While previous studies demonstrate how poor working conditions, employment precariousness, poor-health, gender, and human capital strongly influence the length of working life (see e.g., Axelrad & Mcnamara 2018, Larsen & Pedersen 2017), few has examined how these processes develops over time and affect work longevity. Drawing upon a life course perspective it is likely that the gateways for an extended working life are narrowed long before people start to make active decisions about their own retirement. Thus, knowledge is needed in terms of when disadvantages start, the persistence over time as well as within group differences. In this sub-project we examine labour market disadvantages over a substantial part of the working life to better understand how conditions during the life course contribute to shape the opportunities and constraints for a prolonged working life. More specifically, we ask: To what extent is long-term exposure to strenuous and poor work conditions related to length of working life? What is the role of employment continuity and career mobility in working life for the length of working life between men and women respectively? To what extent are within group differences in human capital and skill development during the life course associated with prolonged working life? Such knowledge can show why some employees are more prone to work later in life than others, identify significant work life events for early and late retirement, and thus, provide important tools for how to create a long, healthy and sustainable working life.
