Work Versus Leisure Roles: An in vestigation of Morale Among Employed and Retired Men

Abstract

This investigation focused on the social-psychological impact of retirement upon men aged 65 and older. The 1589 men studied represented the male subsample of a national multi-stage probability sample of noninstitutionalized men and women 65 and older. It was hypothesized that the retired exhibit lower morale than the employed even when controlling for the separate and combined effects of perception of health, functional disability, income, and age, factors found to be related to both employment status and morale. Examination of the data revealed that the retired did have lower morale than the employed but that the magnitude of the relationship was extremely small when the combined effects of health, age, and income were partialled out. It is concluded, therefore, that the lower morale of retired men is primarily explained by their poorer health, lower incomes, and more advanced age and not simply by their retirement.