Beyond Hours Worked and Dollars Earned: Multidimensional EQ, Retirement Trajectories and Health in Later Life

Abstract

The working lives of Americans have become less stable over the past several decades and older adults may be particularly vulnerable to these changes in employment quality (EQ). We aimed to develop a multidimensional indicator of EQ among older adults and identify EQ and retirement trajectories in the United States. Using longitudinal data on employment stability, material rewards, workers’ rights, working-time arrangements, unionization, and interpersonal power relations from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we used principal component analysis to construct an EQ score. Then, we used sequence analysis to identify late-career EQ trajectories (age 50–70 years; N = 11,958 respondents), overall and by sociodemographics (race, gender, educational attainment, marital status). We subsequently examined the sociodemographic, employment, and health profiles of these trajectories. We identified 10 EQ trajectories; the most prevalent trajectories were Minimally Attached and Wealthy (13.9%) and Good EQ to Well-off Retirement (13.7%), however, 42% of respondents were classified into suboptimal trajectories. Those in suboptimal trajectories were disproportionately women, people of color, and less-educated. Individuals in the Poor EQ to Delayed and Poor Retirement and Unattached and Poor clusters self-reported the greatest prevalence of poor health and depression, while individuals in the Wealthy Business Owners and Great EQ to Well-off Retirement clusters self-reported the lowest prevalence of poor health and depression at baseline. Trajectories were substantially constrained for women of color. Although our study demonstrates EQ is inequitably distributed in later life, labor organizing and policy change may afford opportunities to improve EQ and retirement among marginalized populations.

The Inequitable Burden of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Marginalized Older Workers in the United States: An Intersectional Approach

“…Thus, the workers most affected had the least resources to shoulder these employment disruptions. Racist, classist, and sexist policies and norms exacerbate inequities and constrain employment opportunities and pathways that compound over time ( Bailey et al, 2017 ; DiPrete & Eirich, 2006 ), exacerbating later-life inequities in employment and health ( Andrea et al, 2022 ; Oddo et al, 2021 ). For example, financial downturns tend to impact the same subgroups of the population throughout their life courses, making their well-being increasingly precarious.…”

Investigating Employment Quality for Population Health and Health Equity: A Perspective of Power

“…In addition, they found suggestive evidence for material deprivation, employment-related stress, and occupational risk factors (e.g., physical hazard exposure) to be potential mediating mechanisms. Some US studies used longitudinal data to identify patterns of EQ experience over the course of the individuals’ working years, and reported that poor and deteriorating EQ over time was associated with poor health [ 24 , 25 ]. Moreover, US studies consistently found that women, people of color, and those with limited education were more likely to experience poor EQ both at a single point in time [ 23 , 26 ] and over their life-course [ 24 , 25 , 27 ].…”

“…One particular area to which EQ researchers in the United States could make unique contribution is health inequalities. By investigating EQ as a structural determinant of health, EQ researchers could clarify the interdependent nature of occupational segregation and EQ from a perspective of power: that is, poor EQ jobs are more likely to be held by marginalized people [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], and to the extent that EQ is associated with health, poor health resulting from poor EQ may explain health inequalities. To test this proposition empirically, EQ studies need to focus on structural forces around employment, such as structural racism [ 73 ], structural sexism [ 74 ], and structural intersectionality [ 35 ], rather than individual workers’ characteristics.…”

Do Different Patterns of Employment Quality Contribute to Gender Health Inequities in the U.S.? A Cross-Sectional Mediation Analysis

“…The identified EQ typologies were associated with physical and mental health outcomes [ 15 , 18 , 22 , 24 , 25 ], with some studies finding these associations remain after controlling for intrinsic conditions of the work environment such as environmental or psychosocial exposures [ 15 , 24 ]. EQ types are also unevenly distributed across worker sociodemographic profiles, with workers from traditionally marginalized groups—including women, as well as racialized and less-educated populations—overrepresented in poor-quality forms of employment [ 16 , 22 , 24 , 26 , 27 ]. However, more research is needed to specifically investigate the role of EQ in contributing to health inequities.…”