A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Approaching retirement

  2022. Marta Sousa-Ribeiro (et al.). Journal of Aging Studies 60

  Article

  In many countries, eldercare workers are approaching retirement. To remain attractive to older and experienced workers, organizations need to understand how employees nearing retirement think about and experience theirwork situation. This qualitative study investigated how older nursing assistants within residential care for older people experienced aging at work, their psychosocial work environment, and their late-career planning. Semistructured interviews with eight nursing assistants (aged 55–61 years) in Sweden were analyzed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach. The results show that the psychosocial work environment was perceived as stressful and considered a long-term health risk, and that (future) health and work ability were key factors determining nursing assistants' late-career planning. Moreover, personal resources and social support from colleagues seemed protective against job demands. Aspects considered in late-career planning also included personal finances and meaningfulness of work. While these findings may be sample-specific, they still provide insights into the experiences of an important occupational group. This means that the findings can be useful for organizations aiming at promoting successful and sustainable aging-in-workplace and encouraging extended working lives.

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• Health- and Age-Related Workplace Factors as Predictors of Preferred, Expected, and Actual Retirement Timing

  2021. Marta Sousa-Ribeiro (et al.). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (5)

  Article

  To address the challenges of demographic aging, governments and organizations encourage extended working lives. This study investigates how individual health- and age-related workplace factors contribute to preferred, expected and actual retirement timing, as well as to the congruency between preferences vs. expectations, and preferences vs. actual retirement. We used data from a representative Swedish longitudinal sample comprising 4058 workers aged 50–64, with follow-up data regarding actual retirement timing available for 1164 respondents. Multinomial logistic regression analyses suggest that later preferred, expected, and actual retirement timing were, to different extent, influenced by better health, an age-friendly workplace and feeling positive regarding the future at work. Emotional exhaustion, age-related inequalities at work and experiencing aging as an obstacle increased the likelihood of preferring to retire earlier than one expected to, over retiring at the time one expected to. Those with better health and positive work prospects were less likely to prefer retiring earlier than they expected to, and more likely to being “pulled toward working until 65 and beyond”, compared to being “pulled toward early retirement”. Experiencing aging as an obstacle decreased the chances of being “pulled toward working until 65 and beyond”. The results provide insights on how to facilitate extended working lives.

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• Engagement in meaningful activities during unemployment and subjective well-being

  2020. Marta Sousa-Ribeiro, Magnus Sverke, Joaquim Luís Coimbra. Revista E-PSI 9 (3), 4-34

  Article

  In an unstable and unpredictable labor market, older workers are in a particularly disadvantaged situation. Indeed, from the moment an individual becomes unemployed, age is the most powerful individual attribute affecting how long it will take to find a new job, and for many older individuals, job loss in fact leads to their permanent exclusion from the labor market. Nevertheless, older unemployed individuals are an understudied population in unemployment research. In the literature, unemployment has consistently been associated with reduced well-being, and research has shown that an important determinant of well-being during unemployment is an individual’s involvement in personally meaningful activities. Yet, studies on the psychological mechanisms underlying the positive association between activity and well-being during unemployment seem to be relatively scarce. This study investigates to what extent engagement in meaningful activities by older unemployed people is associated with their well-being and if this relationship is mediated by the perceived quality of the psychosocial environment – operationalized as the perceived access to the latent benefits of employment and the environmental “vitamins” included, respectively, in the latent deprivation model and the vitamin model. The sample comprised 185 Portuguese unemployed individuals aged 40+, who were asked to fill in self-report questionnaires in job- and training centers located in the Porto metropolitan area. Ordinary least squares path analyses were calculated to investigate the mediational model. Results show that the activities in which participants were most engaged were passive activities at home, followed by family-related activities and domestic chores. Furthermore, results suggest that the engagement in certain activities during unemployment – social and cultural activities and work-related activities – is beneficial for well-being through the perception of greater social contacts and the perception of greater contribution to society and integration in the community. These findings may be useful for both policy-making and practitioners aiming to turn unemployment into a less psychologically harmful experience.

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• Approaching retirement in the elderly care sector

  2019. Marta Sousa-Ribeiro (et al.). Abstract Book of the 19th European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology Congress, 1531-1531

  Conference

  Purpose: This study aimed at investigating how older nursing assistants working in elderly care experienced aging at work and perceived their psychosocial work environment, as well as exploring the role of work- and organizational factors in their retirement preferences.

  Design/Methodology/Approach/Intervention: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight nursing assistants (age 55–61 years), and working in residential care. Data were analyzed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach.

  Results: The analysis identified four super-ordinate themes: 1) meaning of work; 2) psychosocial work environment; 3) experience of aging; 4) retirement decision-making. Work was experienced as demanding, characterized by high workload, time pressure, and low control. Furthermore, participants perceived few possibilities for job crafting and were concerned about being unable to manage their workload once they got older. A main driver for working after retirement was the possibility to work on one’s own terms and to reduce current job demands.

