‘Should I stay or should I go?

Retirement Age Triggers of Sworn Members of the Queensland Police Service

Entitled to Access Voluntary Retirement at Age Fifty-Five

Ben Marcus
M. Pub. Pol. & Admin. (CSU)

Centre for Learning Innovation

Faculty of Education
Queensland University of Technology

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Education
2007
 ‘Should I stay or should I go?’

Retirement Age Triggers of Sworn Members of the Queensland Police Service

Entitled to Access Voluntary Retirement at Age Fifty-Five

Ben Marcus
M. Pub. Pol. & Admin.

Centre for Learning Innovation

Faculty of Education
Queensland University of Technology

2007

i
 Key Words

police, retirement, triggers, intentions,

baby-boomer, transition, voluntary, mandatory, police recruiting, procruiting

ii
 Statement of original authorship

The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or
diploma at any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and
belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another
person except where due reference is made.

Signed ………………………………..

Date ………………………………….

iii
 Acknowledgements

This thesis is dedicated in three parts:

To my principal academic supervisor, Dr. Jan Millwater of the Queensland

University of Technology and her supervision team, without whom I would have

never completed this work;

To Associate Professor Brian Delahaye of the Queensland University of Technology,

for advice on the statistical analysis presented in this thesis; and,

Finally, I dedicate this contribution to the literature to all of those literally from the

‘old school,’ those who have gone before me and successfully complete a thesis

without the aid of a computer or a word processor. You have my admiration,

respect, and awe.

iv
 Abstract

At the time this study was conducted, Queensland police officers were offered a five

year age range in which retirement was possible. These officers were permitted to

retire from age 55 and were forced to retire at age 60. The Queensland Police

Service had previously identified that only 13% of all police officers were staying in

their employment until the mandatory retirement age of 60. Retirement of these

officers at the earliest possible opportunity presented a considerable loss of human

resource investment. This study was undertaken to investigate some possible

triggers influencing the decision to retire.

Three specific research questions associated with the retirement intentions of

Queensland police officers of the baby-boomer generation were formulated and

subsequently investigated. These questions were:

• How do the demographic characteristics of individual police officers relate to

their retirement intentions?

• What are the triggers that are associated with the retirement age intentions of

baby-boomer police officers in Queensland? and,

• How are these triggers associated with officers’ intentions to retire earlier or

later?

While considerable work had been previously done on retirement triggers, the issue

of police retirement triggers is under-researched. The situation was further

compounded by the fact that the major study of police retirement was American,

v
with retirement in that system based on years of service, and not age as in Australia.

A list of possible retirement triggers was compiled from the literature and then focus

groups of Queensland police officers were used to discuss some aspects of these

possible retirement triggers and generate others that were specific to the Queensland

Police Service. The study obtained the views of 641 members of the cohort through

a questionnaire and utilised a quantitative research methodology to achieve findings.

Demographic aspects showed little overall influence on an officer’s retirement age

decision. The demographic items that did have a direct association with retirement

intentions were gender, length of service, and the method of admission to the

organisation. Female officers, officers with the greatest length of service and those

admitted to the organisation as Cadets were more likely to seek earlier retirement,

that is retirement at or soon after age fifty-five. Whilst not conclusive, the education

level of the individual indicated a trend towards later retirement for those with higher

levels of education. Importantly, operational status, shift worker status, rank, and

qualification for promotion had no association with the retirement decision.

A factor analysis of the questionnaire items used in the study identified five factors,

of which four contributed significantly to a police officer’s retirement timing

decision at the later end of the retirement window spectrum. These factors were

‘appropriateness’, ‘worth and belonging’, ‘influences and relationships’ and

‘financial’ issues. A fifth factor ‘flexibility’ was also determined but found to have

no statistical significance.

vi
Three recommendations were made from this study: the formation of a Queensland

Police Service alumni; the adoption of a n employment re-engagement policy called

‘procruiting’; and the introduction of an assisted retirement education package for

exiting members.

vii
Table of contents

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S ..................................................................... IV

C H A P T E R O N E - O V E R V I E W ............................................................. 1
Introduction.................................................................................................. 1
The study as a Professional Doctorate ......................................................... 3
The purpose of the study .............................................................................. 5
Research questions ....................................................................................... 7
Overview of chapters ................................................................................... 9

C H A P T E R T W O – A R E V I E W O F T H E L I T E R A T U R E ............. 12
Introduction................................................................................................ 12
The concept of retirement .......................................................................... 13
Background to the problem: The paradigmatic change of labour supply and
workforce participation .............................................................................. 18
The global phenomenon of an ageing population ...................................... 21
The three factors of labour supply and control .......................................... 22
Increased demand for available potential police officers........................... 29
Ageing, the law, and reality ....................................................................... 30
Sociological issues relating to older workers............................................. 34
The major studies ....................................................................................... 37
Hong and Xu Yu (1995)............................................................................. 37
Myers (1992).............................................................................................. 38
Whipple (2001) .......................................................................................... 39
Kolodinsky, Avery & Pelch (1995) ........................................................... 40
Government................................................................................................ 41
Police officer attrition and turnover ........................................................... 49
Gaven (2004).............................................................................................. 50
Lynch & Tuckey (2004)............................................................................. 51
Drew (2003) ............................................................................................... 53
The contribution of the studies................................................................... 54
Police officer retirement............................................................................. 55
Violanti (1992) ........................................................................................... 56
Gender and retirement intentions ............................................................... 58
Retirement triggers..................................................................................... 60
Lessons learned from the analysis of the studies ....................................... 63
Conclusions ................................................................................................ 67

C H A P T E R T H R E E – F O C U S G R O U P S ......................................... 69
Introduction................................................................................................ 69
The purpose of the Focus Groups .............................................................. 70
Selection process........................................................................................ 71
‘Go’, ‘Stay’, and ‘Undecided’.................................................................... 73
Group One – male, non-operational, urban................................................ 75
Group Two – female, operational / non-operational, urban and suburban 77
Group Three – male, operational / non-operational, rural and remote....... 79
Summary .................................................................................................... 81

viii
C H A P T E R F O U R – M E T H O D O L O G Y ............................................ 84
Introduction................................................................................................ 84
Ethical approval and the Queensland Police Service................................. 87
Determination of the research strategy ...................................................... 88
The Reference Group ................................................................................. 91
Development of the questionnaire ............................................................. 93
Format of the questionnaire ....................................................................... 96
The sample ............................................................................................... 102
Summary .................................................................................................. 104

C H A P T E R F I V E – A N A L Y S I S A N D F I N D I N G S ......................... 105
Initial analyses and presentation of the data ............................................ 105
Factor analysis.......................................................................................... 107
Binary Logistic Regression ...................................................................... 112
The Findings ............................................................................................ 114
The identification of the retirement intentions......................................... 114
Investigation of Research Question One.................................................. 116
Investigation of Research Question Two ................................................. 131
The factor analysis ................................................................................... 135
Internal reliability of the factors............................................................... 139
Investigation of Research Question Three ............................................... 141
Summary .................................................................................................. 146

C H A P T E R S I X – D I S C U S S I O N ...................................................... 147
Introduction.............................................................................................. 147
Summary of the study .............................................................................. 147
The relationships of the factors identified in the study to the literature... 152
Discussion on the findings ....................................................................... 154
Summary .................................................................................................. 160

