What makes people continue to work after retirement age? And how does this work affect mental well-being and life satisfaction?
Awareness of gender equality has increased greatly in recent years, but in practice there has been no extensive change in the promotion of equality. There are still significant gaps between men and women in areas such as employment and income. Many studies have been done on inequality in these areas, but its long-term consequences, in old age, after retirement, have not been examined.
Prof. Chaya Steyer from the Department of Labor Studies and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University and Prof. Aliza Levin from the Department of Sociology at Haifa University are engaged in their research on gender inequality, partly in the labor market and within the family, and its effects on the well-being of men and women in the short and long term.
What makes people continue to work after retirement age? And how does this work affect mental well-being and life satisfaction?
"Most of the research that deals with gender inequality in employment and income focuses on working age. Less attention is given to the influence of women's and men's life paths on retirement and employment decisions, mental and financial well-being, and the degree of life satisfaction in old age. In other words, the inequality in employment and income starts at a young age and its consequences are hardly examined in the third age," says Prof. Steyer.
In order to examine this issue, the researchers focused, in their latest research that won a grant from the National Science Foundation, on gender inequality in the employment and income of Jewish women and men throughout life and its long-term consequences, at retirement age (later on, the researchers will deal with gender inequality among Arab women and men). To this end, they analyzed data on Jewish residents from the census and social surveys of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) from 1995 (people who were of working age) to 2008 (those people who reached retirement age). In addition, they analyzed data from income tax records and population registry data on the same people in those years and about a decade later. The data included employment patterns, individual and household income (for example, from work and pension allowance), education, age, marital status, profession, working hours, number of children, degree of life satisfaction and mental and financial well-being.
First, the researchers wanted to check what makes people continue to work after retirement age - the economic factor or social factors such as connections, a sense of self-worth and the exhaustion of skills. "The retirement age for men is 67 and for women 60 to 67. Today life expectancy is increasing and these ages are considered young, so many continue to work. But we wanted to check what the exact reason for this is - does the work really contribute to them financially and mentally?" explains Prof. Levin.
The researchers examined what makes people continue to work after retirement age - the economic factor or social factors such as connections, a sense of self-worth and the exhaustion of skills - whether the work really contributes to them financially and mentally.
The researchers compared adults (women and men) who retired at retirement age and adults who continued to work (part-time or full-time). They discovered that the economic factor plays an important role in the decision to continue working: "The senior citizen's pension (old age pension) is often low and not everyone accumulates enough pension in their lifetime, so they have to continue working. Because women are routed in advance to less rewarding professions, and are discriminated against in the labor market (progress less, their wages rise more slowly, many work in the public sector, etc.); are more affected by family situations (such as giving birth and raising children); and experience more work breaks, it can be assumed that upon reaching retirement age they have accumulated less pension than men and should continue to work and accumulate," explains Prof. Steyer.
In addition, it was found that the higher the education, the stronger the tendency to work, especially for women, since, apparently, they have more opportunities in the labor market, with higher wages. "Education greatly influences the decision to retire or work; Those who retire early are often poorly educated. The educated, on the other hand, are more likely to remain in the labor market and these are the women who also earn more relative to others, usually employed in white-collar professions and in prestigious fields. This in itself can increase inequality among the older population since precisely those whose position in the labor market is stronger stay in it for more years and significantly improve the household income. In most cases, these are also women whose spouses work, so the household income is even higher than other couples," Prof. Levin points out.
Later, the researchers wanted to check to what extent work affects the life satisfaction and mental well-being of men and women who have reached retirement age. It was found that the level of satisfaction and mental well-being among working men (full-time or part-time) is higher than non-working men. For women, on the other hand, only a partial effect was found - only a full-time job in a prestigious profession increases satisfaction and there is no effect on mental well-being. According to Prof. Levin: "Apparently work has a secondary role in women's well-being because they are more influenced by family and household duties, and therefore work is less important to them after retirement age. And it is also possible that work is a less significant component of their identity from the beginning and therefore less important to them as an identity component at retirement age. Therefore, most older women who work do so more for economic reasons. Men, on the other hand, apparently feel more efficient when they continue to leave the house and earn a living even in old age."
However, it was found that both men and women who work part-time after retirement age are much more satisfied with their ability to balance work and other areas of life (such as time with children and grandchildren and leisure activities), compared to those who work full-time. According to Prof. Steyer, "this balance has not been studied enough in adults. It can be understood that a part-time job helps both sexes combine the desire to work and the desire to be active, to enjoy all the worlds, which can contribute to mental and physical health and longevity." It was also found that married people are expected to work more after retirement age compared to others, possibly due to mutual effects and marital retirement and employment decisions (a finding that the researchers continue to investigate).
In the future, the researchers plan to incorporate qualitative data into their research that will help to better understand the quantitative findings that were discovered (they intend to interview people of retirement age about their reasons for retiring or continuing to work). They also plan to examine gender gaps in pensions and their causes, and to examine whether volunteering contributes to life satisfaction and mental well-being in a similar way to employment.
Life itself:
Prof. Aliza Levin, researches the relationship between gender, changes in the family, poverty, wealth and inequality and seeks to promote egalitarian values. Loves to travel in nature and enjoys hairdressers, cinema, theater and dance. Haya Steyr,
Prof. Chaya Steyer, researcher in the fields of work and family, women's work, inequality, poverty and welfare. Lover of swimming, music, literature, cultural shows, and trips around the world; and loves to spend time with her family ("devoted grandmother to five lovely grandchildren".
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