Main topics of the HLS

Health is viewed not just as the absence of illness but as the ability to engage in meaningful work and maintain self-management. The HLS examines both physical and mental health outcomes, including work-limiting disabilities, depressive symptoms, and vitality. HLS assesses how chronic conditions and healthcare needs intersect with employment trajectories.

Work plays a central role in people’s health and well-being as they approach retirement. The HLS studies how working conditions, such as workload, autonomy, shift work, and hybrid work arrangements, interact with personal characteristics and organizational support to influence the ability of older workers to stay healthy and productive. The HLS focuses on both formal employer policies and informal workplace practices that shape late-career experiences.

Retirement is a major life transition that involves planning, adjustment, and often uncertainty. In the HLS, we explore what enables or hinders people from reaching their planned retirement age in good health. Our aim is to understand why some people can follow a smooth, healthy path to retirement, while others face early exit or struggle with the transition.

Socioeconomic status, defined by education level, income, and job type, strongly influences health and work outcomes. These effects can be compounded by a person’s migration background, shaping vulnerabilities in the lead-up to retirement. The HLS explores how these intersecting factors affect access to healthy, sustainable careers and how workplace policies can help reduce related inequalities.

Individual traits, such as gender identity and perceived mastery, can influence how people manage stress, engage with work, and adapt to change. The HLS examines how personality interacts with job conditions and sectoral factors, and whether certain traits buffer against poor health or early work exit.

Older workers often juggle paid work with other roles such as caregiving, volunteering, or grandparenting. These activities can support or strain well-being. The HLS considers how such non-work activities impact health and retirement planning, especially when combined with job demands and limited support.