CHAPTER SEVEN – CONCLUSIONS AND

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S ....................................................................... 161
Recommendations .................................................................................... 165
Conclusion ............................................................................................... 171
Recommendations for future research ..................................................... 173

B I B L I O G R A P H Y .................................................................................. 176

A P P E N D I X E S ....................................................................................... 182
Appendix A – The history of police retirement and superannuation in
Queensland............................................................................................... 182
Appendix B – Discussion on age discrimination ..................................... 185
Appendix C – Triggers sourced from the literature ................................. 196
Appendix D – Focus Group triggers ........................................................ 204
Appendix E – Data collection questionnaire............................................ 205
Appendix F – Frequency tables for categorical variables........................ 209
Appendix G – Means and standard deviations for continuous variables . 212
Appendix H – Chi square calculations for demographic variables.......... 214

ix
 Appendix I – Independent sample T-test for continuous variables for early
and late retirees ........................................................................................ 223
Appendix J – Initial factor analysis.......................................................... 234
Appendix K – Monte Carlo for factor analysis........................................ 240
Appendix L – Oblimin rotation for factor analysis.................................. 241
Appendix M – Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities for each of the five factors247
Appendix N – Regression analysis involving only five factors............... 252
Appendix O – Regression analysis with five factors and demographic
variables ................................................................................................... 257

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1: RETIREMENT INTENTIONS BY AGE GROUP 117

TABLE 2: RETIREMENT INTENTIONS BY RANK 119
TABLE 3: RETIREMENT INTENTION BY LENGTH OF SERVICE 120
TABLE 4: RETIREMENT INTENTIONS BY OPERATIONAL STATUS 121
TABLE 5: RETIREMENT INTENTION BY SHIFT WORKER STATUS 123
TABLE 6: EDUCATION LEVEL BREAKDOWN 124
TABLE 7: RETIREMENT INTENTIONS BY EDUCATION LEVEL 125
TABLE 7: RETIREMENT INTENTIONS BY RANK 126
TABLE 8: RETIREMENT INTENTIONS BY ADMISSION METHOD 128
TABLE 9: RETIREMENT INTENTIONS BY ADMISSION METHOD 130
TABLE 10: APPROPRIATENESS FACTOR 135
TABLE 11: WORTH AND BELONGING FACTOR 136
TABLE 12: FLEXIBILITY FACTOR 137
TABLE 13: INFLUENCES AND RELATIONSHIPS FACTOR 138
TABLE 14: FINANCIAL FACTOR 138
TABLE 15: CRONBACH’S ALPHA RELIABILITIES FOR THE FIVE FACTORS
EXTRACTED 139

x
 CHAPTER ONE - OVERVIEW

Introduction

What is ‘retirement’? Is it a right, a privilege, a condition of employment, a

progression, a stage of life, a burden on oneself, a burden on society, a reward, or is

it different for all people dependent upon circumstances? The word ‘retire’ has

become synonymous with terms such as disuse, retreat, withdraw and shelve. These

terms imply a negativity inherent in the life stage beyond employment. At face value

the act of retirement, in a global context, is an expensive but generally necessary

exercise that is imposed as the body suffers the inescapable effects of ageing and is

no longer able to withstand the rigors of full employment in the traditional sense.

This research explored the retirement age intention triggers of sworn police officers

employed by the Queensland Police Service who were born prior to 1 July 1960.

This cohort of police officers differed from their later-born counterparts in that they

had access to voluntary retirement, on a pro rata basis, from 55 years to the now

revised 60 years of age.

The study of retirement age intentions of these officers was important for a number

of reasons. Firstly, it affected the return on training that the Queensland Police

Service had invested in them. Secondly, it had an impact on the succession planning

of many vocational positions within the Service. Finally, the findings of the study

could inform the organisation to reliably predict attrition in this age demographic.

1
There were just under 1700 members, of the total 9100 sworn police, who were able

to access voluntary retirement prior to age 60 as at September 2005 when the data

collection was undertaken. Those members all faced, and some are still facing, a

significant decision that their 7400 younger-born colleagues were not: ‘Should I stay

or should I go?’

The principal researcher for this work was an ‘insider’, a sworn police officer with

the Queensland Police Service who conducted this research in partnership with the

Queensland University of Technology. The study was conducted to answer research

questions specific to the Queensland Police Service with a view to enhancing

professional practice in human resource workforce participation rates of the subject

cohort. The study utilised applied investigation and problem solving to discover the

triggers for the high rate of voluntary retirement of police officers and proposed

solutions to address these triggers. As an ‘insider’, and not a career academic, the

research was initiated from a practitioner’s perspective. It was conducted in an

appreciation of Anderson’s (2002) warnings that ‘…the struggle for legitimacy is a

particularly difficult one for practical research’ (p.23) and that ‘insider, practitioner

research has its own unique set of epistemological, methodological, political and

ethical dilemmas.’ (p.24.) Indeed, this research required an investigation of salient

literature from diverse fields as no direct literature was available with an

understanding of Miller’s (1990) observation that the practitioner researcher is likely

to be a more critical consumer of outsider opinion.

2
The study as a Professional Doctorate

Supervision was a critical element of this research. As Green & Usher (2003) noted,

there has been an increase in institutional involvement and monitoring of doctoral

candidates. This supervision ensured the scholarly rigor of this research while the

researcher was free to capitalise on unique opportunity of information gathering that

is generally only available to an insider in a policing environment. Additionally, the

study was aided by research seminars conducted by the university. The Doctor of

Education program had been specifically structured to cater for requirements and

shortcomings of the practitioner / researcher and widely used seminars, coursework

and communities of practice in encouraging the candidate to ‘learn how to be’

(Green & Lee 1998) and provided ‘richer opportunities for this kind of intuitive

exploration’. (Salmon 1992 p. 26) Under the academic supervision of the

university, the process supervision of the Queensland Police Service, and the ethical

supervision of both organisations, this study was performed as a practice-based,

outcome-focused discovery of a very real workplace issue.

The study was and will be important to the Queensland Police Service for a number

of reasons. Firstly, the organisation was experiencing up to an 87% rate of voluntary

retirement prior to the mandatory retirement age of sixty. Of the 269 sworn members

of Queensland Police officers who retired during the period 1 January 2000 to 1

January 2004, 234 of them did so voluntarily before reaching the mandatory

retirement age of sixty years (QPS Aurion data 2004). This meant that almost nine

out of ten police officers were retiring before they had to. Secondly, there were no

previous studies on police officer retirement decisions that could be readily

3
transferred to address this issue. As shown in Chapter Two, a review of the literature

revealed that while studies had been conducted on retirement triggers in other

occupations and in the general community, no police officer specific retirement

studies could be located. Thirdly, the studies that could be located on police officer

turnover were silent on the issue of retirement triggers. Even the Queensland Police

Service’s own Separations Analysis (2003), which listed a range of reasons for police

officer resignations, grouped all retirements under one heading. Retirement reasons

were not specified and evidently not examined. This notion was continued across the

literature on police officer turnover with ‘retirement’ being viewed as an apparent

one-size-fits-all exit from employment. It was interesting that many studies that

examined preventable attrition of police officers (Drew 2003, Gaven 2004, and

Lynch & Tuckey 2004) did not include reasons for retirement with the exception of

non-age based medical retirements.