  Limitations: While the small and homogeneous sample limits generalization, it allows for a detailed investigation of the subjective experiences of this group of older workers. Yet, studies in different occupational groups and organizations are needed.

  Research/Practical Implications: Findings highlight the importance of healthy psychosocial work environments and organizational practices that promote sustainable work and successful aging in the workplace.

  Originality/Value: Due to an accelerated demographic aging, it is important to increase the knowledge of how nursing assistants approaching retirement in the elderly care perceive opportunities and constraints to them prolonging their working life. Furthermore, qualitative studies, particularly among blue-collar occupations, remain few.

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• Are trajectories of prefered- and expected retirement ages associated with health and effort-impalance at work? Findings from a six-year Swedish longitudinal study

  2019. Marta Sousa-Ribeiro (et al.). Abstract Book of the 19th European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology Congress, 1450-1450

  Conference

  Purpose: One key dimension in the study of retirement decision making is the preferred retirement age (PR-A). Another relevant although less investigated indicator is the age at which one realistically expects to retire (ER-A). This study aimed at identifying trajectories of preferred- and expected retirement age and exploring their associations with changes in self-rated health, depressive symptoms and effortreward imbalance (ERI).

  Design/Methodology/Approach/Intervention: The study used data from four waves (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health. Sample consisted of 1440 workers aged 50–59 in 2010 who participated in all waves. Latent class growth modeling was used to estimate trajectories of PR-A and ER-A and their associations with self-rated health, depressive symptoms and ERI were investigated. Participants were divided in two groups according to age at T0 (50-54; 5559) and analyses were age stratified.

  Results: Preliminary results suggest both between-person and within-person variability in retirement age preferences and expectations over six years in the two groups. Trajectories characterised by lower PRA were associated with poorer health and higher levels of ERI. ER-A trajectories in turn seem to be less associated with health and ERI.

  Limitations: This study relies exclusively on self-report measures.

  Research/Practical Implications: The findings reinforce the importance of healthy work environments that facilitate a balance between efforts and rewards for promoting longer working lives.

  Originality/Value: Retirement longitudinal studies are scarce and this study is one of the first to investigate longitudinal relationships between PR-A and ER-A trajectories, and health and effort-reward imbalance at work.

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• I work, therefore I am

  2019. Marta Sousa-Ribeiro (et al.). Abstract Book of the 19th European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology Congress, 593-594

  Conference

  Purpose: This study investigated the transition to retirement, the motivation to work, and experiences of working in bridge employment in a group of retired nursing assistants.

  Design/Methodology/Approach/Intervention: The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was used to analyze data from semi-structured interviews with seven retired nursing assistants working at a Swedish hospital.

  Results: This presentation focuses on “The meaning of work and retirement”, one of four superordinate themes identified in the participants’ accounts. Full retirement was regarded as “the end of the road”, leading to stagnation in life. In contrast, work was perceived as a booster of physical and mental health. By fulfilling important psychosocial needs (such as providing a sense of purpose and belonging, identity, social contact and nurturing, time structure, a source of activity), bridge employment allowed for a gradual adjustment to retirement, which in turn contributed to well-being.

  Limitations: The study is based on a small sample in a specific context, which limits the generalization of the results. However, this homogeneity of the sample allowed for a detailed account of the subjective experiences of a particular group of individuals. Yet, further studies in different occupational groups and organizations are needed.

  Research/Practical Implications: This study contributes to a further understanding of issues involved in the adjustment to retirement and what it is that motivates people to continue working as nursing assistants, an important occupation within the healthcare sector.

  Originality/Value: This research meets the call for more qualitative research on the meaning of working and retirement specifically for bridge employees.

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• Experiences of Working after Retirement

  2018. Marta Sousa-Ribeiro (et al.). Book of Proceedings 13the Conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology, 267-268

  Conference

  Older people represent an increasing share of the population in many countries. While higher life expectancy is a remarkable social achievement, accelerated demographic ageing poses several challenges, particularly to health care, labour market and pensions systems. A greater awareness of the importance to increase the participation of older workers in the labour market and to delay the transition to full retirement has turned retirement into an issue of global significance and an important research topic.

  Notwithstanding the increasing flexibility and heterogeneity in the exit pathways from employment to retirement, most research have focused on the decision regarding when to retire; while fewer studies have investigated the dynamics of engagement in post-retirement work, or bridge employment. This form of employment is becoming more common in several countries, including Sweden, where between 2010 and 2015, the number of employed people aged 66–74 has increased by 36 percent. Furthermore, qualitative studies, allowing for an in-depth understanding of the complexity of the topic, remain scarce.

  This study aimed to explore the transition to retirement, the motivation to engage in bridge employment and experiences of working after retirement among assistant nurses. The study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyze data from semi-structured interviews with seven retired assistant nurses working at a Swedish hospital. The interviews focused on retirement decision-making, experiences of working after retirement and ageing issues. The following super-ordinate themes were identified: the retirement process, meaning of retirement, functions and meaning of work, drivers to continue working after retirement, working as an assistant nurse after retirement and the experience of ageing.    

