Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify demographic and work-related antecedents of the motives that influence the decision of older workers to remain in the workforce. Design/methodology/approach -A cross-sectional study was conducted with three groups of respondents aged 50-70 years: those in their career job (n ¼ 395); those employed in a bridge job (n ¼ 195); and those who were self-employed (n ¼ 174). Findings -In general, the demographic variables (age, gender, marital status) predicted the financial motive for continuing to work whereas the work-related variables (work centrality, career satisfaction, and perceived contribution/perceived reward of owning one's own business) predicted the work fulfillment and generativity motives. However, the pattern of relationships differed across the three groups of older workers.Research limitations/implications -The three groups could not be directly compared because of differences in some of the measures. Only one variable, work centrality, was a significant predictor across all three groups, suggesting that instead of seeking to identify universal antecedents, the focus of future research should be on identifying antecedents specific to different groups of older workers. Practical implications -To promote the retention of older workers, policies, practices and programs should be customized to the different needs of career, bridge and self-employed individuals. Originality/value -Little research exists on the antecedents of older workers' motives for continuing to work. Prior research has either not differentiated among older workers or focused solely on one specific group of older workers.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the association between organizational downsizing and the extent to which organizations are engaging in human resource practices tailored to the needs of older workers (Study 1) and are providing a supportive training and development climate for older workers (Study 2).Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 data were obtained from 449 employed individuals aged 50 to 68 years. Study 2 data were obtained from 395 employed individuals aged 50 to 70 years. Respondents were from a broad cross‐section of occupations and organizations across Canada.FindingsRespondents in downsized organizations indicated that their organizations were significantly less likely to be engaging in human resource practices tailored to older workers and that their organizations had a less supportive training and development climate than their counterparts whose organizations had not downsized.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are based on older workers' perceptions of organizational practices, which may or may not be an accurate reflection of what organizations actually have in place.Practical implicationsOrganizations, especially those that have downsized, will be at a disadvantage if they continue to ignore the needs of older workers. Employers will have to change how they view older workers and put in place organizational practices geared to older workers such as those examined in the paper. Ensuring that older workers have the requisite skills and competencies to extend their working lives may require government involvement.Originality/valueThe paper illustrates that downsizing is detrimental to organizational practices that the aging workforce literature identifies as especially important to older workers.

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