Abstract

Numerous investigations have sought to understand the types of individuals who engage in post-retirement work. However, little is known about why older adults are motivated to engage. The aim of the present article is to examine the extent to which two possible mechanisms—adaptation (adjusting to the loss of work role) and exploration (retirement as opportunity to engage in activities in line with personal values)—play a role in explaining planning for paid work or volunteering after retirement. Analyses are based on large-scale survey data collected in 2015 among older workers in the Netherlands (N = 6,278). Results show that the large majority of older Dutch workers have plans for post-retirement paid and/or volunteer work. Moreover, both mechanisms appear to contribute to the understanding of post-retirement work plans, yet in different ways. Specifically, older workers who expect to miss latent work functions are more likely to have plans for post-retirement work, with their general values guiding the type of work they gravitate toward. Having plans for post-retirement paid work was more prevalent among older workers who attached more importance to personal growth, whereas having plans for volunteer work was more prevalent among older workers who had a stronger social orientation. Moreover, results suggest that men, more often than women, translate the anticipated loss of latent work functions into plans for post-retirement paid work. These insights regarding the motivational antecedents of post-retirement work plans are highly relevant in light of policy discussions of active and healthy aging.

中文翻译：

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适应还是探索？了解老年工人的退休后有偿和志愿工作计划

摘要

许多调查试图了解从事退休后工作的个人类型。但是，对于为什么老年人有参与的动机知之甚少。本文的目的是研究两种可能的机制在何种程度上发挥了作用，即适应（适应失去工作的角色）和探索（作为以符合个人价值观的方式进行活动的退休机会）在解释计划中所起的作用从事有偿工作或退休后志愿服务。分析基于2015年在荷兰老年工人中收集的大规模调查数据（N= 6,278）。结果表明，绝大多数荷兰老年工人都有退休后带薪工作和/或志愿工作的计划。此外，这两种机制似乎都以不同的方式促进了对退休后工作计划的理解。具体而言，希望错过潜在工作职能的年长工人更有可能制定退休后工作计划，他们的一般价值观指导着他们从事的工作类型。计划退休后的带薪工作在重视个人成长的老年工人中更为普遍，而制定志愿工作的计划在社会取向更强的老年工人中更为普遍。此外，结果表明，男性（比女性更多）将预期的潜在工作职能丧失转化为退休后有偿工作的计划。