The extended late career phase – examining senior nursing professionals

PurposeBy relying on a sustainable career perspective and recent studies on senior employees’ late career phase, this study aims to examine senior (50+) nurses’ late career narratives in the context of extending retirement age. Given the current global nursing shortage, there is a pressing need to find ways on how to promote longer and sustainable careers in the health-care field. Yet, there is limited knowledge about the extended late career phase of senior nurses.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data were derived from 22 interviews collected among senior (50+) nursing professionals working in a Finnish university hospital. The qualitative interview data were analysed using a narrative…

Late Career and Retirement in the Context of Changing Careers

Salminen and von Bonsdorff provide a much-needed overview of recent studies focusing on older employees’ late career and retirement intentions in the context of the changing nature of careers. Owing to the current turbulent working life, individuals’ career and retirement patterns are more diverse and complex than before. By focusing on contemporary career models, Salminen and von Bonsdorff explore the possibilities and constraints that older employees may encounter under the new career realities. Based on the selective literature review, they identify several prerequisites for continuing working until retirement age and beyond, such as possibilities for continuous learning, adaptability, s…

Turning the tide: Registered nurses' job withdrawal intentions in a Finnish university hospital

Orientation: Given the global shortage of registered nurses, it is important to investigate the intentions for job withdrawal of nurses, and resolve these, in order to retain nurses in the field. Research purpose: The objective was to examine the intentions for job withdrawal of ageing and younger nurses, and the antecedents of these intentions, with special reference to job control and perceived development opportunities. The age of 45 was adopted as a starting point when referring to ageing employees. Motivation for the study: Different forms of job withdrawal have rarely been studied together and associated. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative study was applied with logi…

Aging as a topic in a business magazine : an opportunity or threat for management?

Purpose Recently, research on aging in the work-life context from the perspective of how to manage, support and retain an aging workforce has increased among management scholars, and therefore is contributing to the current societal need to extend work careers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the articles discussing aging in the work-life context in the Finnish business magazine Talouselämä (Economic Life) during the years 2002–2017. Design/methodology/approach A total of 81 articles were included in the analysis. They were classified into seven themes as a result of a content analysis. Three levels of discussions on aging were identified: societal, organizational and individual. T…

Perceived High Involvement Work Practices and Retirement Intentions

Sustainable human resource management (HRM) stresses the importance of maintaining and developing organizations’ human capital for social, ecological and financial reasons. In the context of aging workforce, the social aspect of sustainable HRM relates to the discussion of retaining older employees and preventing their early exit from work life. This study builds on sustainable HRM literature and examines the antecedents of working until official retirement age and continuing working beyond retirement age with special reference to perceived high involvement work practices (HIWPs). The study population consisted of older (more than 50 years) nursing professionals who work at a Finnish univer…

Organisational and individual resources as antecedents of older nursing professionals’ organisational commitment : Investigating the mediating effect of the use of selection, optimisation and compensation strategies

Aim and objectives To investigate how organisational and individual resources are linked to older (50+) nursing professionals’ organisational commitment, and to examine the possible mediating role of the active use of selection, optimisation and compensation (SOC) strategies. Background Many healthcare organisations need to find ways to retain their older nursing professionals due to nursing shortage. Design To test a set of hypotheses, cross-sectional survey data (n = 396) were used. Data were analysed using correlation analysis and partial least-squares structural equation modelling. STROBE Statement for cross-sectional studies has been followed in this study. Results The results exhibite…

Perceived development opportunities and reward satisfaction as antecedents of nurses’ job withdrawal intentions

Retention of nurses has received considerable attention in recent years due to the ageing population and the shortage of nurses. However, most of the studies have concentrated on either older nurses’ early retirement or younger nurses’ turnover intentions. This study analyses the antecedents of different forms of job withdrawal intentions with special reference to perceived development opportunities and reward satisfaction. A quantitative survey was conducted among nurses in one Finnish University hospital. A total of 510 nurses completed the questionnaire, representing a 54.4% response rate. The results demonstrated that job withdrawal intentions were relatively common and age-dependent am…

Investigating the links between resilience, perceived HRM practices, and retirement intentions

Purpose Human resource management (HRM) scholars’ interest in older employees’ resilience has only recently started to emerge. Little is known about how resilience and perceived HRM are linked to different retirement intentions. Drawing on the conservation of resources and social exchange theories, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the links between perceived HRM practices, resilience and retirement intentions. Additionally, the paper examines the possible mediating role of resilience in the relationship between perceived HRM practices and retirement intentions. Design/methodology/approach In 2016, a cross-sectional study was conducted among older (50+) nursing professionals work…

The significance of perceived development opportunities in the context of retention : comparing ageing and younger nurses

Ageing employees and human resource management – evidence of gender-sensitivity?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify the different research strands concerning studies related to human resource management (HRM) and ageing employees. More specifically, the paper analyses how age and gender are understood and conceptualized in these studies. Design/methodology/approach – An integrative literature review concerning ageing employees and HRM with special reference to gender is the approach taken in this paper. Findings – Recent studies relating to HRM and ageing employees were categorized and analysed. The paper concludes that there is a need for a more holistic understanding of the concept of age in studies related to ageing employees and HRM and also argues …