Labor market participation and informal family care among older adults in Germany: Role substitution, role expansion, role extension or dis-/nonengagement?

Abstract

Despite increasing research, the diversity of role transitions and the interplay between productive roles among older adults are still not adequately understood. This also applies to labor force participation and family care at the transition to retirement. In order to narrow this research gap, this article examines the diversity of transitions/continuities between employment and informal family care among older adults in Germany. Based on role theory and disengagement approach, a typology of transitions/continuities between employment and informal family care was created using data from three waves of the study "Transitions and Old Age Potential" (TOP) over a period of six years (2013-2019). Transitions/continuities between labor market participation and family roles can be described empirically in terms of four main types: role substitution, role expansion, role extension, and dis-/nonengagement. These can be broken down further into subtypes, which reveals the diversity of role transitions/continuities among older adults and suggests different causal relationships. Continuity and fluctuation are found to coexist, with strong evidence for either episodic or gradual/fluid patterns of role transitions. Time commitment in productive roles has a noticeable influence on transition/continuity types. However, the impact of sociodemographic, occupational and personal predictors suggests that labor market-related inequalities and subjective preferences are also influencing the transitions between employment and family care. The findings are innovative in terms of a theory-based typology of role transitions/continuities that offers new insights into the diversity of role transitions and their determinants among older adults not only in Germany, but also in other countries with aging populations.