age: A cohort study of the influence of chronic diseases, health risk factors, and working conditions. PLoS One, 9(2), Article e88695. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0088695

39.

Weich

Lewis

Jenkins

S. P.

(1998). Income inequality and the prevalence of common mental disorders in Britain. The British journal of psychiatry: The Journal of Mental Science, 178(3), 222–227. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.178.3.222

40.

Woźniak

Siebielec

Bojarszczuk

Gałązka

Urbaniak

(2022). Working conditions and retirement: A systematic review. Journal of Occupational Health, 64(2), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03632-6

41.

Zappalà

Depolo

Fraccaroli

Guglielmi

Sarchielli

(2008). The relationship between job insecurity and job performance: The mediating role of organizational commitment. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 81(1), 101–120. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2016-0120

42.

Zhang

Yang

Pan

K. Y.

(2023). Association between psychosocial working conditions and well-being before retirement: A community-based study. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 29(3), 574–588. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2023.2274316