CHASM Seminar: Working longer, feeling worse? How job quality shapes the mental health toll of delayed retirement

As governments push people to work longer, an important question arises: at what cost to workers’ mental health?  Alexandra Lugova's study examines how pension reforms that delay retirement affect depression among older workers, and how these effects depend on job quality, combining data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe with job quality measures from the European Working Conditions Survey. Using reforms implemented between 2011 and 2015 in 14 European countries, the study shows that extending working lives tends to worsen mental health, particularly when retirement ages increase substantially.

However, the impact varies sharply across jobs: workers in low-autonomy roles, unsupportive environments, or positions with limited prospects are hit hardest, while those in higher-quality jobs experience smaller effects or even benefits. These results suggest that pension reforms need to be paired with policies that improve working conditions if longer working lives are to be sustainable.

Alexandra Lugova is a PhD candidate in Economics at the University Savoie Mont Blanc, France. Her research lies at the intersection of labour, health, and public economics. In her doctoral work, she examines social inequalities in health in the labour market. She is also interested in the impact of technological change on employment and workers’ well-being.