Abstract
BackgroundDue to demographic changes across Europe there are strong political interests in maintaining the labour force by prolonging working life, i.e. increasing retirement age. This may pose both challenges and opportunities for societies, workplaces, and individuals. The SeniorWorkingLife (Danish: SeniorArbejdsLiv) project investigates push and stay mechanisms for labour market participation – now and in the future - among older workers (≥50 years).MethodsIn July 2018, 30,000 Danes age 50 or older (18,000 employed, 7000 unemployed, 3000 voluntary early retirements, 2000 disability pensions) were invited to participate, of which 15,721 (52.4%) replied to the entire questionnaire and 17,885 (59.6%) replied at least in part. Baseline data collection was terminated in October 2018. The questionnaire covers 14 domains in relation to push and stay mechanisms for labour market participation: 1) basic information (demographics, employment status etc.), 2) multiple-choice question covering a wide range of push and stay mechanisms, 3) role of the workplace, 4) age-discrimination, 5) personal economy, 6) possibility for voluntary early retirement among employed and unemployed, 7) gradual retirement, 8) competencies and continued education, 9) return-to-work, 10) new technologies at the workplace, 11) job satisfaction and well-being, 12) working environment, 13) lifestyle, 14) health and functional capacity. The project aspires to repeat the survey as a prospective cohort every 2–3 years and to perform longitudinal follow-up in Danish high-quality registers about work and health.DiscussionThe SeniorWorkingLife project will provide important knowledge about push and stay mechanisms for labour market participation among older workers. Push refers to mechanisms that increase the risk of premature exit from the labour marker, e.g. due to poor health, poor working environment, age discrimination, and stay to mechanisms prolonging working life e.g. due to attractive working conditions and a good working environment. The project will also to some degree investigate stuck, pull and jump mechanisms. Collaboration and use of the data for scientific purposes by other researchers are encouraged. Interested researchers should contact the corresponding author.Trial RegistrationRegistered as cohort study in ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03634410 (August 16, 2018).
Highlights
Due to demographic changes across Europe there are strong political interests in maintaining the labour force by prolonging working life, i.e. increasing retirement age
In relation to withdrawal from the labour market, factors stimulating early withdrawal from the labour market are known as push, pull and jump mechanisms, and factors stimulating late withdrawal are known as stay and stuck mechanisms [4]: Push – early involuntary withdrawal, e.g. being pushed out due to poor health or poor working conditions
The sample was drawn as a probability sample by Statistics Denmark among all eligible Danish residents age 50 years or older that fitted into the four categories of employed, unemployed, voluntary early retirement, and disability pension
Summary
Study design The data collection was performed between July and October 2018 and forms the baseline of a prospective study aspiring to do long-term follow-up using Danish national registers and questionnaire surveys every 2–3 years. Study population In July 2018, 30,000 Danes age 50 or older as of 31st March 2018 (18,000 employed, 7000 unemployed, 3000 on voluntary early retirement, 2000 on disability pension) were invited to participate. The employee should pay a monthly fee for the scheme, which is co-financed by the state Those born before 1st Jan 1954 were qualified for voluntary early retirement payment at the age of 60 given the duration of the payment was 30 years and the person was available for work. 5) Personal economy: Expected (employed, unemployed) and actual economic situation (voluntary early retirement, disability pension) after leaving the labour market compared with when working. Immigrants replied to a lesser degree than those of Danish origin and descendants of
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