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The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers: investigating the honeymoon-hangover effect

The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:... The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of voluntary employer changes on self-reported work ability among older workers in Germany and whether a honeymoon-hangover effect (HHE) exists here. In research on job satisfaction, three typical periods around a voluntary employer change characterize a HHE: a deterioration in the old job (deterioration), an initial increase in the new job (honeymoon) and a subsequent decline over time (hangover). Whether a HHE exists in respect to work ability following a voluntary employer change remained open. The analyses are based on data from the first three waves of the lidA study (2011, 2014, 2018), a representative cohort study of older employees in Germany born in 1959 or 1965. Data from 2502 workers who participated in all three study waves was analyzed. Fixed-effects regression analyses including lag and lead variables were conducted. A deterioration, honeymoon and hangover period were found. Work ability increased substantially following the voluntary employer change. Our study shows that voluntary employer changes have the potential to maintain work ability at higher working age, but not to increase the work ability in the long-term perspective. However, despite the existence of a hangover period, the positive overall effect of the voluntary change should not be underestimated. Keywords: Turnover, Older workers, Work ability, Honeymoon-hangover effect, Cohort study, Fixed-effects regression 1 Introduction depends on the actual work situation (Frieling and Kot- At times of worldwide extended working life policies, zab 2014) and is not limited to the individual worker’s maintaining work ability at higher working age has resources such as health and functioning (Ebener and received increased public and policy attention (Nils- Hasselhorn 2019). For over 30  years, work ability has son et al. 2011). Work ability can be defined as the result been assessed worldwide with the work ability index of the fit between the individual’s resources and his or (WAI), which has shown to predict various employment- her work demands (Tuomi et  al. 1997) and may answer related outcomes such as work motivation (Feißel et  al. the question ‘How good is the worker at present, in the 2018), long-term sick leave, early exit from work and dis- near future, and how able is he or she to do his or her ability (Ebener and Hasselhorn 2019). Today, the WAI work with respect to work demands, health, and mental is used globally in occupational health practice to assess resources?’ (Tuomi et  al. 1991). Therefore, work ability and maintain the workers´ work ability (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin 2013). Strategies to sustain the fit between older workers and *Correspondence: garthe@uni-wuppertal.de their work are needed as work ability often decreases Department of Occupational Health Science, School of Mechanical with age (de Wind et al. 2015; Oakman et al. 2018). One Engineering and Safety Engineering, University of Wuppertal, Gaußstraße strategy for older workers might be a voluntary change 20, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany © The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. 12 Page 2 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn of employer, which enables the worker to leave unsuit- to recognize the less attractive aspects of the job; a able workplaces and thereby actively adapt unfavorable subsequent disappointment and disillusionment. working conditions. The change bears the potential to attain suitable working conditions and to increase the The honeymoon-hangover effect was confirmed for ability to work longer at higher working age (Wilke job satisfaction in three different studies. Boswell et al. et al. 2019). (2005) investigated the HHE by measuring job satisfac- The large body of research on voluntary employer tion in one-year intervals and found the three periods changes mainly focuses on determinants such as job sat- of the HHE in three to four subsequent years. In 2009, isfaction, performance, health, leadership quality (see Boswell et al. conducted a similar study with four meas- meta-analysis by Rubenstein et  al. 2018) and also work urement points (day 1, 3  months, 6  months, 1  year). ability (e.g. Rongen et  al. 2014). The focus on deter - Within this year, they identified the periods honey - minants—in contrast to outcomes—was often due to moon and hangover for job satisfaction. A third study limitations of the data, which did allow researchers to by Chadi and Hetschko (2014) distinguished between track employees up to the change, but not subsequently. employer changes due to quitting on own initiative, u Th s, there is still little research on the consequences mutual agreement, dismissal and plant closure. They of employer changes. The few previous studies confirm found a strong HHE for employees, who changed on that voluntary employer changes have a positive effect own initiative and a slight HHE for employees, who on mental health (Liljegren and Ekberg 2009) and job changed due to mutual agreement. No HHE was found satisfaction (Chadi and Hetschko 2014) and is associ- among employees, who changed due to dismissal or ated with improved working conditions such as increased plant closure. Furthermore, Clark et  al. (2008) found job security, reduced working hours (Carless and Arnup that life satisfaction significantly decreased before and 2011), better salary, better possibilities for development increased after layoffs, but this increase was not long- and more appropriate work tasks (Grund 2009). To our lasting. However, voluntary employer changes were not knowledge, there is no scientific report about the effect investigated. on the workers’ work ability. Inspired by the studies on the HHE, we aimed to In some studies, it was observed that the positive investigate the effect of voluntary employer changes effects found following the employer change faded over on the work ability of older workers in Germany and time (Boswell et  al. 2005, 2009, Chadi and Hetschko whether HHE exist here. However, HHE may not 2014). In theory, this phenomenon is called the hon- develop in parallel for all possible outcomes (Roe 2008). eymoon-hangover effect (HHE) (Boswell et  al. 2005). Oakman et  al. (2018), who investigated pathways of Boswell et  al. (2005) first described and examined the work ability over 6 years, state that sustained changes honeymoon-hangover effect in voluntary employer in work are required to change work ability and that changes with respect to job satisfaction. According to the these changes in work take time to make an impact. authors, three periods describe the honeymoon-hango- Thus, while an employer change may affect the course ver effect: of job satisfaction immediately, this is followed by a re- adaptation after a shorter period of time. We suspect (1) In the first period, which may be called deteriora - that for work ability, a longer time period is required tion, employees experience a decline in job satisfac- for re-adaptation as the workers have to adapt to the tion in the old job. This job dissatisfaction precedes new work situation, taking into account their health, turnover. competencies and values (Tuomi et al. 1997). (2) After turnover, job satisfaction strongly increases. Now, the German lidA Cohort Study provides the This is referred to as the honeymoon period. The opportunity to investigate the HHE for work ability increase is explained by organizations creating an among older workers in a large representative sample. overly positive picture of the job for new hires, as In line with the theory on the honeymoon-hangover well as the employee’s tendency to portray the new effect, we expect that the work ability of the employer organization in a positive light due to high expecta- changers is deteriorating in the old job and is therefore tions. Unfavorable information about the new job is lower than the work ability after the change. Therefore, suppressed. we postulate the following hypothesis: (3) The initially high job satisfaction with the new job declines over time to an individual ‘normal’ level, Hypothesis 1 The work ability in the old job is which is called the hangover period. The longer deteriorating before a voluntary employer change tenure with the new job brings along increased (deterioration). knowledge of the organization and employees begin The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 3 of 12 12 Further, we expect an increase of the work ability fol- same job for all three waves (Job A, Job A, Job A; AAA), lowing the employer change due to the new, probably (2) participants, who had no change between 2011 and more appropriate working conditions and the positive 2014 and changed between 2014 and 2018, thus, they had expectations in the new job: a new job since wave 3 (Job A, Job A, Job B; AAB), (3) participants, who changed between 2011 and 2014 and had no change between 2014 and 2018, thus, they had a Hypothesis 2 The work ability at the new job is ini - new job since wave 2 (Job A, Job B, Job B; ABB) and (4) tially higher than the work ability with the old job participants, who changed between 2011 and 2014 and (honeymoon). between 2014 and 2018, thus, they had new jobs in wave 2 and also in wave 3 (Job A, Job B, Job C; ABC). Lastly, we suppose that the higher work ability declines over time up to a level which is similar to the employees who have stayed with their employer, as the voluntary 2.2.2 Work ability employer changers adapt to the new work situation and In each wave, work ability was measured by the second negative aspects of the job are also recognized. dimension (WAI2) of the Work Ability Index (WAI). The WAI is an established questionnaire to assess work ability Hypothesis 3 The initial high work ability in the new job in occupational health research. Short measures such as will decline over time (hangover). the WAI2, which assesses the work ability in relation to the demands of the job, were recommended for large sur- veys and shown to be suitable short measures for work 2 Methods ability in occupational health research and employee sur- 2.1 Data and sample