Investigating the Factors That Influence Early Retirement of Private Sector Workers in the Center Region of Cameroon

Felix Nkellefack Tapang; Laura Ebitoh Andonei; Neh Gladys Fusi

doi:10.21467/ajss.11.1.63-81

Authors

Felix Nkellefack Tapang Sustainable Development, Department of Business Administration, ICT University USA, Yaounde Campus https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1344-6055
Laura Ebitoh Andonei Educational Administration, Science of Education Department, ICT University USA, Yaounde Campus
Neh Gladys Fusi Public Health, Department of Health Science, ICT University USA, Yaounde Campus

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21467/ajss.11.1.63-81

Abstract

Purpose: This study seeks to investigate the factors that influence early retirement of private sector workers in the center region of Cameroon.

Methodology: The grounded theory approach was used with a target population being workers of private sector organizations in the center region of Cameroon. A purposive sampling was used, where the population was selected from private organization, mainly; the multinational private companies, the transnational private companies and sole proprietor companies operating in the center region of Cameroon. Primary data was got through interviews to capture private sector workers’ opinions on aspects related to early retirements.

Research questions: The first research question was aimed at finding out the factors that influence early retirement of the private sector workers in the center region of Cameroon. The research continued with a second question to find out the most prominent factors presumed to affect early retirement. Finally, the research continued to find out to what extent these factors influence early retirement.

Findings: The findings revealed the overarching theme of work stress as the major factor that influence early retirement of the private sector workers in the center region of Cameroon. It also showed that low salaries and therefore weak financial strength of workers emerged as the overarching theme to explain the most prominent factors presumed to affect early retirement. Finally, the study showed that tough hierarchy decisions that do not take the views of employees into consideration and unclear work descriptions contributed to the quest for workers to retire early from the private sector in the center region of Cameroon.

Keywords:

Early retirement, private sector, organizations

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Manoli, D & Weber, A. (2016). The effects of the early retirement age on retirement decisions. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, No. 22561. https://doi.org/10.3386/w22561

Wilson, D., Ibarrondo, B., Low, G., Reilly, P. & Murphy, R. (2020). Identifying contemporary early retirement factors and strategies to encourage and enable longer working lives: A scoping review. Int J Older People Nurs; 15:e12313. https://doi.org/10.1111/opn.12313

Aviad Tur-Sinai,A., Shahrabani, S., Lowenstein, A., Katz, R., Halperin, D, & Fogel-Grinvald5, H. (2022). What drives older adults to continue working after official retirement age? Published online by Cambridge University Pres. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X22000915

Skučiene,D.& Moskvina,J. (2016). Factors influencing the decision of whether to retire or extend one’s employment. Journal Human Affairs. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2016-0012

Modigliani,F. & Brumberg, R. (1980). Utility analysis and aggregate consumption function. In the collected papers of Franco Modigliani, vol.12, ed. A. Abel Cambridge, Ma:MIT Press.

Ekerdt, D. (1986). The busy ethic: Moral continuity between work and retirement. The Gerontologist doi: 10.1093/geront/26.3.239

Loue, S., & Sajatovic, M. (2008). Encyclopedia of Aging and Public Health. Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-33753-1, pp. 79-81.

Phillipson, C. (2004). Work and retirement transitions: changing sociological and social policy contexts. social policy and society, 3(2), pp. 155-162

Wang, M. (2007). Profiling retirees in the retirement transition and adjustment process: examining the longitudinal change patterns of retirees' psychological well-being. J.Appl.Psychol.95 544-474. DOI:10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.455

Wilson, D. et al. (2020). Identifying contemporary early retirement factors and strategies to encourage and enable longer working lives: A scoping review. International journal of older people nursing, 15(3), e12313. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/opn.12313

Bennett, D. et al. (2018). Factors influencing job loss and early retirement in working men with prostate cancer—findings from the population-based Life After Prostate Cancer Diagnosis (LAPCD) study. Journal of Cancer Survivorship. J Cancer Surviv 12, 669–678. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-018-0704-x

Ruzik-Sierdzińska, A. (2018). An attempt to identify factors influencing retirement decisions in Poland. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Oeconomica, 4(336), 43-59.

