Working Conditions, Psychological Well-Being of Older Employees and Retirement Timing: Results From Linked Survey and Register Data in Finland

Abstract

As populations age, supporting longer working lives becomes increasingly important. We investigate the relationships between working conditions, pre-retirement psychological well-being, and retirement timing using survey and register data on 3,261 Finnish employees who retired between 2019 and 2021. Rather than early retirement, our focus is to examine retirement at the statutory age versus retirement postponed by at least one year. Our results show that job autonomy and good leadership are associated with better psychological well-being, while psychosocial job demands are linked to poorer well-being. Poor well-being increases the likelihood of earlier retirement. Schedule flexibility and job autonomy reduce the risk of earlier retirement, whereas physical and psychosocial demands decrease the likelihood of later retirement – psychosocial demands also indirectly through their impact on well-being. Well-being mediates the effect of poor self-rated health on retirement. These results underscore the importance of working conditions and well-being in shaping retirement behavior.