veys (Ebener and Hasselhorn 2019). The WAI2 consists The data used for this study derive from the German lidA of three questions: In two questions the participants were Cohort Study on Work, Age, Health and Work partici- asked to rate their actual work ability with respect to pation, a representative cohort study of older employees mental and physical demands at work, respectively (very in Germany. Initially, employed people subject to social poor/rather poor/moderate/rather good/very good). The security contributions (no self-employed or sworn civil answers were weighted depending on the third ques- servants), born in either 1959 or 1965, are interviewed tion, which measures whether the participant was mainly every three to four years in their homes (computer- mentally active in the main job, mainly physically active assisted personal interviewing, CAPI). The analyses are or both equally. The weighting of the WAI2 is described based on data from the first three waves of the study, by Hasselhorn and Ebener (2016). The resulting sum 2011 (n = 6585), 2014 (n = 4244) and 2018 (n = 3586). In score ranges from 2 (no work ability) to 10 (high work 2018, the participants were 53 and 59  years old. A more ability). detailed description of the lidA Cohort Study and its design has been given elsewhere (Hasselhorn et al. 2014; 2.2.3 Socio‑demographics Rauch et al. 2015). Socio-demographic information includes gender (male/ For this study, participants were excluded if they were female), year of birth (1959/1965), vocational educa- not employed full time, part time or marginally in any tion (low/medium/high) (based on Jöckel et  al. 1998) as of the waves, if they were self-employed and if they had time-independent variables and having a partner (yes/no) an involuntary change of employer between any of the assessed in each wave. waves. This balanced sample allows examination of intra- individual changes in work ability over the course of the 2.2.4 Work factors three study waves. In all, 2502 workers were included The work factors include working hours (full time/part who participated in all three study waves. time/marginal employment), mental and physical work (mainly mental/mainly physical/both) and the income 2.2 Measures level (up to 1500 Euro/1500 to 3000 Euro/3000 Euro and 2.2.1 Groups of voluntary employer change more), each assessed in each wave. In wave two (2014) and three (2018), the participants were asked whether they changed employer on their own initiative. If the participants had multiple changes 2.2.5 Health between two waves, only the last change was measured. Mental and physical health were assessed with the Short In the analyses we distinguish four groups: (1) par- Form Health Survey (SF-12) (Ware et  al. 1995, Nübling ticipants, who had no change, either between 2011 and et  al. 2006). The component scores range from 0 to 100 2014 nor between 2014 and 2018, thus, they stayed in the with high scores indicating better health. Both SF-12 12 Page 4 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn scales were found to have acceptable psychometric prop- AAA ). 9.2% of the participants changed once (AAB, erties and validity (Ware et al. 1996). ABB) and 1.2% changed twice (ABC). In some aspects, these three change groups differed from the group of stayers. Women and the younger cohort born in 1965 2.2.6 Statistical analyses were overrepresented in all change groups. Participants The analysis consists of two steps, the description and the with medium educational level were overrepresented in regression analysis. groups AAB and ABB and participants with low educa- In the description, the four groups of voluntary tional level were overrepresented in group ABC. In all employer change described above were compared in change groups, participants more often had a partner. terms of socio-demographics, work factors, health and Participants who changed once were less likely to work work ability across the three study waves. For work abil- full-time in each of the waves. Only in wave one, those ity, the group means were displayed along with confi - marginally employed were overrepresented among the dence intervals for each wave. This allows depicting the three change groups. In wave three, participants working course of work ability for each group over time. full-time were overrepresented in the ABC group. Fur- The regression analysis is conducted as a fixed effects thermore, participants, who work mainly physically, were regression analyses including lag and lead variables for overrepresented among all change groups. After chang- employer changes in order to investigate the individ- ing, these participants more often did both, physical ual changes of work ability before and after a voluntary and mental work. More participants with a low income employer change. To examine the individual effect of vol - changed employer voluntarily. Mental health increased untary employer changes, only participants who reported after a voluntary change. In relation to the stayers, chang- a change in one or more of the waves were included in the ers reported worse mental health before a change and regression analyses. With the fixed effects transforma - better physical health afterwards. tion, the individual mean value for work ability over the Figure 1 displays the course of work ability for the four three waves is subtracted from each single work ability groups of voluntary employer change over time. The fig - score for each participant. Through this transformation, ure indicates different patterns for each groups’ work the individual relationship between the values of each ability: the work ability of the stayers (AAA) slightly dete- participant remains the same, but potential level differ - riorated over time and the work ability of the group, who ences between the participants are eliminated. Therefore, changed twice (ABC), considerably improved after each the fixed effects regression analyses allow to investigate change. The groups, who changed once (AAB, ABB), had individual work ability changes and unobserved individ- reverse patterns. The work ability of group ABB initially ual heterogeneity, i.e. level differences between study par - improved following the change and then deteriorated ticipants, is removed from the work ability data. considerably while staying with the new employer. The The honeymoon-hangover effect is examined by work ability of group AAB slightly deteriorated while including lag or lead dummy variables for voluntary staying with the old employer and improved following employer changes, respectively. The three study waves the change. Overall, these patterns indicate a honey- allow to integrate two lag variables, which indicate moon-hangover effect, as the work ability of the group whether a participant has a new job since one or two AAB deteriorated before the change (deterioration), waves (examining the honeymoon and hangover period, the work ability of all change groups (AAB, ABB, ABC) models 1 and 2). Similarly, two lead variables could be improved after the change (honeymoon) and the work integrated, which indicate whether a participant will have ability of the group ABB deteriorated while staying with a new job in one or two waves (examining the deteriora- the new employer (hangover). This supports hypotheses tion period, models 3 and 4). In Models 2 and 4 control 1, 2 and 3. variables are added. Sensitivity analyses were conducted by performing separate analyses for men and women and for participants born in 1959 and 1965. 3.2 Regression analyses All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS ver- The regression analysis provides further insight into sion 26.0. the honeymoon-hangover effect, while controlling for socio-demographic information and work factors. The 3 Results fixed-effects transformation of the outcome work abil - 3.1 Description ity allows prediction of the individual changes of work Table  1 shows the socio-demographics, work factors, ability, as positive values do not indicate high work health and work ability in the total sample and across ability, but higher work ability in relation to another the change groups. The majority of the participants observation of the same individual. In all models, only stayed with their employer over the seven years (89.6%; The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 5 of 12 12 Table 1 Sample socio-demographics, work factors, health and work ability in the total sample and across change groups Groups of voluntary employer change ( jobs in 2011, 2014, 2018) Total sample Job A, Job A, Job A (AAA) Job A, Job A, Job B (AAB) Job A, Job B, Job B (ABB) Job A, Job B, Job C (ABC) n (%) N = 2502 (100.0) n = 2242 (89.6) n = 139 (5.5) n = 92 (3.7) n = 29 (1.2) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) Socio-demographic factors Gender n = 2502 χ = 11.98, p = 0.007 (3) Male 45.3 46.5 33.8 38.0 34.5 Female 54.7 53.5 66.2 62.0 65.5 Year of birth n = 2502 χ = 19.79, p = 0.000 (3) 1959 45.6 47.1 34.5 30.4 31.0 1965 54.4 52.9 65.5 69.6 69.0 Vocational education n = 2488 χ = 5.31, p = 0.504 (6) High 23.1 23.6 19.0 16.3 20.7 Medium 57.2 56.9 61.3 62.0 51.7 Low 19.7 19.5 19.7 21.7 27.6 Partner (2011) n = 2493 χ = 3.89, p = 0.273 (3) Yes 88.2 87.8 92.8 89.1 No 11.8 12.2 7.2 10.9 Partner (2014) n = 2499 χ = 6.07, p = 0.108 (3) Yes 88.1 87.6 93.5 91.3 No 11.9 12.4 6.5 8.7 Partner (2018) n = 2480 χ = 3.36, p = 0.339 (3) Yes 86.9 86.5 91.4 89.1 89.7 No 13.1 13.5 8.6 10.9 10.3 Work factors Working hours (2011) n = 2502 χ = 43.07, p = 0.000 (6) Full time 67.5 69.0 52.5 53.3 69.0 Part time 27.5 26.8 33.8 38.0 20.7 Marginal employment 5.0 4.2 13.7 8.7 10.3 Working hours (2014) n = 2502 χ = 39.62, p = 0.000 (6) Full time 66.9 68.3 51.8 55.4 62.1 a a Part time 29.3 28.2 36.7 a a Marginal employment 3.9 3.4 11.5 Working hours (2018) n = 2502 χ = 26.05, p = 0.000 (6) Full time 67.5 68.9 51.1 58.7 72.4 12 Page 6 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn Table 1 (continued) Groups of voluntary employer change ( jobs in 2011, 2014, 2018) Total sample Job A, Job A, Job A (AAA) Job A, Job A, Job B (AAB) Job A, Job B, Job B (ABB) Job A, Job B, Job C (ABC) n (%) N = 2502 (100.0) n = 2242 (89.6) n = 139 (5.5) n = 92 (3.7) n = 29 (1.2) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) a a a Part time 29.4 28.0 a a a Marginal employment 3.0 3.1 Mental and physical work (2011) n = 2502 χ = 17.36, p = 0.008 (6) Mainly mental 50.0 50.8 41.7 42.4 48.3 Mainly physical 9.9 9.1 15.1 18.5 17.2 Both 40.1 40.1 43.2 39.1 34.5 Mental and physical work (2014) n = 2502 χ = 16.48, p = 0.011 (6) Mainly mental 51.0 52.3 40.3 40.2 34.5 Mainly physical 9.9 9.5 14.4 10.9 13.8 Both 39.2 38.2 45.3 48.9 51.7 Mental and physical work (2018) n = 2502 χ = 13.98, p = 0.030 (6) Mainly mental 51.0 52.1 41.0 44.6 Mainly physical 7.4 7.3 7.9 9.8 Both 41.6 40.5 51.1 45.7 62.1 Income level (2011) n = 2404 χ = 50.43, p = 0.000 (6) Up to 1500 Euro 40.1 37.8 63.3 57.8 50.0 1500 to 3000 Euro 47.0 49.1 28.1 27.8 32.1 3000 Euro and more 12.9 13.1 8.6 14.4 17.9 Income level (2014) n = 2459 χ = 56.32, p = 0.000 (6) Up to 1500 Euro 34.7 32.4 59.0 51.6 44.8 1500 to 3000 Euro 49.7 51.7 30.6 31.9 34.5 3000 Euro and more 15.7 15.9 10.4 16.5 20.7 Income level (2018) n = 2438 χ = 46.85, p = 0.000 (6) Up to 1500 Euro 27.1 25.1 48.9 40.7 37.9 1500 to 3000 Euro 52.4 53.8 38.3 42.9 44.8 3000 Euro and more 20.5 21.1 12.8 16.5 17.2 Health n = 2495 F(3, 2491) = 0.766, p = 0.513, partial η = 0.00 Mental health (2011) 52.1 (9.5) 52.2 (9.4) 52.6 (10.0) 50.7 (10.7) 51.9 (9.1) The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 7 of 12 12 Table 1 (continued) Groups of voluntary employer change ( jobs in 2011, 2014, 2018) Total sample Job A, Job A, Job A (AAA) Job A, Job A, Job B (AAB) Job A, Job B, Job B (ABB) Job A, Job B, Job C (ABC) n (%) N = 2502 (100.0) n = 2242 (89.6) n = 139 (5.5) n = 92 (3.7) n = 29 (1.2) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) Mental health (2014) n = 2490 F(3, 2486) = 3.170, p = 0.023, partial η = 0.00 50.6 (10.0) 50.7 (9.9) 48.5 (11.4) 51.7 (9.4) 53.4 (7.7) Mental health (2018) n = 2495 F(3, 2491) = 1.777, p = 0.149, partial η = 0.00 51.7 (9.7) 51.5 (9.7) 53.2 (9.9) 51.9 (9.3) 53.9 (7.5) Physical health (2011) n = 2495 F(3, 2491) = 0.632, p = 0.595, partial η = 0.00 50.3 (8.8) 50.3 (8.8) 50.8 (8.8) 51.3 (8.0) 51.0 (7.3) Physical health (2014) n = 2490 F(3, 2486) = 3.253, p = 0.021, partial η = 0.00 50.0 (8.8) 49.8 (8.9) 51.3 (8.5) 50.9 (8.5) 53.7 (7.7) Physical health (2018) n = 2495 F(3, 2491) = 2.928, p = 0.033, partial η = 0.00 48.2 (9.2) 48.0 (9.2) 49.6 (9.0) 49.9 (8.4) 50.5 (7.2) Work ability c 2 Work ability (2011) n = 2493 F(3, 2489) = 1.359, p = 0.253, partial η = 0.00 8.1 (1.5) 8.1 (1.5) 8.3 (1.4) 8.1 (1.6) 7.7 (1.6) c 2 Work ability (2014) n = 2494 F(3, 2490) = 5.022, p = 0.002, partial η = 0.01 8.0 (1.4) 7.9 (1.4) 7.9 (1.7) 8.5 (1.4) 8.3 (1.1) c 2 Work ability (2018) n = 2497 F(3, 2493) = 7.727, p = 0.000, partial η = 0.01 7.8 (1.5) 7.7 (1.5) 8.2 (1.6) 7.9 (1.4) 8.6 (1.2) SD standard deviation For each socio-demographic and work factor Chi-square tests and for health and work ability one-way ANOVAs are shown for the groups comparisons between the four groups AAA, AAB, ABB and ABC This data cannot be shown for reasons of data protection Range from 0 to 100. High scores indicate good health Range from 2 to 10. High scores indicate high work ability 12 Page 8 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn 9.5 8.5 7.5 00.5 11.5 22.5 2011 2018 AAA AAB ABB ABC Fig. 1 Work ability of voluntary employer changers between 2011 and 2018 with confidence intervals (2011: n = 2493, 2014: n = 2494, 2018: n = 2497). Notes: Possible range from 2 (no work ability) to 10 (maximal work ability). AAA: Job A, Job A, Job A (n = 2234–2237); AAB: Job A in 2011, Job A in 2014, Job B in 2018 (n = 138–139); ABB: Job A in 2011, Job B in 2014, Job B in 2018 (n = 92); ABC: Job A in 2011, Job B in 2014, Job C in 2018 (n = 29) observations of participants reporting a change (groups The inclusion of control variables in models 2 and 4 did AAB, ABB; ABC) were included (Table 2). not affect these results. In the sensitivity analyses (not Models 1 and 2 include the two lag variables, which shown), similar patterns as described above were found allow to investigate the effect of being in a new job for men and women, participants born in 1965 and 1959 since one or two waves on work ability. The two lag var - and when including the observations of all participants iables are dummy variables indicating if a participant (groups AAA, AAB, ABB and ABC) in the regression was in a new job since one or two waves, respectively. analyses. However, significant regression coefficients The models show that the work ability in the new job were only found for women and younger workers, which was significantly higher one wave after the change. The may be due to the low number of cases among male par- lag variable ‘new job since 2 waves’ showed no signifi - ticipants and participants born in 1959 reporting a vol- cant effect, which indicates that the work ability was untary employer change. In further sensitivity analyses not significantly higher two waves after the change. covering not only those who changed job but all partici- This supports hypotheses 2 and 3 and the existence of a pants (n = 2479) and observations (n = 7437), the find - honeymoon and hangover period. ings and significances remained largely stable. However, Models 3 and 4 include the two lead variables, which the corrected within R was considerably lower which allow to examine if and how the individual work abil- may be explained by a dilution effect due to the—logi - ity before changing the employer differed from work cally—reduced within-panel variation of the lag and lead ability following the change. The two lead variables are variables. dummy variables indicating if a participant will be in a new job in one or two waves, respectively. The models 4 Discussion show that work ability in the wave prior to the change In summary, our data indicate that voluntary employer was significantly lower than after the change, which is changers are a specific group of employees among older indicated by the negative regression coefficient. The workers. In this study younger and female employees lead variable ‘new job in 2 waves’ showed no significant were overrepresented among changers. The higher pro - effect. This result supports hypothesis 1 and the dete - portion of female changers may be due to the fact that rioration period, as the work ability one wave before women are more likely to work in jobs with more oppor- the change was significantly lower than after the change tunities and needs to change employer. For example, in (significant negative regression coefficient), but not two part-time and marginal employment, in jobs with a lower waves before (no significant regression coefficient). income level and in occupations which more easily allow The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 9 of 12 12 Table 2 Fixed effects regression analyses. Work ability before and after voluntary employer change Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Leads New job in 2 waves − 0.005 − 0.005 New job in 1 wave − 0.114** − 0.106** Lags New job since 1 wave 0.132*** 0.135*** New job since 2 waves − 0.038 − 0.039 Working hours (Ref.: full time) Part time 0.005 0.009 Marginal employment 0.015 0.012 Mental and physical work (Ref.: mainly mental) Mainly physical − 0.059 − 0.055 Both 0.006 0.015 Income level (Ref.: 1500–3000 Euro) Up to 1500 Euro − 0.004 − 0.003 3000 Euro and more − 0.016 − 0.008 Number of observations 777 750 777 750 Number of individuals 259 250 259 250 Corrected within R 0.017 0.015 0.010 0.005 Regression coefficients: Standardised beta (β). *p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Only participants reporting a change were included for changes such as social and health care professions. effect on other outcomes. We suppose the latter when Many changers seem to leave marginal employment over it comes to work ability. This is because the employer time and tend to change to full-time employment. Also, change may go along with many small changes in work a higher proportion of employees with low or medium and private life to which the employees have to adapt to vocational education and mainly physical work changed and which are eventually integrated into everyday life. employer voluntarily; groups with a higher risk for For example, the new job may require shorter commut- early retirement in Germany (Brussig 2015). Moreover, ing allowing for more time at home, for hobbies, friends, employees with a lower income level, a partner and bet- household and sports. It may therefore have a positive ter physical health changed more frequently. effect on leisure activities, physical and mental health The work ability patterns over time shown in Fig.  1 and and life satisfaction, which, in turn, increase resilience to the regression analyses supported all three hypotheses: stress and workload. (1) The work ability in the old job had deteriorated before a voluntary employer change, (2) the work ability at the new job was initially higher than the work ability with the 4.2 The honeymoon‑hangover effect for work ability old job, and (3) the initial high work ability at the new job In theory, the honeymoon-hangover effect constitutes declined over time. three periods, deterioration, honeymoon and hangover (Boswell et al. 2005). In our study, we identified a deterio - ration period for work ability. However, the work ability 4.1 The role of time prior to changes (in AAB and ABB) was not significantly Our findings confirm that the time interval matters. lower than that of the stayers (AAA, see Fig.  1). There - Boswell et  al. (2005), who investigated the HHE for job fore, low work ability does not seem to be a primary satisfaction, measured job satisfaction in five consecutive reason for a voluntary employer change among older years and found a deterioration period two years before workers, unlike job satisfaction as indicated by most of the employer change, a honeymoon period in the assess- the turnover theories and models (see review by Hom ment one year after the change and a hangover period one et  al. 2017). To what extent the deterioration period can year later. In our study, we also found an HHE, although be attributed to poor working conditions or age effects, work ability was measured in three- to four-year periods. remains open. Nevertheless, Garthe and Hasselhorn Roe (2008) assumed that the time period until the onset (2020) showed that older voluntary employer chang- of effects can widely differ. In our case, employer changes ers reported significantly worse