The association between self-reported health, late career transitions and working time modulations in England

Abstract

Background. There is an emerging literature focusing on the impact of late career transitions on health, but little is known about the role working time modulations might play in explaining older workers' health. Methods. Using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) waves 4 to 7, the article assesses the association between the different types of change in working time, the total weekly working hours at baseline and the level of income and the change in self-reported health (SPH). The model controls for financial wealth, qualification, gender, age, the sector of activity and self-reported health at baseline. Results. Respondents who retire have a better SPH compared with those who keep working at constant working time. Those who work long hours benefit more from retiring. Respondents working long hours before being unemployed tend to be less affected by a negative change in SPH. Those who reduce working time by 50 per cent or more and work long hours at baseline have lower probabilities to be affected by a negative change in SPH compared with those who work fewer hours. Finally, low-paid workers are those who benefit the most from retiring or reducing working time. Conclusion. There is a significant association between change in working time and change in self-reported health that needs to be investigated in further research. Results point out the need to foster working time arrangements for low-paid workers.

A shift in women’s health? Older workers’ self-reported health and employment settings during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The model used in this study is a generalized logit mixed-effects model for binary outcomes that is a multilevel modelling allowing random intercept and slopes. 19 The model is replicated twice.…”

“…This also applies to the ageing workforce with particular positive health effects on low-income workers. 19 The relationship between working from home and health is more ambiguous. In the current context, teleworking has not been anticipated by workers or employers with potential effects on occupational health.…”

Trajectories of working hours in later careers and their association with social and health-related factors: a follow-up study

“…To our knowledge, there are no studies that have examined trajectories of working hours from mid work career to later career and only few previous studies have examined working hours in later work careers. 4 , 16 , 17 , 28 In our study, the majority of participants worked stable and regular working hours (defined as a maximum of 40 h per week), which is the most common limit of normal working hours. 29 The participants assigned to the trajectory of ‘Stable regular working hours’ reported working hours at around 35–37 h per week, whereas the reported working hours in the smaller trajectory of ‘Shorter and varying working hours’ varied between 15 and 33 h per week.…”