The importance of the study was reinforced by the size of the potential impact on the

Queensland Police Service with almost one third of its workforce being of an age

whereby they could access voluntary retirement (QPS Aurion data 2003). The early

retirement policies that allowed some police officers to access voluntary retirement

have been revised and restricted as the demographic construction of Australian

society has evolved. Factors such as low unemployment, improvements in health

and longevity and, most importantly, the ageing population had meant that the social

policy impetuses for early exit from employment were becoming less relevant

(Barnes 2003). Given that there was little that employers and government could do

about an ageing population, declining fertility rate, and proportion of the population

of working age, the only real aspect that could be addressed was that of workforce

4
participation, that is, the rate at which those of working age continued to be actively

engaged in employment (Auer 2000).

Finally, there was a philosophical platform upon which this research was

constructed. Much of what had been written about the pending issue of Australia’s

ageing population viewed our future in varying degrees of crisis because of it

(Edwards &Thompson 2000, Inayatullah 2000,). This research has adopted a

philosophical basis from a quote by John F Kennedy, the 35th President of the Unites

States of America in a speech given in Indianapolis, April 12, 1959: “The Chinese

use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis’. One brush stroke stands for

‘danger’: the other for ‘opportunity.’ In a crisis, be aware of the danger but recognize

the opportunity.” The present study acknowledged the dangerous elements of the

ageing population but also looked at the opportunities it might present in terms of

human resource management and distribution. It was through the discovery and

identification of retirement age triggers that this study could provide the Queensland

Police Service and individual police officers with a tangible means to consider

alternatives that may be available prior to the retirement age decision being enacted.

The purpose of the study

This study sought to investigate the triggers that influence early and late retirement

intentions. As explained later in Chapter Three, focus groups were used in this study.

During one of these focus groups it became apparent that some Queensland police

officers were using the expression “Every day is Tuesday”. These officers espouse

the view that, upon reaching 55 years, “every day is Tuesday (choose day).” Those

5
officers often express their ability to ‘choose’ to work or ‘choose’ to retire each day.

This study examined the complex range of factors and triggers that influenced that

choice.

For the sworn members of the Queensland Police Service the age of retirement was

dependant upon their year of birth and therein their ability to accept what was known

as ‘voluntary retirement’ (Queensland Police Service 2006). Members born before

the first of June 1960 could access voluntary, also known as ‘optional’, retirement at

age fifty-five years. The ability to access this option reduced by a year for every year

that one was born after that date until those born after 30 June 1964 who could no

longer access voluntary retirement and had to retire at age sixty. There were four

distinct groups within the sworn membership of the Queensland Police Service;

Members born before 1 July 1960 (voluntary retirement at age 55)

Member born after 1 July 1964
Members born between the above dates
Senior executive members
(must wait until age 60 to retire)
(could access voluntary retirement on an
increasing pro rata basis dependant
upon year of birth)
(on contract – no age requirement)

In seeking to discover and identify the triggers influencing members out of the

workforce and pulling them into early retirement in a pre-retirement context, this

study explored a new and a significant pathway in Queensland as there no prior

studies of this nature. The approach was to use the generic question of ‘Should I stay

or should I go?’ and to have members self-assess their ability and desire to remain

with the evolving organisation that is the Queensland Police Service, to determine

their retirement age intentions, and to discover the degree to which various triggers

influenced that decision. It was theorized that this approach would best prepare the

6
Service to accurately predict the attrition rates of this large and important group of its

employees and determine the necessary action, if any, to address it. The purpose of

this approach was to better position the Service to predict, interpret and respond to

the pending issue of the retirement of officers from the baby boomer generation

before it happened.

Research questions

There was a potential issue for that the Queensland Police Service in that it was not

making any attempt to prevent officers from voluntarily retirement or offering any

inducement to prolong their workforce participation rates. This study proposed to

first understand the reasons for such a high rate of voluntary retirement and then

examine if sufficient commonalities existed to propose some solutions to address it.

Central to this study was the determination of the research questions stated later in

this chapter.

The cohort subject to investigation was a unique group of employees. These police

officers were able to retire sooner than their later-born counterparts in policing and

were forced to retire earlier than their contemporaries who were employed as

anything other than police officers. This cohort had experienced a sudden and

major mid-career change in their employment conditions and expectations of career

advancement from the massive reform era that followed the Fitzgerald Inquiry into

police corruption in Queensland (1987-1989). Additionally, this cohort was about to

enter retirement as a defined group known as the ‘baby boomers’ and take with them

7
almost a quarter of the labour force of the Queensland Police Service in a single

fifteen year period.

There had been no studies on what influenced these police officers to retire and at

what age. There was no attempt to discover the reason or reasons for these officers

to retire and at what age and ‘retirement’ was seen as a one-size-fits-all reason to exit

the workforce. In the absence of any attempt to prevent this attrition, the Queensland

Police Service was experiencing an 87% rate of these officers voluntarily retiring

before the age of sixty. This situation was occurring at the same time that recruiting

new members into the Queensland Police Service was becoming harder.

This research accepted the situation of a likely continued decrease in labour supply

into the Queensland Police Service due to an ageing population. By working within

the parameters of the existing legislation restricting the upper retirement age to sixty

years but also recognising that the subject cohort could also retire voluntary at any

time from the age of fifty-five, a discovery of the reasons for retirement between

those times was sought. In order to recommend any remedies for low workforce

participation rates of this group it was first necessary to discover why police retire at

the age they do and the triggers and demographic characteristics of the individual

that influence that decision. To achieve this, a group of Queensland Police officers

born before 1 July 1960 was examined to provide answers to the following research

questions:

1. How do the demographic characteristics of individual police officers relate to

their retirement intentions?

8
 2. What are the triggers that are associated with the retirement age intention of
baby-boomer police officers in Queensland?

3. How are these triggers associated with officer’s intentions to retire earlier or
later?

The work in this thesis has been presented in the form recommended by the
Australian Government Printing Service

Overview of chapters

This research examined how the aforementioned 1700 members of the Queensland

Police Service born before 1 July 1960 viewed their place in the workforce and

sought their opinions on workforce participation as they applied it to their own

circumstances. Furthermore this research sought to articulate the common push and

pull factors that ultimately directed the decision to voluntarily retire and at what age.

From these explorations it was possible to better predict the longevity of employment

of members of this demographic group and establish the framework to better address

the retirement trends through the development of an education resource for pending

retirees.

The review of literature demonstrated that some work had already been done to

examine retirement age decision-making processes in Australia and overseas and that

other research had been conducted in the arena of police officer turnover,

predominantly in Australia. A synthesis of these areas of study enabled the

researcher to develop a data collection questionnaire, guided by small-scale focus

groups, that was completed by 641 respondents. This data was then subjected to

quantitative analysis and relevant findings were extracted.

9
The methodology of the study was to review the literature on police officer turnover

and retirement triggers of the general community and other vocational groups. These

two companion areas of research were then synthesized into a collegiate approach

specific to police officer retirement trigger investigation. From this a wide range of

possible retirement triggers was identified. The study then formed three focus

groups representing male and female police officers, from Senior Constable to

Inspector ranks, in both urban and rural working environments. These focus groups

added to the research by providing additional Queensland Police Service specific

possible retirement triggers and also assessing and valuing the possible retirement

triggers sought from the literature. The compiled list of possible retirement triggers

was then assessed by an internal Queensland Police Service Reference Group who

further contributed to the possible triggers through the addition of demographic

characteristics specific to the organization.

This list of possible retirement triggers was consolidated into two main areas of

investigation being demographic characteristics and trigger statements. The lists

were then systematically reviewed to reduce, as far as was possible, the quantum of

characteristics and triggers. This was done to shorten the proposed data collection

questionnaire with a view to maximizing the response rate.

