Eleanor M.M. Davies

Psychological and psychosocial predictors of attitudes to working past normal retirement age

Purpose – This research aims to look at preferences for retirement, in particular, later retirement, amongst a sample of older employees in the UK in the financial services industry. It seeks to investigate specifically the influence of personal, psychological and psychosocial determinants of preferences for retiring later. Additionally, the study presents a typology of different retirement preferences based on psychological and psychosocial variables.Design/methodology/approach – The data are based on questionnaires from 556 employees of a UK financial services organisation (aged 40‐60) and measures include psychological expectations of retirement (expected adjustment to retirement, attitudes towards leisure and social interaction), psychosocial attitudes (job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, organisational comment and work commitment) and attitudes towards working beyond normal retirement age. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted and one‐way ANOVA was conducted to identify differe...

The work-to-retirement transition of academic staff: attitudes and experiences

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of the work‐to‐retirement transition for academic staff from a life course perspective and the manner in which individuals have managed the transition., – In total, 32 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with academic staff from ten Universities in England. The data are analysed using matrix analysis., – Marked differences in the experience of the work‐to‐retirement transition were found and five groups are identified which characterise the significance of retirement. Clean Breakers view retirement as a welcome release from work. Opportunists and Continuing Scholars use retirement to re‐negotiate the employment relationship. The Reluctant consider retirement as a loss of a valued source of identity and the Avoiders are undecided about retirement plans., – The focus of the study is at the individual level. A more complete understanding of retirement decisions would encompass organisational approaches to retirement issues., – There are practical implications for academics approaching retirement. Not all academics wish to continue to engage in academic work in retirement. For those who do, opportunities are predominantly available to staff with stronger social and professional capital. Continued engagement necessitates personal adaptability and tolerance to ambiguity. Staff who are planning their careers might build such factors into retirement planning., – Organisations need to rethink their responsibilities in managing retirement processes as they face an increasing variety of retirement expectations in the workforce. Given the unfolding de‐institutionalisation of retirement, both individuals and organisations need to re‐negotiate their respective roles., – The paper characterises the diversity of modes of experiencing retirement by academic staff, highlighting differences between the groups.

The use of political risk assessment techniques in Jordanian multinational corporations

This paper describes and explains the use of political risk assessment techniques in Jordanian multinational corporations (MNCs). A multi‐method approach to collect data was followed. A self‐report questionnaire was delivered by hand to the general managers of all Jordanian MNCs which were identified as operating internationally. Semi‐structured interviews were used as a means of elaborating on the findings from the questionnaire. The study identified the extensive use of heuristic political risk assessment techniques (due to their flexibility, simplicity and low cost). Scientific techniques, on the other hand, were used by only a minority of MNCs. As has been the case in earlier studies, flexibility, simplicity and cost considerations were all found to be influential in this regard. However, the study also found that key decision‐makers in Jordanian MNCs believe that official data are subject to censorship and are therefore not reliable. This undermines the efficiency of using highly sophisticated scientific techniques. Since there are a number of other countries in the Middle East – and elsewhere – in which these considerations also apply, this finding has important implications for international businesses which operate in these countries, whatever their home country.

Job Satisfaction, Retirement Attitude and Intended Retirement Age: A Conditional Process Analysis across Workers’ Level of Household Income

In the contemporary workplace, insight into retirement behaviors is of crucial importance. Previous empirical evidence has found mixed results regarding the relationship between work attitudes, such as job satisfaction, and retirement behaviors, suggesting that further scholarly examination incorporating moderating and mediating variables into retirement models is needed. Drawing on comparative models of attitude to retirement, we hypothesized a direct relationship between job satisfaction and intended retirement age for workers with a high household income and an indirect relationship between job satisfaction and intended retirement age, via retirement attitude, for workers with a low or mean household income. We collected data from a sample of 590 United Kingdom workers aged 50+. Using conditional process analysis, we found that the underlying mechanisms in our research model differ according to socio-economic status. We found no direct effect between job satisfaction and intended retirement age. However, an indirect effect was observed between job satisfaction and intended retirement age, via retirement attitude, for both low- and mean-household income individuals. Specifically, the relationship between job satisfaction and retirement attitude differed according to socio-economic group: for high-household income older workers, there was no relationship between job satisfaction and retirement attitude. However, for low- and mean-household income older workers, we observed a negative relationship between job satisfaction and retirement attitude. Otherwise stated, increases in job satisfaction for mean and low household income workers are likely to make the prospect of retirement less attractive. Therefore, we argue that utmost care must be taken around the conditions under which lower income employees will continue their work when getting older in order to protect their sustainable employability.

UK joint venture activity in the Czech Republic: motives and uses

Presents the initial findings of an ongoing study into the motives and uses of the joint venture by British investors in the Czech Republic. Observes that, despite the many opportunities presented of doing business in Eastern Europe, the British have been slow to invest; the UK does not feature in the top seven investors in the Czech Republic. Points out that it is a widely held belief that the joint venture is the most common mode of entry used by Western firms when investing in Central and Eastern Europe. Contends that there is a clear match between the needs of market‐seeking or cost advantage‐seeking Western firms on the one hand and the technological needs of the Eastern Europeans on the other. However, suggests from the study data that UK investors have chosen to own their foreign operations wholly rather than work with local partners. Examines the different modes of entry, the sector and the function of investment used by British firms. Notes the predominance of service activities.

