‘All those things together made me retire’: qualitative study on early retirement among Dutch employees

Abstract

BackgroundDue to the aging of the population and subsequent higher pressure on public finances, there is a need for employees in many European countries to extend their working lives. One way in which this can be achieved is by employees refraining from retiring early. Factors predicting early retirement have been identified in quantitative research, but little is known on why and how these factors influence early retirement. The present qualitative study investigated which non-health related factors influence early retirement, and why and how these factors influence early retirement.MethodsA qualitative study among 30 Dutch employees (60–64 years) who retired early, i.e. before the age of 65, was performed by means of face-to-face interviews. Participants were selected from the cohort Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation (STREAM).ResultsFor most employees, a combination of factors played a role in the transition from work to early retirement, and the specific factors involved differed between individuals. Participants reported various factors that pushed towards early retirement (‘push factors’), including organizational changes at work, conflicts at work, high work pressure, high physical job demands, and insufficient use of their skills and knowledge by others in the organization. Employees who reported such push factors towards early retirement often felt unable to find another job. Factors attracting towards early retirement (‘pull factors’) included the wish to do other things outside of work, enjoy life, have more flexibility, spend more time with a spouse or grandchildren, and care for others. In addition, the financial opportunity to retire early played an important role. Factors influenced early retirement via changes in the motivation, ability and opportunity to continue working or retire early.ConclusionTo support the prolongation of working life, it seems important to improve the fit between the physical and psychosocial job characteristics on the one hand, and the abilities and wishes of the employee on the other hand. Alongside improvements in the work environment that enable and motivate employees to prolong their careers, a continuous dialogue between the employer and employee on the (future) person-job fit and tailored interventions might be helpful.

Organizational change, psychosocial work environment, and non-disability early retirement: a prospective study among senior public employees

“…A study including qualitative interview data on 30 Dutch employees aged 60-64 who retired early found that organizational change was frequently reported as reasons for early retirement (7). Employees in this study highlighted loss of motivation to continue working due to job routines undergoing continuous changes not perceived as necessary.…”

“…A demanding physical work environment can cause employees to retire earlier, but several studies have also linked the psychosocial work environment to early retirement (7,10). Organizational changes causing job insecurity, like down-sizing, have been associated with adverse health outcomes and disability pension (11)(12)(13)(14)(15), but when focus is on voluntary retirement, even minor organizational changes may play a role.…”

Predictors of Having Paid Work in Older Workers With and Without Chronic Disease: A 3-Year Prospective Cohort Study

“…Future research on larger samples should take into account differences between reasons for exit from paid work, although this is often a multifactorial process. This was demonstrated in a recent qualitative study in which was shown that an interplay between factors that pushed towards early retirement (e.g., conflicts at work), and factors that attracted towards early retirement (e.g., wish to enjoy life) led to early retirement of older workers [50].…”

“Mental retirement?” Trajectories of work engagement preceding retirement among older workers

“…We suggest that future research also pays attention to changes in the meaning of work during the life course, and especially in the phase near retirement. Related to this, it might be that pre-retirement anticipation is not characterized by changes in the motivation to work, but rather by changes in the motivation not to work, ie, to do things outside of work, such as enjoyable activities with a non-working spouse, or informal care of grandchildren, family members or friends with health problems (31). This also calls for further research.…”