What makes me stay? An investigation into factors influencing older workers’ intentions to stay

Abstract

This article examines the factors that influence older personal care workers' (PCWs') (aged 50+) intentions to stay. This article reports on the quantitative and qualitative findings from a cross-sectional survey from four aged care organisations in Australia. The results found that both personal (age, location of the job, health and family commitments) and organisational (job satisfaction, perceived supervisor support (PSS), job embeddedness, working environment, pay, career opportunities and job stability) factors influenced intentions. However, organisational factors outweighed personal factors, irrespective of time. Combined, these findings suggest that organisations can influence employee retention significantly by promoting a supportive working environment and by providing clear career progression, appropriate pay and job security to their employees.