Given the ongoing demographic changes in Europe, it is becoming obvious that there is a need to take measures to encourage older workers to continue working at retirement age.

The willingness to continue working at retirement age is determined by many factors, both at the individual and organizational level. People who are strongly involved in their work and internally motivated to do it are undoubtedly more likely to want to continue working at retirement age. On the other hand, factors such as age stigma, lack of support from colleagues and superiors, work overload, low autonomy at work, lack of development opportunities, health problems or lack of work-life balance effectively discourage people from continuing to work.

Knowledge about the determinants of readiness to continue the professional career of employees of retirement age is important primarily from the point of view of employers, other managers and HR specialists who want to keep older employees in the organization. Certainly, the policies developed and the actions taken within them should take into account the specific needs of older workers, e.g. the need for generativity or the need for flexible working time. Of course, it should be remembered that, like their younger colleagues, they want to be treated with respect, have attractive working conditions and carry out interesting tasks. The answer to these needs is the many „good practices” developed in recent years for older workers.

With age, the willingness to retire increases among employees and at the same time the desire to continue working decreases. Research shows that the health of older workers and the associated ability to work is one of the key factors influencing the desire to continue working. Health problems can prompt an employee to change priorities, which in many cases means spending more time with family and friends, even if work is still very important to them.

Poor health was the most frequently mentioned, potential reason for the termination of professional activity. This reason was given by as many as 71% of Poles surveyed, describing it as „a random cause to which they would have to submit”.

It is obvious that people are motivated to work by its financial aspect. Research shows that both the amount of salary and pension are important determinants of the decision to retire early in the group of men aged 50-59 (the higher the salary, the greater the willingness to continue working, but the higher the pension, the more this desire decreases). The same results were obtained in the group of women 50-59 years, although the links between these variables were much weaker in this case. In addition, it was found that the main reason for older people with relatively low incomes leaving work was mostly due to their health problems (loss of ability to work).

Among the respondents, material factors were more often indicated by men than by women, but a particularly large disproportion occurred in the aspect of: the possibility of increasing income by combining retirement with additional work (men chose this reason half as often as women) and low earnings in relation to the amount of pension (by 1/3 more often).

The financial factor was important primarily for residents of less urbanised areas (including rural areas), where the situation on the labour market is more difficult than in cities; However, this argument was significantly less often indicated by people with higher education.

Source: CIOP and PIB materials

Source: https://www.seka.pl/co-motywuje-osoby-w-wieku-60-plus-do-przedluzenia-aktywnosci-zawodowej/