A draft questionnaire was constructed, tested and refined and converted to an

electronic format. This questionnaire was then submitted for completion to the entire

subject cohort via an electronic means. This meant that the individual members of

the cohort received an unsolicited request to complete the questionnaire via their

personal password protected Queensland Police Service email account. The

10
completed questionnaires were electronically returned to a secure web location in

Excel format and then converted to SPSS format for analysis.

The returned data was then subjected to statistic analysis via univariate analysis (Chi-

square tests for the demographic characteristics and T-tests for retirement triggers).

A large number of retirement triggers (45 of a possible 57) were found to be

statistically significant so a factor analysis was performed. This factor analysis

revealed five dominantly independent factors and a Cronbach’s alpha test for

reliability indicated that four of these factors were statistically reliable indicators of

retirement intentions. One factor ‘appropriateness’ was found to indicate a

preference for earlier retirement, whilst the factors ‘worth and belonging’,

‘influences and relationships’ and ‘finance’ all indicated a preference for later

retirement. The ‘financial’ factor did not contribute to the retirement decision. A

regression analysis was then conducted which indicated that the method of entry to

the organization as a Cadet indicated a preference for earlier retirement and entry as

a Recruit showed a preference for later retirement and that female police officers

were twice as likely to seek early retirement.

Based on its findings, the study provided recommendations to the Queensland Police

Service about ways to positively address preventable attrition of officers able to

retire at age fifty-five. This study contributed to the literature in the area of police

turnover and retirement intentions generally, and to police officer retirement age

intentions specifically. Ultimately, the information revealed in this thesis could be

used to construct an educational program for the Queensland Police Service entitled,

‘Beyond fifty-five: Options to optional retirement’.

11
CHAPTER TWO – A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Introduction

This chapter presents and discusses literature that was relevant to this study. It

details the lack of specific literature on police retirement age intentions and then

focuses on the available literature on retirement intentions generally and police

officer turnover specifically. This chapter outlines what the literature revealed about

the concept of retirement, provides a brief overview of the major studies that were

examined, and then dissects and compares these studies and discusses their

applicability to retirement triggers of Queensland Police Officers. The literature

review was conducted with an appreciation that the researcher must first understand

and then explore in line with Boote & Beile’s (2005) belief that practitioners must be

scholars before researchers.

There was a gap in the literature on the studies associated with the retirement age

triggers influencing police officers. The available literature surrounding this issue

fell into two broad categories, retirement age decision-making generally and the

factors influencing employment ‘turnover’ in police organisations. However across

the quantum of previous research two key themes were evident. These were

retirement triggers and decision making, and the demographic differences

(particularly gender) of individuals influencing retirement age. As discussed in

Chapter One, the Queensland Police Service did not attempt to influence the

retirement decision or seek to clarify reasons for retirement. The literature revealed

12
that the retirement decision was a complex and multi-faceted one and influenced by a

range of often consistent factors.

The concept of retirement

At face value the concept of retirement from employment is fairly simple. At a

certain age you become able to retire and you stop working. It could be argued,

therefore, that the act of retirement was a progression to another stage of life where

one was no longer required to work. Tyman (1996) argued that the distinctions

between retirement ability and eligibility became blurred as economic prosperity

increased. As discussed in Chapter One, the Queensland Police Service example

focused on the individuals ‘eligibility’ to retire through legislation rather than their

‘ability’ to remain in formal employment for as long as possible.

The last four hundred years of western civilization have witnessed a fairly stable

interpretation of the concept that we now accept as retirement.

Although the word ‘retire’ was first used in the 1600s, it

connoted withdrawal from office or an official position to a
country seat, that is, the exclusive preserve of an aristocratic
elite who could well afford to withdraw. For the majority of
workers, retirement (in the sense of word used today),
occurred at invalidity, the provisions of the English Poor Law
acting as a defacto pension system. Thus, in the 18th and 19th
centuries, 70 came to be regarded as the pensionable age
because most people were considered incapable of working
beyond it. In short, there existed a disability model of
retirement. (Tyman 1996 p.1)

The concept of retirement has evolved through the industrial and technological

revolutions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Industrial relations reform,

13
legislative change, workplace agreements, superannuation and commercial

retirement funds had led to a redefining of retirement. Retirement was generally

associated with age and was formally controlled through legislation (Whipple 2001).

In the context of retirement the term ‘age’ referred to an individual’s chronological

age, that is, the sheer number of years that one had been alive, as opposed to an

individual’s functional age, that is, the ability of the body and mind to perform a role

regardless of years. Retirement and age were therefore closely, but not inextricably,

linked. It would have been fair to consider retirement as a shift from work to non-

work at the attainment of a particular age but that definition failed to capture various

modes of retirement that individuals ultimately pursued.

The notion of ‘retirement’ itself can be difficult to capture. Rones (in Kosterlitz

1986) observed that no-one could really define who is retired and who isn’t. What

might be considered as retirement to one may be viewed as a shift in priorities for

another.

As a concept, complete retirement could be defined in five ways.

1. Self-reported retirement (Anderson & Burkhauser 1985);

2. Complete labour force withdrawal (Hanock & Honig 1983);
3. Receipt of a pension or social security income (Boaz 1987);
4. Working less than a given number of hours (usually 1800) per annum
(Holden 1992); and,
5. A combination of the above (Haug, Belgarve & Jones 1992).

Partial retirement could also be considered as two distinct concepts.

1. A decline in earnings (Gustman & Steinmeiner 1986)

2. Searching for new employment after quitting a career (Hanoch & Honig
1983)

14
For the purposes of this work, retirement was considered to be the complete exit

from the organisation (the Queensland Police Service) upon attainment of a

prescribed age and its associated access to superannuation. Superannuation was the

means by which almost all members of the Queensland Police Service were able to

finance their move to non-work and was a compulsory component of their

employment remuneration. (The history of retirement of Queensland Police officers

and its interactive links with the ever-evolving issue of superannuation policy are

very complex and are explained in Appendix A.)

The historical progression of a withdrawal of labour leading to retirement has been

the subject of some debate in the western world. Costa (1998) described the moves

towards social security and therefore ‘retirement’ of older citizens through the

payment of pensions to soldiers from the American Civil War. The very idea of

being paid to not work, albeit as a reward for military service, was a significant

deviation from the status quo of the time. The numbers of people benefiting from

this scheme were not insignificant with some 35% of Caucasian males aged 55 to 59

receiving the pensions as at the year 1900 (Costa 1998). Graebner (1980) in

examining military, government and private pension schemes in the late nineteenth

century, linked increases in the number of retirees to the economic crisis and youth

job creation ethos of the depression era. Riley (1989) linked increases in the number

of retirees to the declining health and reduced working capacity of older people.

Moen (1987) described the late nineteenth century withdrawal from the labour

market by older workers, by reporting a relatively stable rate of workforce

participation until the depression of the late 1920s. Costa (1998) reported the

increasing rates of retirement transition of workers older than 64 years during the

15
century 1880-1980 as 78% working in 1880, 65% in 1900, 58% in 1930, and under

20% in 1990. This literature showed that there was a significant difference of

opinion for the historical reasons for retirement. A theme was evident, however, in

that the intention to retire was reported as a combination of the necessity and the

ability of the individual to retire and the acceptability of the community to permit the

retirement.

