Changes of profession, employer and work tasks in later working life

An empirical overview of staying and leaving

Bibliographic Data

ID11201832
AuthorsNina Garthe (0000-0001-9653-1807, University of Wuppertal, corresponding author), Hans Martin Hasselhorn (0000-0002-0317-6218, University of Wuppertal)
Year2022
Volume42
Issue10
Pages2393-2413
Publication date2022-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x21000088
OpenAlexW3135810796
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited47

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

Demographic economics · Empirical research · Geography · German · Multinomial logistic regression · Political science · Seniority · Workforce · Employment and Welfare Studies · Medicine · Psychology · Retirement, Disability, and Employment · Workplace Health and Well-being · Gerontology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access