Working time preferences and early and late retirement intentions

ABSTRACT

Career decisions are based on the fit between an individual and his/her environment. This study explores the effect of person-environment fit regarding actual and preferred weekly working hours on early and late retirement intentions in a sample of 7,859 employees aged 50 to 65 years of age living in Germany. Findings from multinomial logistic regression analysis show that a preferred decrease in working hours was associated with an increased risk for early retirement compared to regular retirement intentions (OR = 1.82). A preferred increase in working hours was associated with higher odds for a late career (OR = 1.87).

KEYWORDS:

• Person-environment fit
• retirement
• working time
• weekly working hours
• work demands

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest and did not receive any funding. The authors are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Ethical statement

International ethical standards were followed in the conduction of the BAuA-Working Time Survey. Participation in the telephone interview was voluntary and participation, therefore, acted as informed consent. At all times, a withdrawal from participation was possible. Participants were informed that their data would only be used anonymized and for research purposes.