psychosocial working may have an immediate impact on some and a delayed 12 Page 10 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn conditions before their change than stayers indicating a for these participants when they stay for a longer period strong impact of work. of time with their current employer. Furthermore, we confirmed the existence of a honey - In conclusion, although we detected a hangover moon period for work ability. Work ability improved period, we suppose that the change was not in vain and substantially following a voluntary change of employer. is a strategy to maintain work ability at higher working Theory on the honeymoon-hangover effect explains the age for three reasons. First, a voluntary change actually honeymoon period for job satisfaction by the assump- goes along with improvements of working conditions and tion that the new organization creates an overly posi- work ability. Second, the voluntary change has the poten- tive picture of the job and that the employees portray the tial to induce a better match between the work and the new organization in a positive light (Boswell et al. 2005). aging workers, whose health and work ability are likely Yet, we suppose that there is more to it than that, when to deteriorate at higher working age (Frieling and Kotzab it comes to work ability. Many working conditions can 2014). Third, we assume that the changers might have change due to a voluntary employer change, which may experienced a considerable deterioration in their work have a direct impact on work ability—and of course job ability if they had not taken the opportunity to change. satisfaction—such as leadership quality, work-privacy Studies on job lock and stuck at work showed that work- conflict, travel time to work, colleagues, work tasks, ers’ health and job satisfaction deteriorated over time influence at work, working environment and work equip - while staying with a non-desired employer (Huysse-Gay- ment (Grund 2009; Carless and Arnup 2011; Garthe and tandjieva et al. 2013; Canivet et al. 2017). Hasselhorn 2020). Several studies confirmed the relation - ship between physical and psychological working condi-4.3 Limitations tions and work ability (Alavinia 2008; van den Berg et al. In addition to its strengths, this study also has limita- 2008; Sanders et al. 2011; Attarchi et al. 2014; Weale et al. tions. First, we had no data on work ability before 2011 2019). It can also be assumed that only those employ- and after 2018 to investigate the work ability pattern ees change, who expect an improvement, which implies of the changers two periods before or after the change. that changers to some degree may constitute a selective Second, we only had data with a 3- and a 4-year period group. Thus, there may be real positive changes in work between waves and could not investigate in-between that can cause a honeymoon period; it is not just a ques- changes in work ability. Third, we could not exclude tion of perception. selection effects, because we only included employees, Although we assume that the voluntary change actu- who participated in all three waves. ally improves the work situation, we found a hangover period for work ability. Figure  1 depicts (see pattern of 5 Conclusions ABB), and the regression analysis confirms that volun - Maintaining the work ability of older employees is rel- tary employer changes had a strong positive effect on the evant for the society and the employers, who will be work ability in the following wave, which did not hold increasingly dependent on older workers and certainly until the next wave. As assumed in theory, the adap- for the older employees themselves, who want to, or have tion to the new job, the routine, the knowledge of the to work longer. Our study shows that voluntary employer organization and the negative aspects of the job appear changes have the potential to maintain work ability at with time and may affect the self-reported work ability as higher working age, but not to increase work ability long- well (Boswell et al. 2009). We suppose that this hangover lasting. We found a honeymoon-hangover effect for work period cannot be explained solely by age effects, as the ability, meaning a substantial increase of work ability self-reported work ability deteriorates strongly to a ‘nor- shortly after the change and a decrease of the work abil- mal’ level after the honeymoon period within four years. ity over time, while staying with the new employer. On Furthermore, we did not find a hangover period among the one hand, our analyses suggest that the increase of the participants who changed twice (ABC). In contrast to work ability should not be overestimated in its duration the single time changers, this group seems to experience or sustainability. On the other hand, the findings indicate another honeymoon period. Gielen (2013) examined the that despite the decrease in the work ability, the potential relationship between repeated job quits and job satisfac- positive overall effect of the voluntary change should not tion in men and found a strong increase of job satisfac- be underestimated. tion after each employer change and a slight decrease in Our study is the first to investigate the consequences of job satisfaction, when the participants stayed with the voluntary employer changes on older workers’ work abil- new employer. She concludes that most of the repeated ity. Future studies should examine in depth, why there is job quits were stepping stones to find the most preferred a hangover period, while staying with the new employer, job. For our study, we cannot exclude a hangover period although real improvements in working conditions can The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 11 of 12 12 Brussig, M.: Working conditions in the last job and transitions into old-age pen- be expected. Another question is, if the changers’ work sions: an analysis of two pension entry cohorts in Germany. Work Aging ability remains higher than the work ability of the stayers Retire 2(1), 54–64 (2015). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1093/ workar/ wav016 over time. Further, shorter time intervals should be con- Canivet, C., Aronsson, G., Bernhard-Oettel, C., Leineweber, C., Moghaddassi, M., Stengård, J., Westerlund, H., Östergren, P.-O.: The negative effects on sidered to investigate short-term effects. In addition to mental health of being in a non-desired occupation in an increasingly the employer changers, employees who are stuck at their precarious labour market. SSM Popul. Health 3, 516–524 (2017). https:// work and employer, need to be investigated over time, doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. ssmph. 2017. 05. 009 Carless, S.A., Arnup, J.L.: A longitudinal study of the determinants and out- because among them a stronger decrease in work ability comes of career change. J. Vocat. Behav. 78(1), 80–91 (2011). https:// doi. can be expected than among employees, who voluntarily org/ 10. 1016/j. jvb. 2010. 09. 002 stay with their employer. Chadi, A., Hetschko, C.: The magic of the new: How job changes affect job satisfaction. IAAEU Discussion Paper Series in Economics 05, 1–36 (2014). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/ jems. 12217 Clark, A.E., Diener, E., Georgellis, Y., Lucas, R.E.: Lags and leads in life satisfaction: Abbreviations a test of the baseline hypothesis. Econ J 118(529), F222–F243 (2008). HHE: Honeymoon-hangover effect; AAA : Job A, Job A, Job A (in the years 2011, https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/j. 1468- 0297. 2008. 02150.x 2014 and 2018); ABB: Job A, Job B, Job B (in the years 2011, 2014 and 2018); de Wind, A., Geuskens, G.A., Ybema, J.F., Bongers, P.M., van der Beek, A.J.: The AAB: Job A, Job A, Job B (in the years 2011, 2014 and 2018); ABC: Job A, Job B, role of ability, motivation, and opportunity to work in the transition from Job C (in the years 2011, 2014 and 2018). work to early retirement–testing and optimizing the Early Retirement Model. Scand. J. Work Environ. Health 41(1), 24–35 (2015). https:// doi. org/ Acknowledgements 10. 5271/ sjweh. 3468 The authors wish to thank the academic contributor Michael Stiller for discus- Ebener, M., Hasselhorn, H.M.: Validation of short measures of work ability for sions of the methods used. research and employee surveys. Int J Environ. Res. Public Health 16(18), 1–15 (2019). https:// doi. org/ 10. 3390/ ijerp h1618 3386 Authors’ contributions Feißel, A., Swart, E., March, S.: The impact of work ability on work motivation NG conceptualized und wrote the manuscript, analyzed and interpreted the and health: a longitudinal study based on older employees. J. Occup. data. HMH contributed to the interpretation of the data and the writing of the Environ. Med. 60(5), e238–e244 (2018). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1097/ JOM. manuscript. Both authors have read and approved the final manuscript. 00000 00000 001244 Frieling, E., Kotzab, D.: Work-Ability-Index—eine vergleichende Darstellung des Funding Altersgangs in verschiedenen Tätigkeitsbereichen: Automobilmontage. This work was supported by the Minister of Culture and Science of the Berufsfeuerwehr und Pflegetätigkeiten Z Arb Wiss 68, 19–25 (2014). German State of North Rhine-Westphalia; and the German Social Accident https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ BF033 74418 Insurance, DGUV (FP 403). The funding institutions did not have any influence Garthe, N., Hasselhorn, H.M.: Leaving and staying with the employer— on the design of the study, the data collection, analysis and interpretation of changes in work, health, and work ability among older workers. Int. Arch. the data nor on the writing of the manuscript. Occup. Environ. Health 94(1), 85–93 (2020). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s00420- 020- 01563-0 Availability of data and materials Gielen, A.C.: Repeated job quits: stepping stones or learning about quality? IZA The datasets used for the current analysis are not publicly available due to J. Labor. Stud. 2(7), 1–22 (2013). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1186/ 2193- 9012-2-7 protection of data privacy (www. lida- studie. de). A Scientific Use File will be Grund, C.: Jobpräferenzen und Arbeitsplatzwechsel. Z. Pers. 23(1), 66–72 available in 2023. (2009) Hasselhorn, HM, Ebener, M: Der Work Ability Index in der Betriebsmedizin. 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The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers: investigating the honeymoon-hangover effect

