Research project Sustainable working life after 50
As populations age, it becomes increasingly important to extend working life and support the health and career opportunities of older employees. In this project, we translate, adapt, and validate the scientifically evaluated Later Life Workplace Index (LLWI) for the Swedish context.
The LLWI measures how organizations manage older workers and provides strategies to prevent early retirement and promote sustainable working life.
A postal questionnaire was sent to 600 participants in the Swedish Longitudinal Study on Social Relations, Working Life, and Health. The survey examines organizational practices for older employees (50+), as well as questions on age discrimination, desired retirement age, intention to leave or change jobs, work performance, engagement, and health outcomes. Data will be analyzed using statistical methods to assess the validity of the instrument and its associations with future work-related and health outcomes.
Against the backdrop of demographic change, it is becoming increasingly important for societies and organizations worldwide to extend workforce participation while safeguarding individual employees’ career opportunities. A growing proportion of older individuals choose to continue working up to or even beyond the standard retirement age. To protect and further enhance employees’ career opportunities in later life and prevent early retirement, it is crucial to implement organizational practices that accommodate employees’ abilities, motivation, needs, and values. A fundamental measure in this context is the use of a validated, scientifically evaluated measurement instrument. This instrument should be adapted to the national context to cover all relevant national regulations.
The multidimensional Later Life Workplace Index (LLWI), originally developed in Germany, comprehensively captures these organizational practices for older employees. The LLWI has been scientifically developed and validated to make organizations’ management of older employees measurable and comparable. By comprehensively assessing organizational measures, the LLWI provides strategies for better managing demographic change through the successful employment of older individuals. Retaining, motivating, and employing older individuals in a healthy manner until retirement requires effective management of relevant personnel measures.
The LLWI has been translated into several languages (e.g., Japanese, Portuguese, Dutch, and Norwegian), but a Swedish version is still lacking. Therefore, this project aims to translate the Later Life Workplace Index (LLWI) into Swedish, adapt it to the Swedish context if necessary, and subsequently validate the resulting questionnaire.
Questionnaires were sent to 600 participants in the Swedish Longitudinal Study on Social Relations, Working Life, and Health. The questionnaire includes items on organizational practices for older employees (aged 50 and above), as well as questions designed to assess its validity.
The majority of the questionnaire consists of statements about the company’s management of older employees. It also addresses topics such as age discrimination, desired retirement age, intention to leave or change jobs, work performance and engagement, and health-related outcomes.
All questions are drawn from well-established instruments. The questionnaire also includes a few background questions about the participants. Data will be analyzed using standard statistical methods such as factor analysis and regression analysis, as well as more advanced statistical techniques to examine associations with future work-related and health outcomes.
Casandra Kaib & Remonda Farah. (2026). The Swedish Version of the Later Life Workplace Index (LLWI): A Study of Organizational Practices and older Employees’ Intentions to Remain in or Exit the Workforce. Master thesis. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University.