The interviews explore how they are dealing with changes in public policy, including withdrawal of mandatory retirement age, age discrimination legislation, rising state pension age and extension of the right to request a consideration of flexible working. Transcriptions of individual interviews most of approximately 1 hour in length covering the main research questions of the project. Interviewees include a small number of line managers and human resources staff. The majority are employees. Demographic information is shown at the beginning of the interviews.Transitions from work to retirement have undergone radical transformation over the past few decades.The project aims to contribute to knowledge about the processes and factors which exert influence on working in later life.The research objectives: (1) mapping existing and emerging late-career transitions using existing longitudinal data sets (ELSA, NCDS and HRS); (2) identifying risk and protective factors affecting individuals during the transition from work to retirement; (3) conducting case studies to understand the way in which processes associated with extended working life are negotiated within the workplace; (4) synthesising findings from quantitative and qualitative data to produce new theoretical models about the changing character of late-career transitions. The research questions were: (1) What evidence can be found for new ‘late career transitions’ developing in England? How do these compare with those found in the USA? (2) How do life course factors influence these late career transitions? (3) How is the idea of ‘extended working life’ being constructed within the workplace? (4)What is the impact of late-career transitions on work place practices, re-training, human resources and occupational health policies? A multi-disciplinary consortium of researchers from seven Universities, the Institute of Occupational Medicine and the International Longevity Centre UK will undertake the research.
The selection of case studies was based upon finding organisations reflecting different sectors of the economy; different employment situations and pressures and variety in respect of the age and gender structure of the workforce. Part of the data collection in the case study organisations comprised semi-structured interviews. Managers were selected purposively either because they were involved in the development of Extending Working Lives, Human Resource and/or Occupational health policies, or because they were directly engaged in managing the late career transitions of workers. Workers aged 50+ were selected using a maximum variation sampling strategy (Patton 2002), to capture the experiences of informants from different class, gender and minority ethnic groups. Interviews were conducted in the workplace during working hours, in a setting that allowed for confidentiality to be ensured. Detailed arrangements for recruiting participants and scheduling data collection were agreed in advance with each case study organisation as part of a research partnership agreement. The research design included consideration of the negotiation of retirement and EWL decisions, and particular emphasis was placed on protecting the anonymity of participants. The interviews were semi -structured following a guide but interviewers were encouraged to allow respondents to talk freely about the subjects being discussed.