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of voluntary employer changes on self-reported work ability among older workers in Germany and whether a honeymoon-hangover effect (HHE) exists here. In research on job satisfaction, three typical periods around a voluntary employer change characterize a HHE: a deterioration in the old job (deterioration), an initial increase in the new job (honeymoon) and a subsequent decline over time (hangover). Whether a HHE exists in respect to work ability following a voluntary employer change remained open. The analyses are based on data from the first three waves of the lidA study (2011, 2014, 2018), a representative cohort study of older employees in Germany born in 1959 or 1965. Data from 2502 workers who participated in all three study waves was analyzed. Fixed-effects regression analyses including lag and lead variables were conducted. A deterioration, honeymoon and hangover period were found. Work ability increased substantially following the voluntary employer change. Our study shows that voluntary employer changes have the potential to maintain work ability at higher working age, but not to increase the work ability in the long-term perspective. However, despite the existence of a hangover period, the positive overall effect of the voluntary change should not be underestimated. Keywords: Turnover, Older workers, Work ability, Honeymoon-hangover effect, Cohort study, Fixed-effects regression 1 Introduction depends on the actual work situation (Frieling and Kot- At times of worldwide extended working life policies, zab 2014) and is not limited to the individual worker’s maintaining work ability at higher working age has resources such as health and functioning (Ebener and received increased public and policy attention (Nils- Hasselhorn 2019). For over 30  years, work ability has son et al. 2011). Work ability can be defined as the result been assessed worldwide with the work ability index of the fit between the individual’s resources and his or (WAI), which has shown to predict various employment- her work demands (Tuomi et  al. 1997) and may answer related outcomes such as work motivation (Feißel et  al. the question ‘How good is the worker at present, in the 2018), long-term sick leave, early exit from work and dis- near future, and how able is he or she to do his or her ability (Ebener and Hasselhorn 2019). Today, the WAI work with respect to work demands, health, and mental is used globally in occupational health practice to assess resources?’ (Tuomi et  al. 1991). Therefore, work ability and maintain the workers´ work ability (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin 2013). Strategies to sustain the fit between older workers and *Correspondence: garthe@uni-wuppertal.de their work are needed as work ability often decreases Department of Occupational Health Science, School of Mechanical with age (de Wind et al. 2015; Oakman et al. 2018). One Engineering and Safety Engineering, University of Wuppertal, Gaußstraße strategy for older workers might be a voluntary change 20, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany © The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. 12 Page 2 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn of employer, which enables the worker to leave unsuit- to recognize the less attractive aspects of the job; a able workplaces and thereby actively adapt unfavorable subsequent disappointment and disillusionment. working conditions. The change bears the potential to attain suitable working conditions and to increase the The honeymoon-hangover effect was confirmed for ability to work longer at higher working age (Wilke job satisfaction in three different studies. Boswell et al. et al. 2019). (2005) investigated the HHE by measuring job satisfac- The large body of research on voluntary employer tion in one-year intervals and found the three periods changes mainly focuses on determinants such as job sat- of the HHE in three to four subsequent years. In 2009, isfaction, performance, health, leadership quality (see Boswell et al. conducted a similar study with four meas- meta-analysis by Rubenstein et  al. 2018) and also work urement points (day 1, 3  months, 6  months, 1  year). ability (e.g. Rongen et  al. 2014). The focus on deter - Within this year, they identified the periods honey - minants—in contrast to outcomes—was often due to moon and hangover for job satisfaction. A third study limitations of the data, which did allow researchers to by Chadi and Hetschko (2014) distinguished between track employees up to the change, but not subsequently. employer changes due to quitting on own initiative, u Th s, there is still little research on the consequences mutual agreement, dismissal and plant closure. They of employer changes. The few previous studies confirm found a strong HHE for employees, who changed on that voluntary employer changes have a positive effect own initiative and a slight HHE for employees, who on mental health (Liljegren and Ekberg 2009) and job changed due to mutual agreement. No HHE was found satisfaction (Chadi and Hetschko 2014) and is associ- among employees, who changed due to dismissal or ated with improved working conditions such as increased plant closure. Furthermore, Clark et  al. (2008) found job security, reduced working hours (Carless and Arnup that life satisfaction significantly decreased before and 2011), better salary, better possibilities for development increased after layoffs, but this increase was not long- and more appropriate work tasks (Grund 2009). To our lasting. However, voluntary employer changes were not knowledge, there is no scientific report about the effect investigated. on the workers’ work ability. Inspired by the studies on the HHE, we aimed to In some studies, it was observed that the positive investigate the effect of voluntary employer changes effects found following the employer change faded over on the work ability of older workers in Germany and time (Boswell et  al. 2005, 2009, Chadi and Hetschko whether HHE exist here. However, HHE may not 2014). In theory, this phenomenon is called the hon- develop in parallel for all possible outcomes (Roe 2008). eymoon-hangover effect (HHE) (Boswell et  al. 2005). Oakman et  al. (2018), who investigated pathways of Boswell et  al. (2005) first described and examined the work ability over 6 years, state that sustained changes honeymoon-hangover effect in voluntary employer in work are required to change work ability and that changes with respect to job satisfaction. According to the these changes in work take time to make an impact. authors, three periods describe the honeymoon-hango- Thus, while an employer change may affect the course ver effect: of job satisfaction immediately, this is followed by a re- adaptation after a shorter period of time. We suspect (1) In the first period, which may be called deteriora - that for work ability, a longer time period is required tion, employees experience a decline in job satisfac- for re-adaptation as the workers have to adapt to the tion in the old job. This job dissatisfaction precedes new work situation, taking into account their health, turnover. competencies and values (Tuomi et al. 1997). (2) After turnover, job satisfaction strongly increases. Now, the German lidA Cohort Study provides the This is referred to as the honeymoon period. The opportunity to investigate the HHE for work ability increase is explained by organizations creating an among older workers in a large representative sample. overly positive picture of the job for new hires, as In line with the theory on the honeymoon-hangover well as the employee’s tendency to portray the new effect, we expect that the work ability of the employer organization in a positive light due to high expecta- changers is deteriorating in the old job and is therefore tions. Unfavorable information about the new job is lower than the work ability after the change. Therefore, suppressed. we postulate the following hypothesis: (3) The initially high job satisfaction with the new job declines over time to an individual ‘normal’ level, Hypothesis 1 The work ability in the old job is which is called the hangover period. The longer deteriorating before a voluntary employer change tenure with the new job brings along increased (deterioration). knowledge of the organization and employees begin The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 3 of 12 12 Further, we expect an increase of the work ability fol- same job for all three waves (Job A, Job A, Job A; AAA), lowing the employer change due to the new, probably (2) participants, who had no change between 2011 and more appropriate working conditions and the positive 2014 and changed between 2014 and 2018, thus, they had expectations in the new job: a new job since wave 3 (Job A, Job A, Job B; AAB), (3) participants, who changed between 2011 and 2014 and had no change between 2014 and 2018, thus, they had a Hypothesis 2 The work ability at the new job is ini - new job since wave 2 (Job A, Job B, Job B; ABB) and (4) tially higher than the work ability with the old job participants, who changed between 2011 and 2014 and (honeymoon). between 2014 and 2018, thus, they had new jobs in wave 2 and also in wave 3 (Job A, Job B, Job C; ABC). Lastly, we suppose that the higher work ability declines over time up to a level which is similar to the employees who have stayed with their employer, as the voluntary 2.2.2 Work ability employer changers adapt to the new work situation and In each wave, work ability was measured by the second negative aspects of the job are also recognized. dimension (WAI2) of the Work Ability Index (WAI). The WAI is an established questionnaire to assess work ability Hypothesis 3 The initial high work ability in the new job in occupational health research. Short measures such as will decline over time (hangover). the WAI2, which assesses the work ability in relation to the demands of the job, were recommended for large sur- veys and shown to be suitable short measures for work 2 Methods ability in occupational health research and employee sur- 2.1 Data and sample veys (Ebener and Hasselhorn 2019). The WAI2 