The working lives of older hotel workers: is there evidence of psychological disengagement in the work-to-retirement transition zone?

It is well known that the hospitality industry faces recruitment problems, with high levels of labour turnover (Poulston, 2008). Given population ageing, it is important that the industry recruits and retains older workers. Older workers are likely to become increasingly important to the hospitality industry as the number of older workers in employment in the UK has almost doubled since 1993 (ONS, 2012). The Hospitality Industry relies heavily on older workers. In the Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants sector of the UK economy, 34% of the labour force is aged 50+, a higher percentage than any other industrial sector except for Public Administration, Education & Health (DWP, 2013). Therefore, given the reliance on older workers, it is important that the Hospitality Industry understands the nature of older worker employment and the management of the work-to-retirement transition, an issue made even more pertinent since the abolition of the Statutory Retirement Age in 2011. Although Age Discrimination legislation was introduced in the UK in 2006, a survey of hospitality businesses by Martin and Gardiner (2007) established that ageism was considered a problem