Older People's Experience of Paid Employment : Participation and Quality of Life, 2001-2002

This study is part of the Growing Older: Extending Quality of Life research programme funded by the ESRC. This project focuses on the relationship between paid employment and psychological well-being at older ages, addressing the research aims:<br> <br> Identification of the predictors of quality of life in older adults - particularly the role of paid work;<br> <br> Identification of the predictors of participation in paid work over age 50;<br> <br> Identification of mechanisms through which the influence of paid work on well-being may operate. <br> <br> Previous research indicates the psychological importance of paid work at below retirement age - though the outcomes of unemployment have rarely been studied at older ages. Research, which has taken place, often fails to note that voluntary lack of employment differs from enforced unemployment. In addition to the role of personal choice in employment status, as a predictor of well-being, there are other covariates which need to be accounted for, such as: age, health, gender and marital status. Differences in well-being between employment, unemployment and retirement might also be determined by the environmental features experienced in each of those roles.<br>