Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T22:49:08.476Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychosocial wellbeing and reasons for retirement in Sweden

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2009

MIKAEL NORDENMARK  and
MIKAEL STATTIN
MIKAEL NORDENMARK
Affiliation:
Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden.
MIKAEL STATTIN*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Umeå University, Sweden.
*
Address for correspondence: Mikael Stattin, Department of Sociology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Given the increased heterogeneity of the transition from work to retirement, this study aimed to analyse the associations between different reasons for retirement and psychosocial wellbeing as a pensioner. The study used data from the Swedish Panel Survey of Ageing and the Elderly (PSAE), a nationally representative survey of the living conditions of older people in Sweden. The results show that almost one-half of all pensioners cited health problems as a contributory reason for ceasing work. Furthermore, those who retired for ‘push’ reasons, such as health problems or labour market factors, experienced lower psychosocial wellbeing than those who retired for other reasons. Moreover, the results show that those who were able to influence the time of their retirement enjoyed better psychosocial wellbeing than those who had little or no opportunity to do so. This was true when controlling for other factors relevant to the wellbeing of pensioners. The results lend support to the argument that, if a man's retirement is instigated because his skills are no longer required, there will be a decidedly negative effect on his wellbeing – and that this effect is stronger than the equivalent impact on a woman's wellbeing. In relation to previous findings in this field, the results make it clear that retirement is far from a uniform process or state.