Costa (1998) considered the trend towards earlier retirement as a social phenomenon.

She argued that America, and more importantly Americans, where beginning to use

retirement as a means to indulge their pursuit of economic, cultural and social

opportunities. She considered that until at least 1940 increasing economic prosperity

was the main reason for retirement. In essence, once economic security had been

achieved, an honorable transition to a life of leisure in the form of retirement was an

attractive option to a lifetime of toil. Costa supported this theory with the assertion

that health and longevity had been steadily increasing since the late nineteen

hundreds and that this contradicted the traditional view of retirement as a move to

non-labour due to age or increased incapacity. Costa argued that even though

Americans were able to work for longer they were retiring earlier simply because

they could economically afford to. Costa observed a nexus between economic

prosperity and retirement age. It was pertinent to note that Costa was an economist

and had viewed the recent history of retirement and its trends through an economic

lens. She considered that individuals, in the American experience, retired when they

could afford it and because they wanted to. She further considered that Americans

would be more likely to reduce their consumption than delay their transition to

16
retirement and that the financial, rather than social, aspect of retirement was

deserving of greater study.

Conversely, Macnicol (1998) viewed the increase in retirement, during a similar

period in Britain, as being a political phenomenon. She argued that the moves

towards institutionalised retirement were being driven by political leadership and

dependency on the state as a provider. Macnicol regarded retirement trends as

coinciding with the major political changes of the era including the reduction of child

labour, the entry and re-entry of women into the workforce and the major issue of

increases of capitalism and democracy. In short, she saw changes in retirement

trends occurring as a result of political responsibility and social concern for the

‘human agency’ (p.17). There was little doubt of the power of politics and the

application of public policy in its ability to impact on the human element.

The literature provided a clear demonstration that retirement, as a construct, was

complex and evolving. Retirement was subject to a range of influences for both the

individual and the communities were it was occurring. The central theme was shown

to be the increasing eligibility for individuals to retire early balanced against the

social acceptability and financial ability to accommodate this practice. This trend

had been growing in line with the political and financial reforms of the (mainly)

twentieth century. As detailed in Chapter One, however, the demographic conditions

that warranted early exits from employment were under increasing pressure from the

aging population phenomenon. The literature reinforced that the one-size-fits-all

categorisation of retirement as an employment exit reason was an incomplete

interpretation and potentially no longer valid.

17
Background to the problem: The paradigmatic change of labour supply and

workforce participation

There is an emerging issue that had the capacity to cause significant concern for

police services in Australia. There has been a decline in the rate of labour supply in

Australia since 1986 (ABS 2000 p.3). This has an impact on recruiting for many

organisations and ultimately affects the quantum of potential recruits into policing

organisations. This placed pressure on the existing policies for recruitment and

retention of workers with the Queensland Police Service as the organisation

attempted to grow as a result of a governmental commitment to maintain sworn

strengths above the national average police-to-population ratio. This issue required a

detailed examination to develop reliable predictions of future labour force

participation rates amongst members entitled to access voluntary retirement. It was

important to gain an appreciation of the current and projected status of labour supply

and interpret how it would affect the employment base of policing agencies in an

ever-competitive labour market.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) monitors international labour trends

and makes predictions about the probable results of the developed world’s

demographic changes. Through the ILO, Auer (2000) argues that a decline in fertility

rates and an increase in life expectancy in a growing number of developed countries

will witness the world’s population age much faster in the coming decades than in

the previous ones. The ILO recognised that the decline in the number of workforce-

active older people pressured the sustainability of existing policies. ‘From a pure cost

18
view it is certainly timely that the trend towards early exit is reversed. However, this

is easier claimed than done’ (Auer 2000 p.3).

This declining in the supply of young workforce entrants had the effect of adding

time to the working life of the older members of the labour market. Auer (2000)

predicted that:

This requirement to remain active for longer periods than

before, is casting doubt on the viability of the hitherto
pursued early retirement policies. Instead of a labour
supply reduction by early retirement, labour supply
increases by a prolongation of working life are now on the
political agenda. The ageing trend will also have to be
accompanied by a change of attitude towards the older
workforce and proactive policies for boosting training,
productivity, and decency of work for the older workforce.
(p.2)

Auer (2000) indicated that the practice of reducing labour supply at the exit side of

the labour market through early retirement (paralleled at the entry side by an

extension of education) had already been moderated in a number of countries. For

instance Australia, through the manipulation of superannuation rules, had effectively

lifted the retirement age for workers, including police officers, through funds access

from fifty-five to sixty years, delaying the effective retirement age for workers born

after 1965 by five years. The political manipulation of effective retirement ages is

very real (Walsh 2001).

Action, through the medium of policy changes, had been taken in many countries to

react to the problems associated with an ageing labour force. Besides policies of

increasing retirement age and/or decreasing retirement benefits there were many

19
incentives and disincentives for companies and organisations to retain or dismiss

older workers. There appeared to be growing, albeit reluctant, social and political

acceptance of the notion that older workers could still be productive through the

notion of ‘active ageing’ (Auer 2000). The requirement for policy changes and

sociological moves towards such ideals as active ageing were responsive to the

changing demographic composition of society, and therein, individual workforces.

Successive Australian governments had previously displayed a capacity to enact

radical policies to condition labour markets. Key policies include the White

Australia Policy (Immigration Restriction Act 1901), Naturalisation Act (1903), post-

war trade labour migration, and the ‘Bring Out a Briton’ campaigns. Whilst

essentially racially exclusive, such policies had sought to ensure ‘favourable’ labour

supply in the growing island continent (Walsh 2001). On the 25th of February 2004,

the Federal Treasurer unveiled significant policy affecting access to superannuation

funds that had the flow-on effect of further increasing the effective retirement age of

employees.

In essence, the Federal government’s legislative intervention was able to implement

policies of incentives and disincentives to effectively extend the age at which

individuals access their superannuation, thereby effectively increasing workforce

participation rates amongst older Australians. This was not the case for police

officers in Queensland, however, as the Police Service Administration Act 1990

Section 8.2 (c) placed a compulsory retirement age on officers at age sixty.

20
The global phenomenon of an ageing population

The ageing of the population is a global phenomenon (Walsh 2001). With the

ongoing decline in fertility and increases in life expectancy, the population of the

world has continued to age at an accelerated rate. Fertility decline is the primary

reason for population ageing. In practically all developed countries fertility is

significantly below the level necessary for the replacement of generations. (United

Nations 1998) In 1950, there were about 200 million persons aged sixty years and

over in the world, constituting 8.1 percent of the worlds population. By 2050, the

United Nations has predicted that there will be a nine-fold increase and the world’s

elderly population is projected to be 1.8 billion people, which will comprise

approximately 20 percent of the world’s population. This is even more apparent in

developed nations, such as Australia, where the percentage is expected to increase to

33 percent, or one in three (United Nations 1998). This will be even more prominent

in Ireland and Spain where there will be a ratio of just 1.5 workers to every retiree by

2020 (United Nations 1996) and in Australia with the ageing of the, particularly

female, population (Kirkwood et al. 1999).

Economic prosperity and economic sustainability are separate issues. In its most

basic form, simply because a large portion of the population could exist in the short

term without the need to work, it does not naturally follow that this was a sustainable

economic or social practice.

