Canada: Older Workers With High Job Stress More Likely To Retire Earlier

According to an article by Yosie Saint-Cyr in HRinfodesk, a recent study--"Job strain and retirement" by Martin Turcotte and Grant Schellenberg, published in the July 2005 Issue of Perspectives on Labour and Income by Statistics Canada indicates that job strain, caused by a combination of a heavy workload, time constraints, conflicting demands and lack of control, may be an overlooked factor in an employee’s decision to retire. Several other studies have already documented this negative relationship. "This study found that many workers who felt stressed and dissatisfied with their job felt they could not retire soon enough, while others delayed retirement for the simple reason that they enjoyed their work (because they were able to balance demands with the power to make decisions)." The National Population Health Survey examined whether older workers (aged 45 to 57 in 1994) who experience high job strain will be more likely to retire than those who do not feel the same pressure at work. The study found that, between 1996 and 2002, older workers in managerial, professional or technical jobs with high job strain were much more likely to retire early than those with low job strain. However, for sales, services, clerical and blue-collar occupations, job strain was not related to retirement.

Source: "Link Between Job Strain and Retirement" HRinfodesk
(July 2005)