Abstract
PurposeThis study examines the relationship between need for recovery (NFR) and labour force exit (LFE) among older workers. Different types of LFE (early retirement, work disability and unemployment) are considered, and the role of potential confounding and modifying factors, including the availability of early LFE schemes, is examined. Also, associations between NFR and the intention and ability to prolong one’s working life, which are known determinants of LFE, are assessed.MethodsA subsample of older workers from the Maastricht Cohort Study was examined (n = 2312). The relationship between NFR and LFE was investigated by means of Cox regression analyses. Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate cross-sectional associations between NFR and the intention and ability to prolong working life.ResultsElevated NFR was associated with a higher risk of overall LFE during a 4-year follow-up period (HR 1.39, 95% CI 1.09–1.78), and specifically with a higher risk of leaving the labour force through early retirement and work disability. When early retirement schemes were available, strong and significant associations between NFR and LFE were observed (HR 2.79, 95% CI 1.29–6.02), whereas no significant associations were found when such schemes were unavailable. Older workers with a higher NFR also had earlier retirement intentions and lower self-assessed abilities (both physical and mental) to prolong their working life until the mandatory retirement age.ConclusionsBecause this study shows that NFR is a precursor of LFE among older workers, monitoring NFR is important for timely interventions aimed at reducing NFR to facilitate extended labour participation.
Highlights
Due to demographic shifts, the work force in many industrialized countries is characterized by a growing proportion of older workers approaching eligible retirement age (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2014)
In models 1 and 2, need for recovery (NFR) caseness was found to be associated with a higher risk of labour force exit (LFE)
The NFR continuous scores remained statistically significantly associated with a higher risk of LFE throughout all models
Summary
The work force in many industrialized countries is characterized by a growing proportion of older workers approaching eligible retirement age (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2014). International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health (2019) 92:683–697 decisions like early retirement in older workers have stressed its multi-factorial etiology, involving factors from different domains (de Wind et al 2014). A first important factor stems from the personal domain, as Robroek et al (2013) and de Wind et al (2014) found that poor health was associated with a higher risk of earlier exit from paid employment. Demographic factors, such as a low education level, have been associated with a higher risk of early exit from paid employment (Robroek et al 2015). Our understanding of the determinants of labour force exit (LFE) is growing, it will in practice be challenging to identify older workers with an elevated risk for LFE, as many older workers are simultaneously exposed to multiple hindering or facilitating factors, and insight into possible indicators of where an older worker is in the process of LFE is still sparse (de Wind et al 2015)
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