Leader: Claudia Manzi (UNICATT); Other collaborator(s): Donatella BRAMANTI (UNICATT); Luisa Errichiello (CNR)
Analyse in depth gender differences in working arrangements and welfare provisions. Provide a decomposition of the work activities and non-market activities for older women (versus older men). Collect subjective measures of preference over activities and well-being for older women.
Estimate probabilities of falling in financial distress for women, taking into account the “job fragility index” and also negative shocks such as widowhood at older ages . Analyze organizational welfare needs of over50 workers and examine how age and gender stereotypes affect working women well-being and health outcomes.
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results:
Making use of the Great Place To Work (GPTW) database, to shed light on gender and generational differences impacting what motivates employees retention. Disparities between women and men across age groups (under and above 55) emerged when satisfaction for identity, financial and health/safety needs are considered as predictors of work retention. We are also analysing data acquired from Jointly on 19 organizations regarding the effect of organizational welfare on identitarian motivation of the employees to study how quantitative and qualitative use of the welfare benefits that firms offer to their employees may strengthen their identification with the organization.
Main policy, industrial and scientific implications
Women and over-55 participants health/safety need plays an even more positive role in predicting their work retention. Importantly, only this subgroup work retention was also predictive of higher Return on Assets (ROA) for larger organizations, suggesting the additive value of this group in the economic performance of the firms
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results:
1. Estimates of pathways to retirement related to the health status, health hazards and to the risk of injuries. The role of co-designing to guarantee a safe environment for older workers.
2. “Aging at work” measured with physical health - type of job, hazardous and risky tasks, chronic health conditions and/or disabilities; mental health - presence of cognitive impairment, mental distress (anxiety, depression). Indexes of “work capacity” with health demands of each job.
3. Strategies for older workers transiting into retirement emphasize maintaining work-life balance. These are keys to enhance workforce retention and inform policies aimed at supporting aging workers.
4. Estimates of the role of local spending for old age and managing resource scarcity by municipalities: preliminary findings suggest that local spending may not be enough to counteract unequal ageing.
5. Estimates of gender imbalances in older age groups, which also interact with the health of female workers and the gender pension gap (see also WP5).
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results:
Making use of the database created thanks to the collaboration with Jointly to analyse which areas of employee welfare sustain women over 50 (and other employees) well-being at the workplace. We are also analysing the data in order to understand how age and gender, in intersection with the marital status, parental status and the workplace role affect the overall well-being of employees.
We presented our key findings at several conferences to disseminate our research. This work was made possible through collaboration with Great Place To Work and Jointly, who provided the data. In return, we shared our main findings with them, enabling further dissemination to stakeholders.
Main policy, industrial and scientific implications
Higher quality services positively influence the satisfaction with the identity needs and with the job more than the mere quantity of the employee welfare offer. In particular, women over-50 take advantage of high quality services aimed at addressing their socio/cultural and health/safety exigencies.
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results:
- Thanks to our collaboration with Jointly, we created a database of more than 40,000 employees, which allowed us to perform analyses demonstrating the theoretical knowledge about the effects of organizational benefits on enhancing affective commitment (measured as higher satisfaction with one's identity needs) and job satisfaction. In particular, we focused on which category of benefits best supports the needs of women over 50.
- Using the same database, we are also testing the effect of organizational benefits on supporting men’s and women’s mental health through a reduction in the perception of work-life interference, while considering the intersectionality with age.
Main policy, industrial and scientific implications
- High-quality and tailored organizational benefits lead to greater satisfaction with identity needs and job satisfaction. In particular, women over 50 seem to prioritize health/safety and socio/cultural initiatives.
- Organizational benefits support better mental health through reduced work-to-life interference and, to a lesser extent, life-to-work interference. Importantly, these effects are weaker for women, indicating that for organizational benefits to be effective, they must be embedded in an organizational culture that genuinely supports these initiatives.