In most OECD countries, labour force participation rates of

older workers have declined markedly with the decline being
more marked in Europe and in the United States than in
Japan. Labour force participation rates of older people vary

21
 according to gender, education and the state of economic
development of the country. The decline in rates of older
workers is associated with the trend towards earlier
retirement, influenced by increasing national per capita
income. Longer education, shorter working lives and longer
retirement periods are all consequences of increased wealth.
In addition it was found that urbanisation increases this trend.
The decline in participation rates has been particularly
marked among older men. (Auer 2000 p.7)

To set the parameters for this research, it was first necessary to review and qualify

the anecdotal concept of an ageing population and its association with labour supply,

conduct a review of labour supply and control, and then study the nature of police

recruiting and the ultimate issue of workforce participation, that is, the rate at which

those of working age remain actively involved in the workforce.

The three factors of labour supply and control

Labour supply in Australia has been subject to three main factors. First, there is the

population growth due to fertility and immigration. Second, there is the proportion

of the population who were of working age (18-55/60 years for emergency services

workers), and finally, there is the participation rate of these people in the labour

market. It was the latter of these factors that became the focus of this research.

Natural population growth or decline is impacted upon by many factors and is

essentially beyond the scope of reliable control. It is the identification, recruitment

and retainment of reliable employees in police services that could be most readily

controlled.

In the mid 1990s the growth of labour supply in Australia suddenly stopped.

Edwards and Thompson (2000) attributed this to a number of factors including a

22
natural increase in population decline and a slowing in the immigration of working

aged adults. They claimed that this had led to retarded growth in the working age

population and, coupled with a trend for young adults to remain in education longer,

the proportion of married women re-entering the workforce peaking, and older males

continuing to drop out of the labour market, had resulted in a reduction in

participation in the labour force.

Edwards and Thompson (2000) observed a rapid decline in the Australian fertility

rate since the 1950s and predicted a negative natural population growth in the new

century. The Australian population growth peaked during the 1950s at 2.3% and had

declined to 2% in the 1960s, was static at 1.5% in the 70s and 1980s, dropped further

to 1.1% in the 1990s and was predicted fall to .7% by 2011, well below the expected

replacement rate of 2.1% (ABS 199). The Commonwealth Treasury (1999)

predicted that net overseas migration would remain relatively constant at 75,000 per

annum. It was unknown the extent to which these migrants will be suited to, or will

attempt to be employed in, the police and emergency services. However, direct

police immigrant entry to Australia, that is, overseas police officers migrating to

Queensland for the express purpose of continuing their police careers appeared to

gaining momentum as police agencies attempt to maintain recruiting targets by

supplementing their domestic supply (Report on Government Services 2002/03).

The ABS predicted that the growth in working age population would fall from an

annual average of 1.25% in the 1990’s to around 0.09% in the decade to 2011. The

Commonwealth Treasury of Australia (2000) had predicted that this trend would be

mirrored by all of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

23
(OECD) countries from the downward pressure on the growth rate of the labour force

caused by declining fertility and an ageing population. This had the capacity to

seriously affect the participation rate of these employees.

There was a marked decrease in the workforce participation rates amongst older

workers. In assessing likely movements of workforce participation within age

groups over the next decade, an important consideration is how they will be affected

by the move of the ‘baby boom’ generation into the ‘early retirement’ cohorts (CTA

1999). This was underscored by the OECD’s (1999) observation that the economic

effects of population ageing would be greatly diminished if it were possible to

increase labour force participation rates amongst persons 55 and over to the levels

recorded in the 1960s (OECD 1999).

The Federal Minister for Aged Care, Bronwyn Bishop, in a speech to the House of

Representatives in 2000 predicted that the ageing population could add about twelve

billion dollars (Aus.) to public sector costs over the next thirty years with a

corresponding drop in taxable revenue due to fewer workers receiving a taxable

income. Bishop quoted an Access Economics report that also predicted a rise of 5.4

billion dollars in aged pensions that would have to be added to a net loss of five

billion dollars in income tax. She indicated that the average income of Australian

workers would drop considerably if the trend towards reduced workforce

participation for the 55 to 70 year old bracket were allowed to continue.

The ABS (1997) found that ‘most males (over 60%), who retire before pension age

of 65, did so involuntarily. Further, they reported that there had been ‘recent moves

24
aimed at removing incentives for early retirement’ to counteract the baby boomers

who placed ‘greater value on leisure in retirement than previous generations.’ (ABS

1997 p. 116) The ABS (1997) projected that the Australian population would grow

by 16% to 2016, with 94% of this growth in people aged 45 years and over. As

Inayatullah (2000 p.1) observed, ‘we cannot plan the future based solely on the past,

as the future will not be like the past.’ The ABS (2000) essentially confirmed this

with their research finding that (46%) forty-six percent of workers who retired under

the age of (55) fifty-five in the year 2000 intended to work part-time. The ABS

research went on to indicate that the ‘partially retired’ portion of the workforce

increased with age up to 65 years indicating that some workers are easing themselves

out of employment prior to retiring completely. This became particularly relevant

when dealing with an organisation such as the QPS that had only seventy sworn

officers over the age of fifty-five and only one sworn officer over the age of sixty

years in 2000. The Queensland Police Service would, undoubtedly, need to

reconsider its current human resource practices in light of the changes to the human

resource environment.

As the Manager of Recruiting for the Queensland Police Service, Inspector Julie

Ryan, in an unpublished interview on 18 August 2001, acknowledged the enormous

potential resource that female police applicants and previously qualified officers

present. Ryan stated that the theoretical target for the QPS’s gender and ethnicity

makeup was to mirror, as closely as possible, the makeup of the general community

but acknowledged that this had proven to be very difficult to achieve. ‘Perhaps we

should be looking more at retaining productive members than trying to constantly

replace them.’ (Ryan 2001)

25
There was a long-held anecdotal view that policing offers a lifestyle that was not

attainable in any other vocation:

Perhaps the term retirement is a misnomer for police work. Police

Officers leave the job, but they can never retire. Somehow, the
strong attachment gained during years of policing has made them
a captive. This can be a good feeling, but can also cause distress
upon separation. Police retirement might be better called
separation from one lifestyle to another. Old soldiers and old
police officers do not fade away; they leave the service for a new
kind of life. (Violanti 1992 p. 152)

However, it was arguable whether this lifestyle was positive or negative, just as there

was an argument about whether policing was a vocation, career or profession. The

sheer variety of roles encompassed in policing was so broad so as to make

generalisations almost impossible. What was constant however, as was the case with

other government agencies who operate in a tight fiscal environment, was that police

organisations simply did not have the ability to ‘buy their way out’ of human

resources trouble.

Police managers would be advised to capitalise on the incentives that might exist for

officers to remain with their parent organisation and not seek a higher paying

position in private enterprise or access voluntary retirement. For instance, police

prosecutors who have studied and been subsequently admitted as barristers could

easily secure higher paying employment within the wider justice sector. Since a

significant proportion of a police officer’s salary comprised penalty rate allowances

and overtime for operational officers (21%-35%+), the base rate of pay for specialist

officers, who did not typically receive such an allowance, was comparatively low. It

was precisely these officers who were most often seeking or had secured significant

26
tertiary qualifications and were most likely to be tempted to seek better paying

employment outside the QPS.

Consequently it was necessary for this research to attempt to identify if ‘lifestyle’ or

other benefits to employees such as flexi-time or work-from-home capabilities,

perhaps coupled with a job-for-life mentality might entice these lower paid officers

to stay with the organisation. If a worker had paid their major debts such as their

mortgage, vehicles, and education, their children were now financially self-sufficient

and their retirement income was assured, the requirement to source significant

income may well no longer be necessary. Given this scenario, it follows that the

incentive of high salary alone could be potentially subsumed by other benefits of

employment such as a sense of self worth and belonging and greater control of their

activities.

