Using occupational history calendars to capture lengthy and complex working lives: a mixed method approach with older people

Figures & data

Figure 1. The Occupational History Calendar.

Table 1. Characteristics of interviewees.

Characteristic	Statistic
Age (n=56)	Mean years (range)
	58.9 (50–68)
Gender (n=56)	n (%)
Male	32 (55.4)
Employment status (n=56)	n (%)
Employed	22 (39.3)
Employed full-time	8 (14.3)
Employed part-time	5 (8.9)
Self-employed (full or part-time)	12 (21.4)
Unemployed	16 (30.4)
Retired not looking for employment	1 (0.2)
Retired and looking for employment Voluntary work	6 (11)
Educational attainment (n=56)	n (%)
Low; none or below GCSE^a/equivalent	18 (32.1)
Intermediate 1; GCSE/equivalent	7 (12.5)
Intermediate 2; ‘A’ level/diploma/equivalent (e.g. teaching certificate, nursing certificate)	13 (17.9)
Higher; university (undergraduate and postgraduate):	18 (32.1)
Annual household income (n=38)^b	n (%)
Below £10,000	6 (15.8)
£10,000-£20,000	8 (21.1)
£20,000 - £30,000	8 (21.1)
Over £30,000	16 (42.1)
Health status (n= 44)^b	n (%)
Fair to poor	2 (4.6)
Fair	16 (36.4)
Good	10 (22.7)
Very good	11 (25)
Excellent	4 (9)

^a The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject by students usually aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

^b The questions on income and health were asked at the end of the interview. The sample sizes are smaller as not all the participants responded to these questions, some because they were unable and/or unwilling to select a precise category.

Figure 2. Recording and coding in the Occupational History Calendar.

Figure 3. Screenshot of OHC data input in excel spreadsheet.

Figure 4. State distribution plot of employment status by age.

Notes: 17.98%, of employment states within the sample were recorded as professional/managerial, 39.67% as skilled, 17.00% as semi-skilled, 9.30% as unskilled, 6.67% as in education/training, 5.88%, as not in paid work and 3.50% as a family carer.

Table 2. Distributional properties of the cluster groupings.

Cluster number/name	1 Unskilled	2 Patchwork	3 Skilled	4 Upward or out	5 Prof. & man.
% of employment statesin each cluster recorded as:
Managerial and professional	0.00	4.71	0.00	22.26	60.92
Skilled occupation	21.08	26.02	77.41	48.17	18.53
Semi-skilled occupation	3.01	38.29	10.97	5.98	2.57
Unskilled occupation	63.86	11.65	2.62	0.00	1.83
Education or training	5.42	4.34	4.91	10.30	10.46
Not in paid employment	1.81	9.79	0.49	11.63	4.22
Family carer	4.82	5.20	3.60	1.66	1.47
No. of sequences in cluster	4	19	14	7	12

Notes: Bold indicates largest percentage within cluster; italics indicates larger than sample percentage within cluster.