consists The data used for this study derive from the German lidA of three questions: In two questions the participants were Cohort Study on Work, Age, Health and Work partici- asked to rate their actual work ability with respect to pation, a representative cohort study of older employees mental and physical demands at work, respectively (very in Germany. Initially, employed people subject to social poor/rather poor/moderate/rather good/very good). The security contributions (no self-employed or sworn civil answers were weighted depending on the third ques- servants), born in either 1959 or 1965, are interviewed tion, which measures whether the participant was mainly every three to four years in their homes (computer- mentally active in the main job, mainly physically active assisted personal interviewing, CAPI). The analyses are or both equally. The weighting of the WAI2 is described based on data from the first three waves of the study, by Hasselhorn and Ebener (2016). The resulting sum 2011 (n = 6585), 2014 (n = 4244) and 2018 (n = 3586). In score ranges from 2 (no work ability) to 10 (high work 2018, the participants were 53 and 59  years old. A more ability). detailed description of the lidA Cohort Study and its design has been given elsewhere (Hasselhorn et al. 2014; 2.2.3 Socio‑demographics Rauch et al. 2015). Socio-demographic information includes gender (male/ For this study, participants were excluded if they were female), year of birth (1959/1965), vocational educa- not employed full time, part time or marginally in any tion (low/medium/high) (based on Jöckel et  al. 1998) as of the waves, if they were self-employed and if they had time-independent variables and having a partner (yes/no) an involuntary change of employer between any of the assessed in each wave. waves. This balanced sample allows examination of intra- individual changes in work ability over the course of the 2.2.4 Work factors three study waves. In all, 2502 workers were included The work factors include working hours (full time/part who participated in all three study waves. time/marginal employment), mental and physical work (mainly mental/mainly physical/both) and the income 2.2 Measures level (up to 1500 Euro/1500 to 3000 Euro/3000 Euro and 2.2.1 Groups of voluntary employer change more), each assessed in each wave. In wave two (2014) and three (2018), the participants were asked whether they changed employer on their own initiative. If the participants had multiple changes 2.2.5 Health between two waves, only the last change was measured. Mental and physical health were assessed with the Short In the analyses we distinguish four groups: (1) par- Form Health Survey (SF-12) (Ware et  al. 1995, Nübling ticipants, who had no change, either between 2011 and et  al. 2006). The component scores range from 0 to 100 2014 nor between 2014 and 2018, thus, they stayed in the with high scores indicating better health. Both SF-12 12 Page 4 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn scales were found to have acceptable psychometric prop- AAA ). 9.2% of the participants changed once (AAB, erties and validity (Ware et al. 1996). ABB) and 1.2% changed twice (ABC). In some aspects, these three change groups differed from the group of stayers. Women and the younger cohort born in 1965 2.2.6 Statistical analyses were overrepresented in all change groups. Participants The analysis consists of two steps, the description and the with medium educational level were overrepresented in regression analysis. groups AAB and ABB and participants with low educa- In the description, the four groups of voluntary tional level were overrepresented in group ABC. In all employer change described above were compared in change groups, participants more often had a partner. terms of socio-demographics, work factors, health and Participants who changed once were less likely to work work ability across the three study waves. For work abil- full-time in each of the waves. Only in wave one, those ity, the group means were displayed along with confi - marginally employed were overrepresented among the dence intervals for each wave. This allows depicting the three change groups. In wave three, participants working course of work ability for each group over time. full-time were overrepresented in the ABC group. Fur- The regression analysis is conducted as a fixed effects thermore, participants, who work mainly physically, were regression analyses including lag and lead variables for overrepresented among all change groups. After chang- employer changes in order to investigate the individ- ing, these participants more often did both, physical ual changes of work ability before and after a voluntary and mental work. More participants with a low income employer change. To examine the individual effect of vol - changed employer voluntarily. Mental health increased untary employer changes, only participants who reported after a voluntary change. In relation to the stayers, chang- a change in one or more of the waves were included in the ers reported worse mental health before a change and regression analyses. With the fixed effects transforma - better physical health afterwards. tion, the individual mean value for work ability over the Figure 1 displays the course of work ability for the four three waves is subtracted from each single work ability groups of voluntary employer change over time. The fig - score for each participant. Through this transformation, ure indicates different patterns for each groups’ work the individual relationship between the values of each ability: the work ability of the stayers (AAA) slightly dete- participant remains the same, but potential level differ - riorated over time and the work ability of the group, who ences between the participants are eliminated. Therefore, changed twice (ABC), considerably improved after each the fixed effects regression analyses allow to investigate change. The groups, who changed once (AAB, ABB), had individual work ability changes and unobserved individ- reverse patterns. The work ability of group ABB initially ual heterogeneity, i.e. level differences between study par - improved following the change and then deteriorated ticipants, is removed from the work ability data. considerably while staying with the new employer. The The honeymoon-hangover effect is examined by work ability of group AAB slightly deteriorated while including lag or lead dummy variables for voluntary staying with the old employer and improved following employer changes, respectively. The three study waves the change. Overall, these patterns indicate a honey- allow to integrate two lag variables, which indicate moon-hangover effect, as the work ability of the group whether a participant has a new job since one or two AAB deteriorated before the change (deterioration), waves (examining the honeymoon and hangover period, the work ability of all change groups (AAB, ABB, ABC) models 1 and 2). Similarly, two lead variables could be improved after the change (honeymoon) and the work integrated, which indicate whether a participant will have ability of the group ABB deteriorated while staying with a new job in one or two waves (examining the deteriora- the new employer (hangover). This supports hypotheses tion period, models 3 and 4). In Models 2 and 4 control 1, 2 and 3. variables are added. Sensitivity analyses were conducted by performing separate analyses for men and women and for participants born in 1959 and 1965. 3.2 Regression analyses All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS ver- The regression analysis provides further insight into sion 26.0. the honeymoon-hangover effect, while controlling for socio-demographic information and work factors. The 3 Results fixed-effects transformation of the outcome work abil - 3.1 Description ity allows prediction of the individual changes of work Table  1 shows the socio-demographics, work factors, ability, as positive values do not indicate high work health and work ability in the total sample and across ability, but higher work ability in relation to another the change groups. The majority of the participants observation of the same individual. In all models, only stayed with their employer over the seven years (89.6%; The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 5 of 12 12 Table 1 Sample socio-demographics, work factors, health and work ability in the total sample and across change groups Groups of voluntary employer change ( jobs in 2011, 2014, 2018) Total sample Job A, Job A, Job A (AAA) Job A, Job A, Job B (AAB) Job A, Job B, Job B (ABB) Job A, Job B, Job C (ABC) n (%) N = 2502 (100.0) n = 2242 (89.6) n = 139 (5.5) n = 92 (3.7) n = 29 (1.2) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) Socio-demographic factors Gender n = 2502 χ = 11.98, p = 0.007 (3) Male 45.3 46.5 33.8 38.0 34.5 Female 54.7 53.5 66.2 62.0 65.5 Year of birth n = 2502 χ = 19.79, p = 0.000 (3) 1959 45.6 47.1 34.5 30.4 31.0 1965 54.4 52.9 65.5 69.6 69.0 Vocational education n = 2488 χ = 5.31, p = 0.504 (6) High 23.1 23.6 19.0 16.3 20.7 Medium 57.2 56.9 61.3 62.0 51.7 Low 19.7 19.5 19.7 21.7 27.6 Partner (2011) n = 2493 χ = 3.89, p = 0.273 (3) Yes 88.2 87.8 92.8 89.1 No 11.8 12.2 7.2 10.9 Partner (2014) n = 2499 χ = 6.07, p = 0.108 (3) Yes 88.1 87.6 93.5 91.3 No 11.9 12.4 6.5 8.7 Partner (2018) n = 2480 χ = 3.36, p = 0.339 (3) Yes 86.9 86.5 91.4 89.1 89.7 No 13.1 13.5 8.6 10.9 10.3 Work factors Working hours (2011) n = 2502 χ = 43.07, p = 0.000 (6) Full time 67.5 69.0 52.5 53.3 69.0 Part time 27.5 26.8 33.8 38.0 20.7 Marginal employment 5.0 4.2 13.7 8.7 10.3 Working hours (2014) n = 2502 χ = 39.62, p = 0.000 (6) Full time 66.9 68.3 51.8 55.4 62.1 a a Part time 29.3 28.2 36.7 a a Marginal employment 3.9 3.4 11.5 Working hours (2018) n = 2502 χ = 26.05, p = 0.000 (6) Full time 67.5 68.9 51.1 58.7 72.4 12 Page 6 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn Table 1 (continued) Groups of voluntary employer change ( jobs in 2011, 2014, 2018) Total sample Job A, Job A, Job A (AAA) Job A, Job A, Job B (AAB) Job A, Job B, Job B (ABB) Job A, Job B, Job C (ABC) n (%) N = 2502 (100.0) n = 2242 (89.6) n = 139 (5.5) n = 92 (3.7) n = 29 (1.2) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) a a a Part time 29.4 28.0 a a a Marginal employment 3.0 3.1 Mental and physical work (2011) n = 2502 χ = 17.36, p = 0.008 (6) Mainly