Work ability and psychosocial work stress – predictors of retirement intention among older teachers
Objectives Many teachers worldwide retire early for health or personal reasons. Predictors could help to identify teachers at risk in order to counteract this development. The study therefore investigates whether the intention to retire can be predicted by work ability, psychosocial work stress and...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine
2024-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ijomeh.eu/Work-ability-and-psychosocial-work-stress-predictors-of-retirement-intention-among,194728,0,2.html |
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| Summary: | Objectives
Many teachers worldwide retire early for health or personal reasons. Predictors could help to identify teachers at risk in order to counteract
this development. The study therefore investigates whether the intention to retire can be predicted by work ability, psychosocial work stress and work
behaviour.
Material and Methods
The data came from a representative cross-sectional study of German secondary school teachers (N = 18 971).
The analyses included 1496 full-time teachers aged ≥50 years (58% female). Teachers were assigned to 1 of 2 groups based on their intention to take
early or regular retirement. A binomial regression model was used to analyze the predictive power of the intention to retire for the following factors:
work ability index (WAI) – factor 1, effort-reward ratio (ER ratio), overcommitment (OC), age and gender. In addition, a qualitative analysis of the
teachers’ suggestions was carried out regarding which measures would make the regular retirement age attainable.
Results
Half (49%) of the teachers
intended to retire early, with the proportion of women being around twice as high (67%) as men (33%) (d = 0.37). The analyzed predictors explained
a total of 22% of the variance. The WAI factor 1 proved to be the most important predictor (variance explanation: 14%). Effort-reward ratio
and OC each contributed around 10% to the variance explanation of the retirement intention. The probability of taking early retirement increased
with decreasing work ability, increasing ER ratio and a high tendency to overcommit; age and gender were of secondary importance. Teachers suggested
a reduction in compulsory hours (46%), relief from extracurricular tasks (45%) and smaller classes (29%) as decisive measures for achieving
regular retirement.
Conclusions
Work ability index factor 1, ER ratio and OC could be used as part of occupational health prevention programmes
to identify and advise older teachers at risk who need support. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2024;37(5):508–23 |
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| ISSN: | 1232-1087 1896-494X |