New research found an association between an individual’s quality of worklife and the age he/she retires. A European-based study examined 6,836 participants, ages 50-65, and assessed the retirement intentions of participants and their job satisfaction.
Nearly half of participants thought about leaving their job as soon as possible. Thoughts of leaving a job early were more likely to be found in individuals that were living in a low socioeconomic status (SES) and indicated low levels of job-related well-being. Individuals between 55 and 59 were the most likely to think about retirement.
Employers who seek to retain highly skilled and experienced employees must focus on quality of worklife issues in their organization; otherwise, they run the risk of losing valuable team members prematurely.
Source: Siegrist, J., Wahrendorf, M., et al. Quality of Work, Well-Being, and Intended Early Retirement of Older Employees-Baseline Results from the SHARE Study. European Journal of Public Health, 17, 1, 62-68.