Factors influencing early retirement in a female-dominated profession: Kindergarten teacher in France

Abstract

Objective: This paper presents research on the early retirement of kindergarten teachers in France. We sought to understand the reasons for this in a context which the government is putting in place measures to lengthen people's working lives. Methods: In order to examine the difficulties teachers experience at the end of their working lives, we conducted interviews focusing on job constraints, health problems, and the impact work has on the private sphere, with reference to the task system model put forward by Curie (2002). Participants: Eight females in their fifties were interviewed. Results: Despite their experience acquired over the years, the more teachers age, the greater the human cost of their job. Health problems increase, work-related fatigue worsens and they need more time to recover. The teachers are also more affected by work-related constraints. From this perspective, the menopause seems to aggravate work-related fatigue. The teachers' feeling of personal effectiveness declines with age, causing them to worry about the last few years of their working lives. This forces teachers to make more and more adjustments to both their jobs and their private lives and sometimes makes them cut their working hours and in extreme cases take early retirement. Conclusions: The close links between the role of a female teacher and a mother contribute to premature exhaustion phenomena. Several areas for change are proposed.

The Challenges of Mobilizing Workers on Gender Issues: Lessons from Two Studies on the Occupational Health of Teachers in Québec: Les défis de mobiliser les travailleur.ses sur la question du genre: Constats issus de deux recherches portant sur la santé au travail d'enseignant.es du Québec

“…As has been seen in other employment sectors, 18,24,27,31,36,45–47 both of the studies discussed in this article demonstrated that gender influences work and that it creates challenges particularly for women. These studies also targeted problematic elements resulting from the work situation on which to act to reduce inequalities between women and men.…”

“…[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Second, female teachers have been shown to encounter particular challenges because they are women. [24][25][26][27][28] In light of these observations, the CSQ sought to have a better understanding of the experience of female teachers of trades with predominantly male clientele, which had been overlooked previously. The CSQ provided support and collaboration during all phases of the research.…”

Menopause and the workplace: New directions in HRM research and HR practice

“…As such, we lack understanding of the experiences of menopausal women in occupations or sectors where regulations or working arrangements make it difficult for them to request adjustments to their workplace environments or ask for flexible working. This may include shift workers or contexts where under‐staffing is common, or hygiene requirements dictate specific sorts of workwear (e.g., nursing and midwifery, although see Matsuzaki, Uemura, & Yasui, 2014); high pressure working contexts which may also necessitate personal protective equipment (e.g., the police and fire services, although see Atkinson et al, 2018; Griffiths et al, 2006); or noisy workplaces (e.g., teaching, although see Cau‐Bareille, 2011). Moreover, there is little knowledge about blue collar, low paid and manual workers ' experiences of menopause transition (Grandey et al, 2020; Griffiths, MacLennan, & Hassard, 2013).…”

The dynamics of stress and fatigue across menopause: attractors, coupling, and resilience

“…For example, a small qualitative study found that women teaching kindergarten were more likely to retire due to fatigue as they aged, thus having fiscal consequences for their retirement and for schools losing experienced teachers. 6…”