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. 2022 Jul;95(5):1157-1166.
doi: 10.1007/s00420-021-01826-4. Epub 2022 Jan 7.

Quality of work community and workers' intention to retire

Subas Neupane  1   2 , Saila Kyrönlahti  3   4 , Hanna Kosonen  3   4 , K C Prakash  3   4   5 , Anna Siukola  4   6 , Kirsi Lumme-Sandt  3   4 , Pirjo Nikander  4 , Clas-Håkan Nygård  3   4
Affiliations

Quality of work community and workers' intention to retire

Subas Neupane et al. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose: To study the workers' perception of the quality of work community and its association with intention to retire early, separately among women and men working in Finnish postal service.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was sent to all Finnish postal services employees aged ≥ 50 years in 2016 and 44% (n = 2096) replied to the survey (mean age 56.3, 40% women). Employee's intention to retire before statutory retirement was measured on a scale of 1-5 and dichotomized. The quality of work community was defined by four composite variables: equality at work, flexibility at work, supportive work environment and health or other reason and trichotomized by their tercile values. Odds ratio (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations of quality of work community with intention to retire were calculated separately for men and women using log binomial regression models adjusted for potential confounders.

Results: About one-third of respondents intended to retire early with no significant gender difference in retirement intention. Low equality at work (women OR 2.77, 95% CI 1.60-4.81; men 2.84, 1.80-4.48) and low flexibility at work (women 3.30, 1.94-5.60; men 2.91, 1.88-4.50) was associated with higher likelihood of intention to retire. Among women intention to retire was found less likely due to low supportive work environment (0.52, 0.31-0.89) and among men due to intermediate health or other reason (0.65, 043-0.98).

Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of the quality of work community as well as the promotion of work-related health in order to encourage employees to remain at workforce for longer.

Keywords: Older workers; Postal service; Psychosocial factors; Retirement intention; Work environment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Predicted probability and their 95% CIs of intention to retire early among postal service workers as predicted by equality at separately for women and men (color figure online)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Predicted probability and their 95% CIs of intention to retire early among postal service workers as predicted by supportive work environment separately for women and men (color figure online)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Predicted probability and their 95% CIs of intention to retire early among postal service workers as predicted by flexibility at work separately for women and men (color figure online)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Predicted probability and their 95% CIs of intention to retire early among postal service workers as predicted by health or other reason separately for women and men (color figure online)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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