Personalia
Kène Henkens, born in Groningen, the Netherlands, 1960. Ph.D. from Utrecht University. Theme leader Work & Retirement, Netherlands Interdisciplinairy Demographic Institute (NIDI-KNAW); Professor of Retirement at University of Amsterdam and University Medical Center Groningen.
Theme Group Coordinator (1 February – 30 June 2016)
Ageing Workers in an Ageing Society: Labour Force Transitions and Work in Late Life
Research Question
The trend toward later exit from work masks an increasing heterogeneity of employment patterns and experiences. In explaining late career transitions and trajectories I will look at the impact of different contextual influences operating at the macro level (institutional arrangements), at the meso level of employers (organizational and labor market demand), and at the micro level of the family (family and household resources, preferences, and actions).
Project Description
Ageing of the population is a key characteristic of the way modern societies develop. In many countries, pension reforms have been initiated to facilitate the extension of working lives. My research project is linked to a VICI grant that I received in 2014. This Vici-project will unravel the determinants of the behavior of older workers and employers in dealing with the new reality of extended working life. The project has high societal relevance, given that so much is unknown about the new patterns of productive paid and unpaid activities that emerged as a result of the changing regulations on retirement and the ambitions of new generations of older adults approaching retirement age.
Selected Publications
1) Wang, M, K. Henkens & H. van Solinge (2011), Retirement Adjustment: A Review of Theoretical and Empirical Advancements, American Psychologist, 66(3): 204-214.
2) Dingemans, E. & Henkens, K. (2014), Involuntary retirement, bridge employment, and satisfaction with life: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Organizational Behavior 35 (4): 575-591.
3) Hershey, D. & Henkens, K. (2014), Impact of different types of retirement transitions on perceived satisfaction with life. The Gerontologist 54 (2): 232-244.