mental 50.0 50.8 41.7 42.4 48.3 Mainly physical 9.9 9.1 15.1 18.5 17.2 Both 40.1 40.1 43.2 39.1 34.5 Mental and physical work (2014) n = 2502 χ = 16.48, p = 0.011 (6) Mainly mental 51.0 52.3 40.3 40.2 34.5 Mainly physical 9.9 9.5 14.4 10.9 13.8 Both 39.2 38.2 45.3 48.9 51.7 Mental and physical work (2018) n = 2502 χ = 13.98, p = 0.030 (6) Mainly mental 51.0 52.1 41.0 44.6 Mainly physical 7.4 7.3 7.9 9.8 Both 41.6 40.5 51.1 45.7 62.1 Income level (2011) n = 2404 χ = 50.43, p = 0.000 (6) Up to 1500 Euro 40.1 37.8 63.3 57.8 50.0 1500 to 3000 Euro 47.0 49.1 28.1 27.8 32.1 3000 Euro and more 12.9 13.1 8.6 14.4 17.9 Income level (2014) n = 2459 χ = 56.32, p = 0.000 (6) Up to 1500 Euro 34.7 32.4 59.0 51.6 44.8 1500 to 3000 Euro 49.7 51.7 30.6 31.9 34.5 3000 Euro and more 15.7 15.9 10.4 16.5 20.7 Income level (2018) n = 2438 χ = 46.85, p = 0.000 (6) Up to 1500 Euro 27.1 25.1 48.9 40.7 37.9 1500 to 3000 Euro 52.4 53.8 38.3 42.9 44.8 3000 Euro and more 20.5 21.1 12.8 16.5 17.2 Health n = 2495 F(3, 2491) = 0.766, p = 0.513, partial η = 0.00 Mental health (2011) 52.1 (9.5) 52.2 (9.4) 52.6 (10.0) 50.7 (10.7) 51.9 (9.1) The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 7 of 12 12 Table 1 (continued) Groups of voluntary employer change ( jobs in 2011, 2014, 2018) Total sample Job A, Job A, Job A (AAA) Job A, Job A, Job B (AAB) Job A, Job B, Job B (ABB) Job A, Job B, Job C (ABC) n (%) N = 2502 (100.0) n = 2242 (89.6) n = 139 (5.5) n = 92 (3.7) n = 29 (1.2) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) % Mean (SD) Mental health (2014) n = 2490 F(3, 2486) = 3.170, p = 0.023, partial η = 0.00 50.6 (10.0) 50.7 (9.9) 48.5 (11.4) 51.7 (9.4) 53.4 (7.7) Mental health (2018) n = 2495 F(3, 2491) = 1.777, p = 0.149, partial η = 0.00 51.7 (9.7) 51.5 (9.7) 53.2 (9.9) 51.9 (9.3) 53.9 (7.5) Physical health (2011) n = 2495 F(3, 2491) = 0.632, p = 0.595, partial η = 0.00 50.3 (8.8) 50.3 (8.8) 50.8 (8.8) 51.3 (8.0) 51.0 (7.3) Physical health (2014) n = 2490 F(3, 2486) = 3.253, p = 0.021, partial η = 0.00 50.0 (8.8) 49.8 (8.9) 51.3 (8.5) 50.9 (8.5) 53.7 (7.7) Physical health (2018) n = 2495 F(3, 2491) = 2.928, p = 0.033, partial η = 0.00 48.2 (9.2) 48.0 (9.2) 49.6 (9.0) 49.9 (8.4) 50.5 (7.2) Work ability c 2 Work ability (2011) n = 2493 F(3, 2489) = 1.359, p = 0.253, partial η = 0.00 8.1 (1.5) 8.1 (1.5) 8.3 (1.4) 8.1 (1.6) 7.7 (1.6) c 2 Work ability (2014) n = 2494 F(3, 2490) = 5.022, p = 0.002, partial η = 0.01 8.0 (1.4) 7.9 (1.4) 7.9 (1.7) 8.5 (1.4) 8.3 (1.1) c 2 Work ability (2018) n = 2497 F(3, 2493) = 7.727, p = 0.000, partial η = 0.01 7.8 (1.5) 7.7 (1.5) 8.2 (1.6) 7.9 (1.4) 8.6 (1.2) SD standard deviation For each socio-demographic and work factor Chi-square tests and for health and work ability one-way ANOVAs are shown for the groups comparisons between the four groups AAA, AAB, ABB and ABC This data cannot be shown for reasons of data protection Range from 0 to 100. High scores indicate good health Range from 2 to 10. High scores indicate high work ability 12 Page 8 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn 9.5 8.5 7.5 00.5 11.5 22.5 2011 2018 AAA AAB ABB ABC Fig. 1 Work ability of voluntary employer changers between 2011 and 2018 with confidence intervals (2011: n = 2493, 2014: n = 2494, 2018: n = 2497). Notes: Possible range from 2 (no work ability) to 10 (maximal work ability). AAA: Job A, Job A, Job A (n = 2234–2237); AAB: Job A in 2011, Job A in 2014, Job B in 2018 (n = 138–139); ABB: Job A in 2011, Job B in 2014, Job B in 2018 (n = 92); ABC: Job A in 2011, Job B in 2014, Job C in 2018 (n = 29) observations of participants reporting a change (groups The inclusion of control variables in models 2 and 4 did AAB, ABB; ABC) were included (Table 2). not affect these results. In the sensitivity analyses (not Models 1 and 2 include the two lag variables, which shown), similar patterns as described above were found allow to investigate the effect of being in a new job for men and women, participants born in 1965 and 1959 since one or two waves on work ability. The two lag var - and when including the observations of all participants iables are dummy variables indicating if a participant (groups AAA, AAB, ABB and ABC) in the regression was in a new job since one or two waves, respectively. analyses. However, significant regression coefficients The models show that the work ability in the new job were only found for women and younger workers, which was significantly higher one wave after the change. The may be due to the low number of cases among male par- lag variable ‘new job since 2 waves’ showed no signifi - ticipants and participants born in 1959 reporting a vol- cant effect, which indicates that the work ability was untary employer change. In further sensitivity analyses not significantly higher two waves after the change. covering not only those who changed job but all partici- This supports hypotheses 2 and 3 and the existence of a pants (n = 2479) and observations (n = 7437), the find - honeymoon and hangover period. ings and significances remained largely stable. However, Models 3 and 4 include the two lead variables, which the corrected within R was considerably lower which allow to examine if and how the individual work abil- may be explained by a dilution effect due to the—logi - ity before changing the employer differed from work cally—reduced within-panel variation of the lag and lead ability following the change. The two lead variables are variables. dummy variables indicating if a participant will be in a new job in one or two waves, respectively. The models 4 Discussion show that work ability in the wave prior to the change In summary, our data indicate that voluntary employer was significantly lower than after the change, which is changers are a specific group of employees among older indicated by the negative regression coefficient. The workers. In this study younger and female employees lead variable ‘new job in 2 waves’ showed no significant were overrepresented among changers. The higher pro - effect. This result supports hypothesis 1 and the dete - portion of female changers may be due to the fact that rioration period, as the work ability one wave before women are more likely to work in jobs with more oppor- the change was significantly lower than after the change tunities and needs to change employer. For example, in (significant negative regression coefficient), but not two part-time and marginal employment, in jobs with a lower waves before (no significant regression coefficient). income level and in occupations which more easily allow The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 9 of 12 12 Table 2 Fixed effects regression analyses. Work ability before and after voluntary employer change Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Leads New job in 2 waves − 0.005 − 0.005 New job in 1 wave − 0.114** − 0.106** Lags New job since 1 wave 0.132*** 0.135*** New job since 2 waves − 0.038 − 0.039 Working hours (Ref.: full time) Part time 0.005 0.009 Marginal employment 0.015 0.012 Mental and physical work (Ref.: mainly mental) Mainly physical − 0.059 − 0.055 Both 0.006 0.015 Income level (Ref.: 1500–3000 Euro) Up to 1500 Euro − 0.004 − 0.003 3000 Euro and more − 0.016 − 0.008 Number of observations 777 750 777 750 Number of individuals 259 250 259 250 Corrected within R 0.017 0.015 0.010 0.005 Regression coefficients: Standardised beta (β). *p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Only participants reporting a change were included for changes such as social and health care professions. effect on other outcomes. We suppose the latter when Many changers seem to leave marginal employment over it comes to work ability. This is because the employer time and tend to change to full-time employment. Also, change may go along with many small changes in work a higher proportion of employees with low or medium and private life to which the employees have to adapt to vocational education and mainly physical work changed and which are eventually integrated into everyday life. employer voluntarily; groups with a higher risk for For example, the new job may require shorter commut- early retirement in Germany (Brussig 2015). Moreover, ing allowing for more time at home, for hobbies, friends, employees with a lower income level, a partner and bet- household and sports. It may therefore have a positive ter physical health changed more frequently. effect on leisure activities, physical and mental health The work ability patterns over time shown in Fig.  1 and and life satisfaction, which, in turn, increase resilience to the regression analyses supported all three hypotheses: stress and workload. (1) The work ability in the old job had deteriorated before a voluntary employer change, (2) the work ability at the new job was initially higher than the work ability with the 4.2 The honeymoon‑hangover effect for work ability old job, and (3) the initial high work ability at the new job In theory, the honeymoon-hangover effect constitutes declined over time. three periods, deterioration, honeymoon and hangover (Boswell et al. 2005). In our study, we identified a deterio - ration period for work ability. However, the work ability 4.1 The role of time prior to changes (in AAB and ABB) was not significantly Our findings confirm that the time interval matters. lower than that of the stayers (AAA, see Fig.  1). There - Boswell et  al. (2005), who investigated the HHE for job fore, low work ability does not seem to be a primary satisfaction, measured job satisfaction in five consecutive reason for a voluntary employer change among older years and found a deterioration period two years before workers, unlike job satisfaction as indicated by most of the employer change, a honeymoon period in the assess- the turnover theories and models (see review by Hom ment one year after the change and a hangover period one et  al. 2017). To what extent the deterioration period can year later. In our study, we also found an HHE, although be attributed to poor working conditions or age effects, work ability was measured in three- to four-year periods. remains open. Nevertheless, Garthe and Hasselhorn Roe (2008) assumed that the time period until the onset (2020) showed that older voluntary employer chang- of effects can widely differ. In our case, employer changes ers reported significantly worse psychosocial working may have an