How likely are employers to rehire older workers after mandatory retirement? A vignette study among managers

Abstract

With a vignette experiment among Dutch managers we examine employers’ considerations in the decision to rehire employees after mandatory retirement. We specifically focus on the effects of the employee’s downward wage flexibility (i.e., the willingness to accept a lower wage) and contract flexibility (i.e., preference for a contract which allows flexible hours or employment). The results show that employers are strongly affected by employees who offer to work for a significantly lower wage, but not by the employees’ preference for a particular labor contract. Employers are overall quite disinclined to rehire employees after mandatory retirement, although large differences exist between employees. Part of these differences can be explained by employers having higher retirement age norms (i.e., the maximum age at which employers consider employees suited for work in their organization).