Older Workers' Transitions: The Study of Paid and Unpaid Careers
Tay McNamara

The Study of Paid and Unpaid Careers has explored how workplace flexibility affects two interrelated careers: paid work (defined as any work for wages, salary, etc.) and unpaid work (defined as family caregiving as well as volunteer and community involvement).

Key Research Questions:

How do changes in unpaid and paid work careers interact?

What type of changes in paid work careers are related to older workers' transitions out of the labor force?

What types of changes in unpaid work careers affect older workers' transitions out of the labor force?

Study Status:

Data analysis completed.

Selected Findings:

Approximately one-third of workers in the target age cohort (51 to 61 in 1992) reported that their employer would allow them to reduce their hours on the job.

Volunteer work, like paid work, can become a career. Being involved with a volunteer organization, along with the amount of time invested in volunteer activities, is the single most important predicator of later volunteering behavior.

For married respondents, however, only 12.1% report that both the husband and the wife had time-reduction policies, with an additional 41.8% reporting one spouse had time-reduction policies. The results for only employed respondents are consistent. Approximately one-third of respondents is married to workers who also reported time-reduction policies in the workplace.

For married couples, both spouses being able to reduce their hours in paid employment encourages volunteering while they are still in the labor force. Because the years immediately before and after exit from the labor force present many possibilities from volunteering, employer policies may play a role in later volunteer activity.

Publications:

The Fact Sheet, "Voluntarism among Older Workers," was published January 2007. The Issue Brief on voluntarism, "Civic Engagement among Older Workers, is scheduled for publication in Winter 2007. The Summary Report of the Study of Paid and Unpaid Careers is scheduled for publication in Winter 2007.