Working After Retirement Leads To Better Health, According To National Study
Psychology / Psychiatry
Retirees who transition from full-time work into a temporary or
part-time job experience fewer major diseases and are able to function
better day-to-day than people who stop working altogether, according to
a national study. And the findings were significant even after
controlling for people's physical and
mental health before retirement.
The study's authors refer to this transition between career and complete
retirement as "bridge employment," which can be a part-time job,
self-employment or a temporary job. The findings are reported in the
October issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,
published by the American Psychological Association.
"Given the economic recession, we will probably see more people
considering post-retirement employment," said co-author Mo Wang, PhD, of
the University of Maryland. "These findings highlight bridge
employment's potential benefits."
For this study, Wang and his fellow researchers looked at the national
Health and Retirement Study, which is sponsored by the National
Institute on Aging. They used data from 12,189 participants who were
between the ages of 51 and 61 at the beginning of the study. The
participants were interviewed every two years over a six-year period
beginning in 1992 about their health, finances, employment history and
work or retirement life.
In order to measure the respondents' health over the course of the
study, the researchers considered only physician-diagnosed health
problems, such as
high blood pressure,
diabetes,
cancer, lung disease, heart disease,
stroke and psychiatric problems. They controlled not only for
baseline physical and mental health but also for age, sex, education
level, and total financial wealth. The results showed the retirees who
continued to work in a bridge job experienced fewer major diseases and
fewer functional limitations than those who fully retired.
The participants answered a basic mental health questionnaire. The
findings showed that people whose post-retirement jobs were related to
their previous careers reported better mental health than those who
fully retired. However, these mental health improvements were not found
among people who worked in jobs outside their career field
post-retirement. The authors say this may be because retirees who take
jobs not related to their career field may need to adapt to a different
work environment or job conditions and, therefore, become more stressed.
Also, Wang has found retirees with financial problems are more likely to
work in a different field after they officially retire.
"Rather than wanting to work in a different field, they may have to
work," said Wang. "In such situations, it's difficult for retirees to
enjoy the benefits that come with bridge employment." The authors
suggest that, when possible, retirees carefully consider their choice of
post-retirement employment.
"Choosing a suitable type of bridge employment will help retirees
transition better into full retirement and in good physical and mental
health," said co-author Kenneth Shultz, PhD, adding that employers who
are concerned about a labor shortage due to numerous baby boomers
retiring might consider bridge employment options for their retirees.
Article:
"Bridge Employment and Retirees' Health: A Longitudinal Investigation,"
Yujie Zhan, MS, Mo Wang, PhD, and Songqi Liu, MS, University of
Maryland; Kenneth S. Shultz, PhD, California State University, San
Bernardino; Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 14, No. 4.
(Full text of the article:
http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/ocp-14-4-374.pdf)
Source:
Audrey Hamilton
American Psychological Association
