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Consequences of men’s retirement for the continuation of work-related personal relationships

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Abstract

Retirement is an important life-cycle marker and has a major impact on an individual’s functioning. Based upon the social convoy model, it is hypothesized that retirement decreases the likelihood of continuation of coworker relationships. Socio-emotional selectivity theory predicts a decline in the number of peripheral relationships with ageing and thereby a decline in network size and number of co-worker relationships among working and retired people. Data comes from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, with five observations between 1992 and 2002. At baseline, 226 men aged 54–81 years were employed; 166 men retired in the course of the study. The results of multilevel regression analyses showed a stable network size for both working and retired men. Among all men, the number of work-related network members declined, but more strongly among retirees. It is concluded that the convoy model fits better with the data than does socio-emotional selectivity theory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Theo Van Tilburg

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  1. Theo Van Tilburg
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Correspondence to Theo Van Tilburg.

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His research interests include developments in personal networks and the effects of personal network characteristics and social support on well-being.

This study is based on data collected in the context of the “Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults” and “Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam” research programs. These programs are conducted at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute in The Hague, and are funded by the Netherlands Program for Research on Ageing (NESTOR) and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports.

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Van Tilburg, T. Consequences of men’s retirement for the continuation of work-related personal relationships. Ageing Int. 28, 345–358 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-003-1008-6

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