Keywords

psychosocial wellbeingreasons for retirementolder peopleinfluence on retirement
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , April 2009 , pp. 413 - 430
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Atchley, R. C. 1976. The Sociology of Retirement. Halstad, New York.Google Scholar
Barnett, R. C. and Hyde, J. S. 2001. Women, men, work, and family: an expansionist theory. American Psychologist, 56, 10, 781–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bosse, R., Aldwin, C. M., Levenson, M. R. and Ekerdt, D. J. 1987. Mental health differences among retirees and workers: findings from the Normative Aging Study. Psychology of Aging, 2, 4, 383–9.Google Scholar
Crowley, J. E. 1986. Longitudinal effects of retirement on men's well-being and health. Journal of Business and Psychology, 1, 2, 95–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Vaus, D., Wells, Y., Kendig, H. and Quine, S. 2007. Does gradual retirement have better outcomes than abrupt retirement? Results from an Australian panel study. Ageing & Society, 27, 5, 667–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Vroom, B. and Guillemard, A.-M. 2002. From externalisation to integration of ageing workers: institutional changes at the end of the work life. In Andersen, J. G. and Jensen, P. H. (eds) Changing Labour Markets, Welfare Policies and Citizenship. Policy Press, Bristol, UK, 183–209.Google Scholar
Dorfman, L. T. 1995. Health conditions and perceived quality of life retirement. Health and Social Work, 20, 3, 192–200.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dorfman, L. T., Kohout, F. J. and Heckert, D. A. 1985. Retirement satisfaction in the rural elderly. Research on Ageing, 7, 4, 577–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doyle, C. and Hind, P. 1998. Occupational stress, burnout and job status in female academics. Gender Work and Organization, 5, 2, 67–82.Google Scholar
Duxbury, L., Higgins, C. and Lee, C. 1994. Work-family conflict: a comparison by gender, family type and perceived control. Journal of Family Issues, 15, 3, 449–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebbinghaus, B. 2000. Any way out of ‘exit from work’? Reversing the entrenched pathways of early retirement. In Scharpf, F. W. and Schmidt, A. (eds) Welfare and Work in the Open Economy: Diverse Responses to Common Challenges. Volume 2, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 511–54.Google Scholar
Estes, C. L., Wallace, S. and Linkins, K. W. 2000. Political economy of health and aging. In Bird, C. E., Conrad, P. and Fremont, A. M. (eds) Handbook of Medical Sociology. Fifth edition, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 129–42.Google Scholar
Hall, E. M. 1992. Double exposure: the combined impact of the home and work environments on psychosomatic strain in Swedish women and men. Section on Work Organization, Democratization, and Health, 22, 2, 239–60.Google ScholarPubMed
Hyde, M., Ferrie, J., Higgs, P., Mein, G. and Nazroo, J. 2004. The effects of pre-retirement factors and retirement route on circumstances in retirement: findings from the Whitehall II study. Ageing & Society, 24, 2, 269–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isaksson, K. and Johansson, G. 2000. Adaptation to continued work and early retirement following downsizing: long-term effects and gender differences. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73, 2, 241–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jæger, M. M. and Holm, A. 2004. How Stressful is Retirement? New Evidence from a Longitudinal, Fixed-effects Analysis. Centre for Applied Macroeconometrics, Institute of Economics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Kim, J. E. and Moen, P. 2001. Is retirement good or bad for subjective well-being? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 3, 83–6.Google Scholar
Kim, J. E. and Moen, P. 2002. Retirement transitions, gender, and psychological well-being: a life-course, ecological model. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 57B, 3, 212–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohli, M. 1999. Private and public transfers between generations: linking the family and the state. European Societies, 1, 1, 81–104.Google Scholar
Kohli, M., Rein, M., Guillemard, A.-M. and Gunsteren, H. 1991. Time for Retirement: Comparative Studies of Early Exit from the Labour Force. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Lundberg, U., Mårdberg, B. and Frankenhaeuser, M. 1994. The total workload of male and female white collar workers as related to age, occupational level, and number of children. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 35, 4, 315–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maltby, T., de Vroom, B., Mirabile, M. L. and Øverbye, E. 2004. Ageing and the Transition to Retirement: A Comparative Analysis of European Welfare States. Ashgate, Aldershot, Hampshire, UK.Google Scholar
McGoldrick, A. E. and Cooper, C. L. 1994. Health and ageing as factors in the retirement experience. European Work and Organizational Psychologist, 4, 1, 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mein, G., Martikainen, H., Hemingway, S., Stansfeld, M. and Marmot, M. 2003. Is retirement good or bad for mental and physical health functioning? Whitehall II longitudinal study of civil servants. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57, 1, 46–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Midanik, L. T., Soghikian, K. and Ransom, L. J. 1995. The effect of retirement on mental health and health behaviors: the Kaiser Permanente Retirement Study. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 50B, 1, 59–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minkler, M. 1981. Research on the health effects of retirement: an unclear legacy. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 1, 117–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordenmark, M. 1999. Unemployment, Employment Commitment and Well-being: The Psychosocial Meaning of (Un)employment among Women and Men. Department of Sociology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2006. Live Longer, Work Longer: A Synthesis Report. OECD, Paris. Browse-it version available at http://www.oecd.org/ [Accessed 3 September 2008].Google Scholar
Pinquart, M. and Schindler, I. 2007. Changes in life satisfaction in the transition to retirement: a latent–class approach. Psychology and Aging, 22, 3, 442–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Quadagno, J. 2005. Aging and the Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology, Third edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.Google Scholar
Salokangas, R. K. and Joukamaa, M. 1991. Physical mental health changes in retirement age. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 55, 100–7.Google Scholar
Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB) [Statistics Sweden] 2004. Återstående medellivslängd för åren 1751–2007 [Remaining Longevity in 1751–2007]. SCB, Stockholm. Available online at http://www.scb.se/templates/tableOrChart_25830.asp [Accessed 3 September 2008].Google Scholar
Sharpley, C. F. and Layton, R. 1998. Effects of age of retirement, reason for retirement, and pre-retirement training on psychological and physical health during retirement. Australian Psychologist, 33, 2, 119–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shultz, K. S., Morton, K. R. and Weckerle, J. R. 1998. The influence of push and pull factors on voluntary and involuntary early retirees' retirement decision and adjustment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 53, 1, 44–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sjögren, G. and Wadensjö, E. 2000. Arbetslinjen för äldre i praktiken: En studie för Riksdagens revisorer [Workfare for Older Workers in Practice]. Institutet för Social Forskning, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Smith, D. B. and Moen, P. 2004. Retirement satisfaction for retirees and their spouses: do gender and the retirement decision-making process matter? Journal of Family Issues, 25, 2, 262–85.Google Scholar
Statens offentliga utredningar (SOU) [Swedish Government Official Reports] 2004. Kan vi räkna med de äldre [Can We Count on Older People?]. Bilaga 5 till LU 2003/04, SOU, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Stattin, M. 1998. Occupation, Occupational Change and Exclusion from the Labour Market: A Study of the Relationship Between Early Retirement and Labour Market Change. Department of Sociology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.Google Scholar
Stattin, M. 2006. Pensionspreferenser och arbetsvillkor bland den äldre arbetskraften [Pension preferences and working conditions among the older work force]. In Äldres levnadsförhållanden: Arbete, ekonomi, hälsa och sociala nätverk 1980–2003 [Living Conditions of Older People: Work, Economy, Health and Social Networks 1980–2003]. Statistics Sweden, Stockholm, 73–88. Available online at http://www.scb.se/statistik/_publikationer/LE0101_1980I05_BR_04_LE112SA0601.pdf [Accessed 21 October 2008].Google Scholar
Szinovacz, M. E. and Davey, A. 2005. Predictors of perceptions of involuntary retirement. The Gerontologist, 45, 1, 36–7.Google Scholar
Taylor, P. 2008. Introduction: the promise of ageing labour forces. In Taylor, P. (ed.) Ageing Labour Forces: Promises and Prospects. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK, 1–21.Google Scholar
Wilensky, H. 2002. Rich Democracies: Political Economy, Public Policy and Performance. University for California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, California.CrossRefGoogle Scholar