Wind, A. et al. (2015). The role of ability, motivation, and opportunity to work in the transition from work to early retirement–testing and optimizing the Early Retirement Model. Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 24-35.

Tangtipongkul & Srisuchart (2018). The Decision to Retire Early: Evidence from Private Service Sector in Thailand Journal of Population and Social Studies, Volume 26 Number 2 April2018: 149 -164DOI: 10.25133/JPSSv26n2.011

Elish, K. (2017). An Examination of early Retirement in Ireland before and after the great recession. The Economic and Social Research Institute Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2 ISBN 978-0-7070-0440-2 DOI https://doi.org/10.26504/sustat61

Syam,D. & Bakroh,B. (2020). Factors affecting early retirement decision in crises. Polytechnic of State Finance STAN, FETA, MoF Indonesia

Topa, Depolo , & Alcover (2018). Early retirement: a meta- analysis of its antecedent and subsequent correlates. Front, psychol. 8: 2157.

Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02157

Jah, Franque, & Anyeh (2019). Retirement preparedness of public sector employees in Cameroon: the case of civil servants in the Buea municipality. Pan African Institute for development West Africa (PAID-WA), Department of Business and Management studies

Biya, P. (2020). President Paul BIYA harmonises Retirement Age of Civil Servants. https://www.prc.cm/en/nes/4826-president-paul-biya-harmonises-retirement-age-of-civil-servants

Diaw (2017). Retirement preparedness in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Economics and Financial issues, 7(1),78-86

Scharn et al.(2018). Domains and determinants of retirement timing: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. BMC public Health 18, 1083 (2018). https: doi.org 10.1186 s12889-018-5983-7

Uthaman, T., Chua, T. & Ang,Y. (2016). Older nurses: A literature review on challenges, factors in early retirement and workforce retention. Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare, 25(1), 50-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/2010105815610138

Pit, S. & Hansen, V. (2014). Factors influencing early retirement intentions in Australian rural general practitioners. Occupational Medicine, Volume 64, Issue 4, June 2014, Pages 297–304, https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqu028

Haan,P. &Tolan, S. (2019). Labour supply and fiscal effects of partial retirement – The role of entry age and the timing of pension benefits. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2019.01.001

Eibich, P. & Siedler, T. (2020). Retirement, intergenerational time transfers, and fertility. European Economic Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2020.103392

Michael, C. (2021). The relationship between age of retirement and frailty later in life—A cross-sectional study in Flemish older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2021.104473

Denton, T.& Byron, S. (2008). What is retirement? A review and assessment of alternative concepts and measures. Retrieved from https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/66879/1/571570844.pdf

Luborsky, M. & LeBlanc, I. (2003). Cross-cultural perspectives on the concept of retirement: an analytic redefinition. Journal of cross-cultural gerontology, 18(4), 251–271. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JCCG.0000004898.24738.7b

Sargent, L. D., Lee, M. D., Martin, B., & Zikic, J. (2013). Reinventing retirement: New pathways, new arrangements, new meanings. Human Relations, 66(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726712465658

Atchley, R. (1982). Retirement As a Social Institution. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 8:263-287. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.08.080182.001403

Kongnyuy,P. & Yuyun,N. (2020). Retirement perception and workers’ behavior: a comparative study between workers of the public and private sectors of some selected enterprises in the Bamenda Municipality. Journal of Education and Practice. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-27-16

Weisman, Mary. (1999), "The History of Retirement, From Early Man to A.A.R.P.", The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/21/jobs/the-history-of-retirement-from-early-man-to-aarp.html

Costa, D. (1998). The Evolution of Retirement: An American Economic History,1880-1990. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/books/cost98-1

Asuquo & Maliki (2007). Nigerian Public-School Workers’ Perception and Attitude to Pre-Retirement Counselling. DOI:10.1080/0972639X.2007.11886563

Maestas, N. (2004). Back to Work: Expectations and Realizations of Work after Retirement (July 1, 2004). Michigan Retirement Research Center Research Paper No. WP 2004-085. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1092899

Onoyas, A. (2013). Financial planning strategies towards retirement as perceived by potential retirees in universities in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. International Journal of Business and Social Science(pp256)

Worldometer (2022). Cameroon Population.https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/cameroon-population/