immediate impact on some and a delayed 12 Page 10 of 12 N. Garthe , H. M. Hasselhorn conditions before their change than stayers indicating a for these participants when they stay for a longer period strong impact of work. of time with their current employer. Furthermore, we confirmed the existence of a honey - In conclusion, although we detected a hangover moon period for work ability. Work ability improved period, we suppose that the change was not in vain and substantially following a voluntary change of employer. is a strategy to maintain work ability at higher working Theory on the honeymoon-hangover effect explains the age for three reasons. First, a voluntary change actually honeymoon period for job satisfaction by the assump- goes along with improvements of working conditions and tion that the new organization creates an overly posi- work ability. Second, the voluntary change has the poten- tive picture of the job and that the employees portray the tial to induce a better match between the work and the new organization in a positive light (Boswell et al. 2005). aging workers, whose health and work ability are likely Yet, we suppose that there is more to it than that, when to deteriorate at higher working age (Frieling and Kotzab it comes to work ability. Many working conditions can 2014). Third, we assume that the changers might have change due to a voluntary employer change, which may experienced a considerable deterioration in their work have a direct impact on work ability—and of course job ability if they had not taken the opportunity to change. satisfaction—such as leadership quality, work-privacy Studies on job lock and stuck at work showed that work- conflict, travel time to work, colleagues, work tasks, ers’ health and job satisfaction deteriorated over time influence at work, working environment and work equip - while staying with a non-desired employer (Huysse-Gay- ment (Grund 2009; Carless and Arnup 2011; Garthe and tandjieva et al. 2013; Canivet et al. 2017). Hasselhorn 2020). Several studies confirmed the relation - ship between physical and psychological working condi-4.3 Limitations tions and work ability (Alavinia 2008; van den Berg et al. In addition to its strengths, this study also has limita- 2008; Sanders et al. 2011; Attarchi et al. 2014; Weale et al. tions. First, we had no data on work ability before 2011 2019). It can also be assumed that only those employ- and after 2018 to investigate the work ability pattern ees change, who expect an improvement, which implies of the changers two periods before or after the change. that changers to some degree may constitute a selective Second, we only had data with a 3- and a 4-year period group. Thus, there may be real positive changes in work between waves and could not investigate in-between that can cause a honeymoon period; it is not just a ques- changes in work ability. Third, we could not exclude tion of perception. selection effects, because we only included employees, Although we assume that the voluntary change actu- who participated in all three waves. ally improves the work situation, we found a hangover period for work ability. Figure  1 depicts (see pattern of 5 Conclusions ABB), and the regression analysis confirms that volun - Maintaining the work ability of older employees is rel- tary employer changes had a strong positive effect on the evant for the society and the employers, who will be work ability in the following wave, which did not hold increasingly dependent on older workers and certainly until the next wave. As assumed in theory, the adap- for the older employees themselves, who want to, or have tion to the new job, the routine, the knowledge of the to work longer. Our study shows that voluntary employer organization and the negative aspects of the job appear changes have the potential to maintain work ability at with time and may affect the self-reported work ability as higher working age, but not to increase work ability long- well (Boswell et al. 2009). We suppose that this hangover lasting. We found a honeymoon-hangover effect for work period cannot be explained solely by age effects, as the ability, meaning a substantial increase of work ability self-reported work ability deteriorates strongly to a ‘nor- shortly after the change and a decrease of the work abil- mal’ level after the honeymoon period within four years. ity over time, while staying with the new employer. On Furthermore, we did not find a hangover period among the one hand, our analyses suggest that the increase of the participants who changed twice (ABC). In contrast to work ability should not be overestimated in its duration the single time changers, this group seems to experience or sustainability. On the other hand, the findings indicate another honeymoon period. Gielen (2013) examined the that despite the decrease in the work ability, the potential relationship between repeated job quits and job satisfac- positive overall effect of the voluntary change should not tion in men and found a strong increase of job satisfac- be underestimated. tion after each employer change and a slight decrease in Our study is the first to investigate the consequences of job satisfaction, when the participants stayed with the voluntary employer changes on older workers’ work abil- new employer. She concludes that most of the repeated ity. Future studies should examine in depth, why there is job quits were stepping stones to find the most preferred a hangover period, while staying with the new employer, job. For our study, we cannot exclude a hangover period although real improvements in working conditions can The relationship between voluntary employer change and work ability among older workers:… Page 11 of 12 12 Brussig, M.: Working conditions in the last job and transitions into old-age pen- be expected. Another question is, if the changers’ work sions: an analysis of two pension entry cohorts in Germany. Work Aging ability remains higher than the work ability of the stayers Retire 2(1), 54–64 (2015). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1093/ workar/ wav016 over time. Further, shorter time intervals should be con- Canivet, C., Aronsson, G., Bernhard-Oettel, C., Leineweber, C., Moghaddassi, M., Stengård, J., Westerlund, H., Östergren, P.-O.: The negative effects on sidered to investigate short-term effects. In addition to mental health of being in a non-desired occupation in an increasingly the employer changers, employees who are stuck at their precarious labour market. SSM Popul. Health 3, 516–524 (2017). https:// work and employer, need to be investigated over time, doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. ssmph. 2017. 05. 009 Carless, S.A., Arnup, J.L.: A longitudinal study of the determinants and out- because among them a stronger decrease in work ability comes of career change. J. Vocat. Behav. 78(1), 80–91 (2011). https:// doi. can be expected than among employees, who voluntarily org/ 10. 1016/j. jvb. 2010. 09. 002 stay with their employer. Chadi, A., Hetschko, C.: The magic of the new: How job changes affect job satisfaction. IAAEU Discussion Paper Series in Economics 05, 1–36 (2014). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/ jems. 12217 Clark, A.E., Diener, E., Georgellis, Y., Lucas, R.E.: Lags and leads in life satisfaction: Abbreviations a test of the baseline hypothesis. Econ J 118(529), F222–F243 (2008). HHE: Honeymoon-hangover effect; AAA : Job A, Job A, Job A (in the years 2011, https:// doi. org/ 10. 1111/j. 1468- 0297. 2008. 02150.x 2014 and 2018); ABB: Job A, Job B, Job B (in the years 2011, 2014 and 2018); de Wind, A., Geuskens, G.A., Ybema, J.F., Bongers, P.M., van der Beek, A.J.: The AAB: Job A, Job A, Job B (in the years 2011, 2014 and 2018); ABC: Job A, Job B, role of ability, motivation, and opportunity to work in the transition from Job C (in the years 2011, 2014 and 2018). work to early retirement–testing and optimizing the Early Retirement Model. Scand. J. Work Environ. Health 41(1), 24–35 (2015). https:// doi. org/ Acknowledgements 10. 5271/ sjweh. 3468 The authors wish to thank the academic contributor Michael Stiller for discus- Ebener, M., Hasselhorn, H.M.: Validation of short measures of work ability for sions of the methods used. research and employee surveys. Int J Environ. Res. Public Health 16(18), 1–15 (2019). https:// doi. org/ 10. 3390/ ijerp h1618 3386 Authors’ contributions Feißel, A., Swart, E., March, S.: The impact of work ability on work motivation NG conceptualized und wrote the manuscript, analyzed and interpreted the and health: a longitudinal study based on older employees. J. Occup. data. HMH contributed to the interpretation of the data and the writing of the Environ. Med. 60(5), e238–e244 (2018). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1097/ JOM. manuscript. Both authors have read and approved the final manuscript. 00000 00000 001244 Frieling, E., Kotzab, D.: Work-Ability-Index—eine vergleichende Darstellung des Funding Altersgangs in verschiedenen Tätigkeitsbereichen: Automobilmontage. This work was supported by the Minister of Culture and Science of the Berufsfeuerwehr und Pflegetätigkeiten Z Arb Wiss 68, 19–25 (2014). German State of North Rhine-Westphalia; and the German Social Accident https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ BF033 74418 Insurance, DGUV (FP 403). The funding institutions did not have any influence Garthe, N., Hasselhorn, H.M.: Leaving and staying with the employer— on the design of the study, the data collection, analysis and interpretation of changes in work, health, and work ability among older workers. Int. Arch. the data nor on the writing of the manuscript. Occup. Environ. Health 94(1), 85–93 (2020). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s00420- 020- 01563-0 Availability of data and materials Gielen, A.C.: Repeated job quits: stepping stones or learning about quality? IZA The datasets used for the current analysis are not publicly available due to J. Labor. Stud. 2(7), 1–22 (2013). https:// doi. org/ 10. 1186/ 2193- 9012-2-7 protection of data privacy (www. lida- studie. de). A Scientific Use File will be Grund, C.: Jobpräferenzen und Arbeitsplatzwechsel. Z. Pers. 23(1), 66–72 available in 2023. (2009) Hasselhorn, HM, Ebener, M: Der Work Ability Index in der Betriebsmedizin. 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