  In this group of assistant nurses, bridge employment seemed to allow for a gradual adjustment to retirement, which in turn contributed to their well-being. Interviewees did not plan for their retirement while some would have preferred to do so. Full-retirement was regarded as stagnation and “the end of the road”, while work was valued positively. Work defined one’s existence and identity, provided a sense of purpose and belonging to the society, was a source of social contact and nurturing, a physical and mental health booster and postponed ageing. Interviewees reflected much on their reasons to continue working: Feeling able to work and the absence of major health problems was, not surprisingly, a major driver, but other factors were of equal importance, such as being intrinsically motivated to work and feeling appreciated and needed at work. Interviewees regarded their job as challenging, varied and not particularly demanding. Their contacts with the patients and being able to help others was perceived as highly rewarding and a prominent reason for continuing to work. Having control over working time and opportunities for recovery were also much valued. Interviewees reported some improvements that came with ageing, but also felt some limitations, which they tried to compensate for at work. These results may contribute to a further understanding of issues motivating people to continue working as assistant nurses, an occupation that plays an important role within the health care sector.

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• Too Old for Work? Mediated Associations Between Perceived Age Discrimination and Job Search Among Older Unemployed People

  2018. Marta Sousa-Ribeiro, Magnus Sverke, Joaquim Luís Coimbra. Book of proceedings 13th Conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology, 75-75

  Conference

  While in several countries the need of longer working lives has been acknowledged, due to accelerated demographic ageing, many older workers face particular challenges both in keeping their employment and becoming reemployed after redundancy. Due to the high prevalence of negative age-related stereotypes, a central factor that may hinder the employment prospects of older adults is the discrimination on the grounds of age, which may occur as early as age 40. In the absence of job opportunities, a considerable number of older unemployed people eventually withdraw from the labour market earlier than they would like. Job search is currently an integral part of working life, including in mid- and late-career, and there is extensive research evidence for the positive impact job search has on the likelihood of reemployment. While it is plausible that perceived age discrimination plays a significant role in older unemployed people’s job search behaviour, to date this has rarely been investigated.

  In this line, building partially on propositions from the social cognitive model of career self-management (applied to job search behaviour) proposed by Lent and Brown, as well as prior research, the present study aims to contribute to a better comprehension of factors and processes that are associated with job search among older unemployed people. The study investigates a parallel mediational model which proposes a negative relationship between perceived age discrimination and three job search indicators (job search intensity, job search effort and job search intentions) that is mediated by job search self-efficacy, reemployment expectations and perceived control over reemployment.

  The study has a cross-sectional design and the sample comprises 176 Portuguese unemployed people (aged 40-64 years). A MANOVA examined differences in the model’s predictors and outcomes in terms of age (40-54; 55+), gender, educational level (4-10; 11+ years) and length of unemployment (0-11; 12+ months). To investigate the proposed model, ordinary least squares path analyses were calculated using the SPSS macro PROCESS.

  Results suggest that women, those with lower education levels and those aged 55+ are at higher risk of becoming discouraged in their job search. In times when demographic ageing has led to tightened conditions qualifying for early retirement and increased statutory retirement ages, special attention should be paid to these groups to prevent social exclusion. Job search self-efficacy and reemployment expectations were positively related to the three job search indicators and perceived age discrimination was negatively related to reemployment expectations and perceived control over reemployment. The study also found an indirect negative relationship between perceived age discrimination and job search via lower reemployment expectations.

  Whilst the cross-sectional design of the study restricts firm conclusions regarding causality, the mediational model is theoretically well sustained. The findings expose the pervasive effects of age discrimination, which besides limiting the employment opportunities for older workers, has also indirect implications by decreasing job search activity through lowered levels of reemployment expectations, what may lead to premature and involuntary labour market exits. These findings may be useful for policy-makers and practitioners working with unemployed people.

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• Intentions to Participate in Training Among Older Unemployed People

  2017. Marta Sousa-Ribeiro (et al.). Journal of career development

  Article

  While a considerable number of studies have focused on factors driving employees to voluntarilyparticipate in training programs, much less is known on this topic with regard to the unemployedpopulation, in particular the older unemployed, who often are in a vulnerable labor market positiondue to educational deficits and skills obsolescence. This study proposes and investigates a serialmediator model of older unemployed individuals’ training intentions grounded in propositions fromsocial cognitive theory and the theory of planned behavior as well as prior models of employeeinvolvement in training. The results, based on cross-sectional questionnaire data from 176 unemployedPortuguese individuals aged 40þ, suggest that age, education, and proactivity have an indirect effect ontraining intentions via learning self-efficacy and training-related outcome expectations. Age was alsodirectly related to stronger training intentions. These results may be useful for interventions aiming toencourage older unemployed individuals’ participation in training.

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