The Australian labour market is affected by the age of the workforce. This, in turn,

impacts upon the rate of labour supply and workforce participation. This is

magnified by the relatively exclusive nature of police recruiting that was considered

necessary to identify a specific type of applicant for entry to the QPS. Such an

applicant must have had an unblemished criminal history, be physically and mentally

well, have a propensity to undertake further education, achieve specific physical

requirements and satisfy a specific psychometric profile. Potential applicants must

also have held an open drivers licence, displayed exemplary character, be an

Australian citizen and reside in Australia, held a keyboard skills certificate, a Senior

First Aid Certificate, a Surf Lifesaving Bronze Medallion, and completed a minimum

of 200 hours of tertiary study before they were eligible to apply for general entry

27
(Q.P.S. 2006). It could be argued that such a prohibitive selection criteria served to

restrict access to the same labour market as an organisation with more flexible entry

standards. This must be considered when assessing the overall status of labour

supply for an organisation and must be addressed during any attempt to align

recruiting targets with labour supply.

There were two significant reasons why this was important in relation to the

emerging trends as identified. It costs money to recruit applicants. The New York

Police Department experienced a halving of recruit applications in the last decade

and spent a reported $10 million dollars (U.S.) to attract just 1500 recruits (Kelly

2000). The Queensland Police Service was forced to increase its annual spending to

over (Au)$1000,000 in advertising alone to meet its recruiting commitments. The

QPS had become entrepreneurial in respect to its recruiting strategy with advertising

campaigns such as ‘No jacket required’ that sought to recruit qualified police officers

from interstate and overseas by promoting the relaxed lifestyle and good weather of

Queensland. The QPS had also instituted a ‘bridging’ program, the Police Abridged

Competency Education (PACE) Program, to attract qualified interstate and overseas

police with offers of guaranteed promotion, greater than normal pay rates, and

shortened training requirements (QPS 2006).

The second reason is that labour supply is limited. Any decrease in general labour

supply will tend to be reflected in smaller applicant pools for policing. Fewer

applicants causes increased competition for labour supply through the natural forces

of supply and demand. If this situation were to continue it would ultimately result in

the Queensland Police Service needing to either lower its entry standards or compete

28
more vigorously against the private sector and other government departments for

applicants.

Increased demand for available potential police officers

The QPS has been in competition with other agencies in attempting to meet their

recruiting outcomes and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. It is one thing

for governments to promise massive increases in recruiting for its police and military

services but another thing entirely to convert this commitment into actual officers.

All jurisdictions in Australian, as well as the defence forces, are engaged in similar

campaigns to boost their employee numbers. The Queensland government has

committed to increasing sworn strengths to above the national average for the police-

to-population ratio. Given population growth, it is clear that the Queensland Police

Service would not reduce its numbers and constant political pressure appeared to

ensure that this upward trend would continue. It remains unclear, however, as to

how the future rates of workforce participation and worker attrition might affect this.

What was clear was that a ‘high rate of termination prior to retirement age can have

negative implications as diverse as wasting training investments, creating an excess

of vacancies, and …a low level of experience amongst remaining officers’ (Jackson

2000). Despite all predictions on labour supply and particularly workforce

participation, ‘it is clear that very large changes in current work preferences would

be required to have any significant impact on the projected slow down in labour

force growth over the coming decade and beyond’ (CTA 2000 p.7).

29
This research accepted the situation of a decreased labour supply due to an ageing

workforce. It anticipated increased pressure on recruiting and sought to identify why

officers were leaving their careers earlier than legally required and how this affected

of the rate of workforce participation in the Queensland Police Service.

Prior to analysing the needs and wants of organisations and their ageing workers it

was necessary to clearly establish the capacities of those workers in terms of their

ability to competently continue to work to an older age. In identifying what the

barriers to employing older persons are it was necessary to examine if the passage of

time alone made a police officer unemployable. The simple answer to this, from a

purely legislative perspective, was ‘yes’.

Ageing, the law, and reality

Age retirement for police officers in Queensland is subject to two key pieces of

legislation. Firstly it is legislated in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 which details

sixteen attributes under which it is unlawful to allow or cause the less favourable

treatment of a person in terms of their, amongst other things, employment. One of

these attributes was ‘age’ (Section 106A). This provision however conflicts with

another piece of Queensland legislation, the Police Service Administration Act 1990.

It states in Section 8.2 ‘Retirement’:

8.2 Retirement
An officer, other than one who holds a position on a
contract basis--
(a) may retire from employment in the service upon, or at
any time after, attaining the age prescribed by the
regulations in relation to officers of the class to which that
officer belongs;

30
 (b) may retire from employment in the service when called
upon under section 8.3 to retire from the service; 1
(c) is to retire from employment in the service upon
attaining the age of 60 years.

The issue in subsection (c) is clear. An officer must retire from employment upon

reaching sixty years of age. This directly conflicts with the purpose of the Anti-

discrimination Act 1991 and this contradiction raises a number of questions. What

were the legislators worried about? How can an organisation decide the age at which

a person becomes unemployable? Why choose the age of sixty as a limit? Could an

organisation afford to be this preclusive? These questions are central to the ability of

an organization to decide the age at which a person become unemployable.

The Queensland Police Service, along with its Australian counterparts, has always

advertised its commitment to employing workers under the spirit of Equal

Employment Opportunity and Anti-discrimination legislation. The rhetoric of

recruiting advertisements and promotional selection criteria always included

provision for ‘modern human resource management principles’, but the Queensland

Police Service continues to enforce its absolute age limit. This section will examine

how police services generally view age as a barrier to new and continued

employment and how the Queensland government considers a police officer, at sixty

years of age, to be too old to be a productive employee (unless on contract).

The Queensland Police Service as a statutory body is subject to legislation governing

retirement and retirement ages of its employees. To this end, one must review the

legislation and, specifically, any changes to it over time. It is prudent to also review

1
Police Service Administration Act 1990 Section 8.3 ‘Unfitness for Duty on Medical Grounds’

31
any challenges to this legislation, and its related policy, by individuals seeking to

have their mandatory obligations under law amended to suit their personal situations.

Such a review must be accompanied by a detailed examination of the impacts of

related legislation such as the State, Federal and international laws governing age

discrimination. The evolution of this legislation is inextricably linked to the

organizational and social history of the Queensland Police Service and is highly

relevant to present study. The history of police officer pensions and superannuation,

as the most obvious means to financially permit retirement, was regarded as a

companion issue. While not directly affecting the processes of this thesis, it would

be beneficial to consider this history in light of the findings. (A brief précis of the

history of police pensions and superannuation is included as Appendix B.)

The only logical reason to limit employment to a certain age is the human body’s

inability to perform at a high level due to the ageing process. Ageing is a lifelong

process that begins at birth and results in death (Crandall 1980). Ageing is initially

responsible for growth and allowing an individual to function at a productive rate

typically from mid-teens for approximately five decades. Beyond this human beings

tend to begin to display and suffer from the significant negative effects of the ageing

process (Brown 1988).

