Feeling tired, worn-out push workers to retire due to health reasons

Tiredness and feeling worn out seem to be reliable indicators of workers who are likely to retire soon due to health reasons, a recent study has found.

Drawing from two consecutive surveys of the New Zealand Health, Work, and Retirement Longitudinal Study, the researchers assessed 1,140 individuals (mean age 61.9 years, 51 percent women), focusing on potential predictors of self-reported retirement due to health reasons or other reasons. Surveys were conducted in 2008 and 2010.

Fifty-five percent of participants were working full-time, while 11 percent reported doing regular shift work. Sixty percent believed that their health was either very good or excellent, and 79 percent were not dissatisfied with their sleep. Conversely, 48 percent said that they generally felt tired and 34 percent reported that they were feeling worn out.

Of the participants, 380 (33 percent) had retired by 2010, 62 of whom cited health reasons for their retirement. Those who retired due to health concerns were slightly older, less likely to be working full time, and generally had poorer self-reported health. Moreover, these participants also more frequently reported being tired or worn out.

Regression analysis confirmed that participants who reported feeling tired in 2008 were 80 percent more likely to have retired by 2010 due to health reasons (risk ratio [RR], 1.80, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.16–2.45). Meanwhile, feeling worn out in 2008 nearly doubled the likelihood of such retirement by 2010 (RR, 1.99, 95 percent CI, 1.34–2.64).

Notably, the combination of feeling tired and worn out had a stronger effect on the likelihood of retirement due to health reasons (RR, 2.08, 95 percent CI, 1.30–2.87).