Retirement in Western Germany – How Workplace Tasks Influence Its Timing

In this article, task data from the German Qualification and Career Survey (BIBB/IAB) is matched against the Sample of Integrated Labour Market Biographies (SIAB) to investigate what patterns are discernible in retirement between 1985 and 2005 in Western Germany. Set against a background of pension...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Work, employment and society employment and society, 2023-04, Vol.37 (2), p.467-485
Main Authors: Mertens, Antje, Romeu-Gordo, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biographies
Early retirement
Employment
Event history analysis
Job leaving
Labor market
Structural change
Tasks
Workplaces
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Summary:In this article, task data from the German Qualification and Career Survey (BIBB/IAB) is matched against the Sample of Integrated Labour Market Biographies (SIAB) to investigate what patterns are discernible in retirement between 1985 and 2005 in Western Germany. Set against a background of pension reforms and substantial structural change, the article asks whether the nature of occupational tasks has any significant effect on the timing of retirement. Through the use of event history analysis, the article reveals that having a large percentage of routine manual tasks in one’s job is associated with a greater likelihood of a job holder leaving employment, while having medium to high percentages of non-routine manual tasks in one’s job will tend to decrease that likelihood. There is also evidence that holding a job that includes a medium to high concentration of analytical and interactive tasks will tend to reduce the likelihood of early retirement.
ISSN:0950-0170
1469-8722
DOI:10.1177/09500170211011330