Bridge employment quality and its impact on retirement adjustment: A structural equation model with SHARE panel data

Bridge employment refers to the workforce participation pattern displayed by older workers between their partial retirement and their complete withdrawal from the workforce. Based on Shultz’s (2003) model of antecedents and consequences of bridge employment, this article proposes a set of hypotheses, using SHARE panel data (N = 634) from Wave 1 (2004) and Wave 2 (2006). These data are analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM), testing both a direct effects model and a partial mediation model. Results show that bridge employment quality partially mediates the influences of T1 antecedents on T2 consequences. The implications of this study are discussed at both the theoretical and practical level.