Incentives behind and Experiences of Being Active in Working Life after Age 65 in Sweden

Marie Bjuhr (), Maria Engström, Anna-Karin Welmer, Magnus Lindberg and Britt-Marie Sjölund
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Marie Bjuhr: Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Maria Engström: Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Anna-Karin Welmer: Aging Research Center & Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, 171 65 Stockholm, Sweden
Magnus Lindberg: Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden
Britt-Marie Sjölund: Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-10

Abstract: Since individual and societal expectations regarding the possibility of an extended working life after the expected retirement age are increasing, research on sustainable working life combined with healthy ageing is needed. This study explores the incentives behind and experiences of an extended working life after the expected retirement age of 65 among Swedish people. The inductive qualitative content analyses are based on 18 individual semi-structured interviews among persons 67–90 years old with varying characteristics and varying experiences of extended working lives. The analyses revealed that working contributed to (1) sustained internal resources, i.e., cognitive function, physical ability and increased vigor; (2) sustained external resources, i.e., social enrichment, better daily routines and economic benefits; (3) added meaningfulness to life, i.e., being needed, capability and satisfaction with working tasks. Meanwhile, having flexible working conditions enabled a satisfying balance between work and leisure. Altogether, these different aspects of overall health and working life were interpreted as contributing to increased feelings of vitality, the innermost dimension of health. Conclusions: regardless of biological age, our results indicate that being able to remain active in working life can be beneficial to vitality and could make these results valuable for both health-care personnel and employers.

Keywords: extended working life; multidimensional health; older workers; qualitative content analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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