Linking Quality of Work in Midlife to Volunteering During Retirement: a European Study.

Morten Wahrendorf,David Blane,Katey Matthews,Johannes Siegrist

doi:10.1007/s12062-015-9129-8

Abstract

There is increasing recognition that disadvantaged work and employment conditions over the life course, including psychosocial stress at work, have negative long-term effects on health at older ages. Yet, the question whether stress at work additionally influences the likelihood of participating in voluntary work during retirement still needs to be explored. This paper studies long-term influences of stressful work during adulthood (as defined by low control and low reward at work) on participation in voluntary work in older ages. Analyses are based on the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), with detailed retrospective information on individual life courses collected among 11,751 retired men and women in 13 European countries. Results of multivariable analyses demonstrate that people who experienced stressful work are also less likely to participate in voluntary work during retirement. Importantly, these associations remain significant after controlling for important factors, including disability in older ages and disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances. In conclusion, findings suggest that promoting good working conditions may not only increase health and well-being, but also encourage participation in productive activities after labour market exit.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12062-015-9129-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

As a result of demographic ageing in combination with significant improvements of population health a majority of people in high income countries are reaching their ‘third age’ without severe physical or mental impairment (Laslett 1996; Oeppen and Vaupel 2002)
People who had higher levels of work stress are less likely to participate in voluntary work after labour market exit as compared to those with low levels of work stress
In terms of average marginal effects, this is a difference of 3.1 percentage points between the two groups (AME= 0.031). For those who had high reward in their job, percentage point differences are 3.8. This strongly supports the assumption that people who had advantaged working conditions during working life are more likely to participate in voluntary work after labour market exit – even if disability is considered

Summary

Introduction

As a result of demographic ageing in combination with significant improvements of population health a majority of people in high income countries are reaching their ‘third age’ without severe physical or mental impairment (Laslett 1996; Oeppen and Vaupel 2002). These older men and women are ready to continue an active life characterized by engagement in productive or leisure activities and individual freedom (Laslett 1996). Participating in voluntary work is one such option, but it is questionable whether each individual has the same opportunity to participate in such activities

Methods

Results

Conclusion