Dissemination Events:
- Presentations at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice meeting (July 2023)
- Participation to the Meeting of European Network of Researchers exploring the Wellbeing of Older Women@Work, University of Salford, 24-25 June 2023
- Partecipazione di Sara Nanetti con “Digital Transformation of Work and Active Aging” al Festival della Sociologia, Narni, 6-8 October 2023;
- “AGE-IT”: the Contribution of Medical and Social Sciences, AGE-IT Workshop, 18 - 19 ottobre 2023 - Milano
- UNIGHT 2023, European Research Night, Stand “Right2Health” in collaboration with the University of Turin
- Dissemination Workshop Spoke 6 "What is the state of the art of research on the Silver Economy? A focus on work, participation, and welfare at older ages" June, 2023
- AGE-It General Meeting. Age-It announced the Call for Papers for the General Meeting, organized by Spoke 6, which took place in Venice at the Ca’ Foscari University from May 20th to May 22nd at San Giobbe Economic Campus – Cannaregio 873 – 30121 Venice. During the meeting, parallel sessions were hold dedicated to the research conducted by members of the Age-It community. Each session focused on a broad theme with contributions from various disciplines. Every session emphasized the implications of the research for practice and policies in the biomedical, demographic, social, and economic fields, and/or on technological innovation. The General Meeting was an important dissemination event that reached and engaged more than 400 participants. The main results presented and discussed at the Age-It general meeting, received significant attention by the research community and are expected to influence both practice and policies for an active and healthy ageing.
- Presentation at the seminar “Ageing well – Working well” at Jointly Il Welfare Condiviso (Milano) to corporate excutives the main findings on organizational benefits – 21/11/2024.
Scientific Output:
- Valmori, A., Adorni, R., & Manzi, C. (2024). Differenze di genere negli effetti del welfare aziendale sulla salute mentale. Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan 04/12/2024 - Le pari opportunità: ricerche del dipartimento di psicologia.
- Valmori A., Manzi C., Reverberi E., Crapolicchio E., & Lucifora C. (2024). Employee Welfare and Identity Needs: A Pathway to Enhance Job Satisfaction for Women Over 50. Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan 18/10/2024 - AGE-IT @ UNICATT: Evidence from the First Phase of the Age-it Program
- Valmori A., Manzi C., Crapolicchio E., Franzetti E., & Lucifora C. (2024). Fostering Work Retention: Adressing the Needs of Women Over-55. University of Turin, Turin 05-08/09/2024 - XVIII Congresso nazionale AIP – Sezione di Psicologia Sociale
- Valmori A., Manzi C., Crapolicchio E., Franzetti E., & Lucifora C. (2024). Health, Identity and Compensation as Predictors of Young and Senior Women’s Retention: Evidence from a Big Data Analysis in Italy. Universität Bern, Bern 12-14/06/2024 - Gender Diversity Across Europe – Devising Solutions from Interdisciplinary & Intersectoral Perspectives
- Valmori A., Manzi C., Crapolicchio E., Franzetti E., & Lucifora C. (2024). Causes and Consequences of Retention: How Gender and Age Modulate the Effects. Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venice 20-22/05/2024 – General Meeting Age-It
- Madia, J.E., Moscone, F. and Nicodemo, C.: Studying informal care during the pandemic: mental health, gender and job status, 2023
- Aktas K.: “Characterising Life-Cycle Dynamics of Annual Days of Work, Wages, and Cross-Covariances”, 2023
- Ardito C., Ylenia Brilli, Elena Cottini, Gloria Moroni, Roberto Leombruni: “Accidents at work: evidence from an unanticipated increase in retirement age, 2023
- Bacci G., S. Viotti, G. Guidetti, G. Simondi, M. Caligaris, D. Converso: Work ability and its correlates with workers ageing among blue-collar workers in a manufacturing company: a cross-sectional study, 2023
- Crapolicchio, E., Manzi, C., Franzetti, E., Lucifora, C., Managing Age between and within firms in an Aging Society: Implications for firms’ efficiency and workers’ well-being, 2023
- Bramanti D., Nanetti S.: “Trasmissione intergenerazionale e transizione dal lavoro al pensionamento”, 2023
- Bramanti D., Sara Nanetti, "The value of networks in the retirement experience of older workers: pull and push factors", 2023
- Brugiavini A., P. Crudu, The Role of Disability Insurance on the Labour Market Trajectories of Europeans, mimeo, 2023
- Conference presentation: Valmori, A., Manzi C., Reverberi E., Crapolicchio E., & Lucifora C. (2024). Employee Welfare and Identity Needs: A Pathway to Enhance Job Satisfaction for Women Over 50. Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan 18/10/2024 - AGE-IT @ UNICATT: Evidence from the First Phase of the Age-it Program.
- Conference presentation: Valmori, A., Adorni, R., & Manzi, C. (2024). Differenze di genere negli effetti del welfare aziendale sulla salute mentale. Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan 04/12/2024 - Le pari opportunità: ricerche del dipartimento di psicologia.