title: Linking Quality of Work in Midlife to Volunteering During Retirement: a European Study.
abstract: There is increasing recognition that disadvantaged work and employment conditions over the life course, including psychosocial stress at work, have negative long-term effects on health at older ages. Yet, the question whether stress at work additionally influences the likelihood of participating in voluntary work during retirement still needs to be explored. This paper studies long-term influences of stressful work during adulthood (as defined by low control and low reward at work) on participation in voluntary work in older ages. Analyses are based on the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), with detailed retrospective information on individual life courses collected among 11,751 retired men and women in 13 European countries. Results of multivariable analyses demonstrate that people who experienced stressful work are also less likely to participate in voluntary work during retirement. Importantly, these associations remain significant after controlling for important factors, including disability in older ages and disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances. In conclusion, findings suggest that promoting good working conditions may not only increase health and well-being, but also encourage participation in productive activities after labour market exit.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health and Society, Institute for Medical Sociology, University of Düsseldorf, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Morten
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4191-1420
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wahrendorf
authors.affiliation: International Centre for Life Course Studies in Society and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blane
authors.affiliation: Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Katey
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: Senior Professorship on Work Stress Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siegrist
keywords: SHARE; Voluntary work; Work stress