Learning and training for older workers

Older workers represent an increasingly important source of labour for organisations. Irrespective of age, a worker needs the appropriate skills and knowledge to be productive and to help the organisation achieve its strategic objectives. However, in many organisations, older workers are less likely to be offered training opportunities than their younger compatriots. This is due, in part, to negative stereotypical assumptions about older workers by managers. Learning and training are influenced by an individual’s career span and motivation. As a person ages, their work-related needs will change. There is a shift from growing and developing their career to a focus on security, maintenance, emotional satisfaction and mastery. Cognitive change takes place during a person’s life, and a gradual decline in primary mental abilities can be expected, but the notions of general decline are simplistic and misleading. A person is able to learn at any age and the older worker is capable of adjusting to changes in work. Many people assume that older workers are homogeneous but this is not the case. There are significant differences between older workers and these differences need to be acknowledged and understood. The organisational culture will affect learning and training opportunities for older workers, as will the attitudes of managers to older employees. Learning and training for older workers will also be influenced by the national culture and, in this chapter, selected Asian countries are discussed. The chapter concludes by offering recommendations regarding learning and training for older workers in organisations.

Are managers open to involvement in employee retirement? The influence of manager psycho-social characteristics, decision-making environment and older employee situational factors

The changing retirement landscape calls on employers to develop practices that respond to individuals’ retirement needs. Line managers are a key stakeholder in managing retirement and this study focuses on how they respond to employee retirement scenarios. This empirical work examines manager openness to involvement in retirement, focusing on three sets of explanatory variables: manager psycho-social characteristics (experience of managing older workers, intention to work past 65), their decision-making environment (influence, discretion and decision-making support) and older employee situational factors (performance, ease of replacement, retirement affect and attitude to work). Data were collected from 129 managers in the United Kingdoms university sector using survey items and a factorial vignette design. The multi-level analysis found support for each category of variables in predicting manager openness to involvement in employee retirement. Managers with more experience of managing older workers were more likely to be open to involvement although managers’ own retirement intentions were not significant as a predictor. Decision-making environment variables were significant predictors of manager openness to involvement. The only older employee situational factor that was associated with manager openness to involvement was employee performance. Practically, organisations need to recognise the potential influence that managers have on employee retirement decisions and this studys findings show that managers may need training to help them understand their own role in supporting older employee retirement.

The Role of Line Managers in Retirement Management and Their Perceptions of Their Role of the Timing of Employee Retirement

Purpose – The focus of this study is on line managers’ attitudes towards their management role in respect of employee retirement. This study has two main aims. Firstly, it explores line managers’ perspectives regarding retirement management (RM): their perceived responsibility for RM, the training they have received and the degree of decision latitude they experience in RM. Secondly, the study examines the factors that affect the extent to which line managers’ perceive it to be their role to influence the timing of employees’ retirement decisions. This is modelled as a function of employee characteristics and line manager attributes. The purpose of this research is to inform practice by describing differences in line managers’ perceptions about retirement management and identify potential sources of bias in decision-making surrounding their decision-making. Design/methodology/approach – The design incorporates two studies: a survey of line mangers (N = 129) which investigates their attitudes towards RM, and a vignette study. In the survey, line managers were presented with a list of behaviours associated with managing older workers and asked to indicate which level in the organisation they perceived to be responsible for that (line manager, human resources or both). In addition, line managers’ experiences of RM training and their assessments of how much latitude they have for decision making in the area were measured. In the vignette study, 192 scenarios were created which described hypothetical older workers based on the following variables: gender, grade, health, attitude towards retirement, work enjoyment, work performance and ease of replacement. Line managers (N = 129) were asked to indicate the extent to which they perceive that they have a role to play in the timing of older workers’ retirement. Information about the line managers (demographics, attitudes to retirement and experience) was extracted from the survey and included in the analysis. Multilevel logit analysis was used to model the probability of the respondents’ perceptions of their role in the timing of the retirement decision. The information was combined and multilevel models were estimated, with vignettes at the lower level (Level 1) of the multilevel structure and respondents at the upper level (Level 2). Findings – Line managers recognise their own role in retirement management activities, but perceive that a number of activities are shared with the centralised HR departments. Line managers also reported low levels of training in RM but acknowledge relatively high decision latitude in responding to requests for flexible working requests. In terms of their role in the timing of employee retirement, line manager characteristics, but not employee characteristics, were found to exert an influence on line managers’ perceptions of their role. Specifically, the gender and age of the manager, and whether or not the manager has prior experience of managing employees over the age of 65 were substantively associated with the probability that a manager will consider themselves to have a role to play in the timing of an employee’s retirement. Female managers, older managers and managers with greater expectations of their own later retirement were more likely to perceive a role in influencing employee retirement. Research limitation/implications – Respondents are asked to make decisions based on hypothetical scenarios. Originality value - The focus of the study is specifically on line managers perceptions of their own role. The study makes a contribution by integrating both line manager and employee characteristics in understanding line managers’ views on their role in employee timing.

Managerial Motivations for UK-Czech Joint Ventures

The paper examines the motives for the choice of the JV instead of other forms of investment (e.g. greenfield or licensing) in British investment in the Czech Republic. It is noted that despite popular belief, the level of uptake of JVs in the Czech Republic is low in comparison with greenfield investments. The paper identifies organisational motives (resource seeking, synergies, economic and historic), partner related motives and exogenous motives. The role of the partner in the choice of the entry mode is emphasised. Managerial implications: despite theoretical benefits of JVs to investor, these might not be accrued in practice due to the quality of the resource acquired and difficulties in management.