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In light of a large proportion of older workers leaving the German labour market in the near future, policy makers aim to extend working lives to ensure sustainability of the social security system. In this context, safe and healthy working conditions are considered a precondition for encouraging employment participation. To understand better the role of the work environment in pre-retirement years, we draw upon an established model of five job quality profiles for the German ageing workforce. We explored seven-year profile development and linked selected manual and non-manual job quality trajectories to the motivation to work (MTW) using data from the 2011, 2014 and 2018 assessments of the lidA cohort study (valid N = 2,863). We found that older workers shifted to physically less-demanding profiles. Individual profile stability was prevalent among one-third of the workers. In 2018, there was a higher MTW when job quality remained favourable or improved early, while later improvements were associated with lower MTW. Early deterioration of job quality was associated with lower MTW levels among workers with non-manual trajectories only. The results highlight the dynamic job quality situation of the older German workforce and the importance of adopting a person-centred perspective when investigating working conditions and its effects. They further underline the need to consider quality of work when designing and implementing strategies to extend working lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational change encompasses change of profession, employer and work tasks. This study gives an overview on occupational change in later working life and provides empirical evidence on voluntary, involuntary and desired occupational changes in the older workforce in Germany. The analyses were based on longitudinal data from 2,835 participants of the German lidA Cohort Study, a representative study of employees born in 1959 or 1965. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed in order to characterise the change groups in their previous job situation. The findings indicate that occupational change among older workers is frequent. In four years, 13.4 per cent changed employer, 10.5 per cent profession and 45.1 per cent work tasks. In addition, the desire for change often remains unfulfilled: the share of older workers who wanted to but did not change was 17.6 per cent for profession, 13.2 per cent for employer and 8.9 per cent for work tasks. The change groups investigated differ in terms of their socio-demographic background, health and job factors such as seniority and leadership quality. In times of ageing populations, the potential of occupational change among older workers requires more consideration in society, policy and research. Special attention should also be paid to the group of workers who would have liked to change but feel that they cannot leave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines to what extent culture is a further piece of the puzzle to explain differences in the labour market participation of older people in Europe. This approach is in clear contrast to the existing literature on that topic which is largely economically oriented and more focused on socio-economic determinants. In the first part, different theoretical conceptions regarding the impact of culture on individual actions are discussed with the aim of developing the concept of work–retirement cultures. In the second part, the article gathers empirical evidence on differences in the work–retirement culture in 22 European societies and analyses the interplay between the work–retirement culture and the labour market participation of people aged between 55 and 64 years using logistic random intercept regression analysis. The analysis draws on the third round of the European Social Survey. The results give some clear indications that the work–retirement culture plays its part in explaining differences in the labour market participation of older people in Europe and thus clarifies that the timing of retirement is not fully determined by pension policies. Accordingly, the results of the study illustrate that it is not sufficient to solely change the legal rules for the transition to retirement. Rather, people need to be additionally convinced of the individual benefits of remaining in employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews theory and results from developmental psychology to examine age differences in workplace achievement goals. We investigated whether goal level decreases with age and, by comparing the relative strength of different goals within individuals, we examined whether dominant achievement goals are related to age. In a large sample of employees (N=747), older workers' higher affective commitment and intrinsic motivation compensated for age-related decline in the importance of achievement goals. Whether learning-approach and learninga voidance were dominant goals was not related to age but instead to skill level, affective commitment and intrinsically satisfying work. Dominant performance approach goals were more common among males. Performance-avoidance was most likely to be a dominant goal among older males. Moreover, with age, performancegoal orientations had increasingly maladaptive consequences for self-efficacy and affect at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplaces, managers and employers who are seeking to maintain the standing, capacities and productivity of their workplaces are now facing two crucial facts: (a) an ageing workforce and (b) all workers, regardless of age, need to adapt to the changing requirements for workplace performance. These facts mean that managers and supervisors need to confront issues found in the changing demographics of their own workforce. That is, as the portion of workforces aged over 45 years (i.e. older workers) increases, it is these workers who are available to be employed, and supported in sustaining their ongoing employability. To address these issues requires understanding of particular workers' capacities and aspirations and then acting to develop further their capacities based on new understanding, and rebutting social sentiments about these workers that are often value-laden, contradictory and biased. The case here is made through drawing on literature and analyses of interview data of Australian managers of older workers, that the current logic of management relies upon deeply held and widely shared beliefs of age-blind meritocracy and equal opportunity rather than informed views. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Workforce ageing is considered in the context of four Australian employing organisations which are each in the process of change. In these organisations, perceptions regarding the relationship between the declining body and productivity led to a depreciation of the value of older workers and their consignment to less productive edges of organisations. While this was viewed as benefiting older workers, it was also acknowledged that workforce ageing will place severe constraints on the use of such practices, already regarded with suspicion by operational managers responsible for cost containment. Policies which aim to restrain biological and psychological decline, by supporting individual functional capacity and health, workplace design and ergonomics and developing the work community are advocated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Population ageing will significantly impact labour markets in most Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and as a result individuals will need to remain in paid employment for longer to fund their retirement years. This study examines the retirement intentions of employees of a large public-sector organisation located in Victoria, Australia that was interested in developing policies to assist with retention of their mature-age workforce. Multivariate regression analyses were used to identify the most important predictors of intention to retire. The dependent variable, Intended timing of retirement, was analysed in two forms, as continuous and dichotomised measures. Age and Length of service were strong independent predictors of Intention to retire soon (within five years). Of the work factors that were analysed (Job satisfaction, Job demands, Job control, and Social cohesion), low Job satisfaction and high Social cohesion scores indicated an increased likelihood of retiring soon. The results provide some insight into the development of organisational interventions that might assist with retaining older employees for longer. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]