Research: Investigators Report on Worker Disengagement before Retirement

A paper published by Dutch researchers following a panel study finds that, in line with the notion of the preretirement disengagement process, many older employees disengage more from work when getting closer to their planned retirement age. However, according to "Do Older Workers Develop a Short-Timer’s Attitude Prior to Retirement?" written by Marleen Damman, Kène Henkens, and Matthijs Kalmijn, career experiences of promotion and employer change slow down the disengagement process, while Declining health, in contrast, accelerates the process.

The aim of the study was to improve understanding of work disengagement in the pre-retirement period, by examining the impact of proximity to planned retirement (anticipated future) and work, educational, and health experiences (lived past) on pre-retirement work disengagement.

The transition from work to retirement is a complex long-term process. This study clearly shows that the preretirement work disengagement process already starts a couple of years before older workers retire and steadily increases when workers get closer to retirement. Also for workers who have passed their planned retirement age, relatively large increases in work disengagement were found.

Source: Social Science Research Network Abstract (December 21, 2011)