It would appear that legislators had attempted to define ‘age’ as a strictly

chronological event. From this a police officer was considered to be aged and no

longer viable as an employee beyond the age of sixty years. Perhaps this is overly

simplistic as people age at different rates and may well be productive beyond this age

whilst others may well have ceased productivity before this time. Crandall (1980),

32
for instance, made the distinction between biological age, psychological age and

social age. Crandall considered a person’s physiological status and position in time

relevant to their potential lifespan and determined a biological age as opposed to the

mere passing of years. He instructed that a person may not necessarily be equally

old in all three-age aspects at any one time. Certainly this was supported by Section

8.3 of the Police Service Administration Act 1990, which permitted a person to retire

from the Police Service prior to the stated age of fifty-five or sixty on the grounds of

medical incapacity to perform policing duties. What this Act did not allow for was

those individuals who are biologically ‘young’ at age sixty to continue their

employment.

In strictly physical terms the ageing human body becomes less able to perform tasks

and takes longer to recover from them. (Brown 1988) The implications for police

officers in an operational context are significant. Notwithstanding any potential

social unacceptability of aged police officers, individuals would tend to have a

decreased capacity to perform an operational policing role as their age progresses

past sixty years. It is likely that injuries would become more frequent, take longer to

heal (if at all) and there would be a significant reduction in the physical strength and

agility that was expected upon recruitment as an officer.

The effects of ageing are more pronounced in some individuals (Brown 1988).

Anecdotally, these effects could also be accelerated by the lifestyle which was often

inherent in policing including poor diet through a reliance on convenience food, high

alcohol consumption, the pressures of constant conflict in one form or another, and

rotational shift work. Gardner (1999 p.1) declares that ‘Studies have shown that older

workers do not tolerate shift work as well as younger workers. There are many

33
reasons for this including difficulty in sleeping, adjusting to altered day-night cycles,

gastro-intestinal upsets and circadian dysrhythmia affecting conditions such as

diabetes mellitus and hypertension etc’.

What was clear was that many more officers (87%) in Queensland had sought early

retirement rather than extending their operational working life to as late as possible

(QPS Aurion data 2003). Still, given that 44% of all discouraged job seekers in 1998

in Australia were aged 55 and over (Carson 1999) why did the Queensland Police

Service mandate that age alone was an absolute reason for retirement? Given that

there were roles within a policing organisation that did not require a high level of

physical ability, perhaps the legislative and managerial practices of the Queensland

Police Service are incongruent with the reality of the capabilities of its workers.

Sociological issues relating to older workers

There has been an apparent attitude by employers that older workers were less

attractive to recruit and retain than their younger counterparts. Carson (1999) cited a

Drake Management Survey of 500 executives which found that applicants over 50

years were the last to be hired and the first to be dismissed. This survey also found

that 60% of organisations sought people aged in their thirties for senior positions,

compared with just 20% who sought people aged in their forties. No organisation

would choose to employ senior managers in their fifties and 65% of companies said

that this age group would be the first to be retrenched. This was diametrically

different to the situation of the Queensland Police Service where the generic

executive was in the 50-60 year age group. This was due mainly to a history of

34
promoting officers on the basis of length of service that transitioned to a merit based

system (with a strong linkage to length of service) in the 1990’s. This was

perpetuated by a selection process that emphasised ‘demonstrated ability’ over

potential ability and an organisational attitude where credibility is closely tied to

length of service.

Employers anecdotally tended to disfavour older workers possibly through an

attitude that they were more difficult to train, less adaptable, less productive, had

more accidents and would take more time off due to illness. This however is not

necessarily the case. By way of example the American Association of Retired

Persons survey employers’ attitudes towards older workers. The surveys routinely

found that employer’s responded positively to older workers in the following areas

and indicated that the aforementioned attitudes towards older workers were

unfounded. Employers recorded their experience of older workers as either excellent

or very good in the following areas:

o Attendance and punctuality – 86%

o Commitment to quality - 82%
o Loyalty to employer - 79%
o Practical knowledge - 79%
o Solid experience - 74%
o Reliable performance - 71%

Gardner (1999) considered that older workers can indeed be very cost-effective to an

employer because they display many of the following attributes:

o Accumulated skills
o Lower training costs
o Higher retention levels
o Good work ethic
o Excellent customer service
o Low levels of ‘carer’ leave

35
 o Low likelihood of workers compensation claims
o Significantly reduced absenteeism due to marital upsets, sports
injuries and motor vehicle accidents, and
o Lower rates of alcohol and drug misuse.

Therefore, while it was certainly apparent through the literature and in anecdotal

evidence that prejudice did exist towards older employees, there was a strong body

of evidence based in factual studies that challenged this suspicion.

While there is a difference of opinion about the chronological and functional ages of

individuals, and to a point this needs to be self-assessed, it is clear that this issue

affects workforce participation rates. In any event there exists an opportunity, under

legislation, for the members of the organisation born before 1 July 1964 to address

their workforce participation rates. These members are able to retire on full benefits

at an earlier time than their younger counterparts.

In conclusion, Lowman Pauling wrote a song in 1952 entitled ‘You don’t miss your

water until your well runs dry’. It appears likely that the Queensland Police Service

is in a similar position in terms of their human resource pool. The labour market is

tightening as the population ages and the baby boomer generation begins to enter

retirement as a block. There is no movement in the legislation that covers the

employment of these baby boomer police officers and these officers must retire at

age sixty.

To extend the water analogy, there is a significant leak in the well. At the very time

when potential employees are becoming scarcer, nothing is being done to stop

potentially valuable police officers from simply retiring from age fifty-five for no

36
greater reason than they are at an age where they are now eligible to retire. It is

likely that many more of these offers would be able to extend their employment

beyond the age at which up to 87% of them were voluntarily retiring.

The major studies

This section provides an overview of the major studies that will be discussed later in

this chapter. It outlines the studies’ subject cohorts, processes and findings. The

studies are then discussed in relation to their specific applicability to the present

research.

Hong and Xu Yu (1995)

The drivers behind retirement decisions for women and men were specifically

examined by Hong & Xu Yu (1995). Hong & Xu Yu examined the contributing

factors to retirement decision-making of American men and women (aged 55 years

and over) using the data from the American 1992 Health and Retirement Survey,

through the Survey Research Centre, University of Michigan.

The study examined the retirement decision of 2072 men and 1545 women aged 55

and over to see if gender played a role in the factors of retirement timing. Hong &

Xu Yu’s review of the salient literature uncovered a gap in the study of women’s

retirement intentions and their study was designed to address that. The study

considered the factors to determine their levels of contribution to the retirement age

37
decision-making process. These factors included marital status, gender, age,

earnings and wealth and work satisfaction.

Hong & Xu Yu developed a model to examine the major factors affecting a worker’s

retirement decisions under the umbrella of work, economic, health and family

responsibilities. The study found that men and women placed similar levels of

significance, in terms of retirement timing, on disability status, pension coverage,

working environment and age. The most significant finding of that research was that

women’s retirement decision-making was not nearly as wage-sensitive as for men.

The research concluded that women were more likely to value non-economic factors

in their decision such as children, spouse and other family members. Health was

another area where men and women differed and this was attributed to the nature of

health issues by gender. The study found that men tended to higher cases of sever

illness that forced them out of work while women tended to experience a higher rate

of chronic illness which was less likely to affect their working ability. Finally, it was

found that women were more sensitive to their employment experiences, particularly

the number of times that they have been laid off, in that they tended to have less

certainty in their ability to regain employment than men and therefore, tended to

want to maintain their current employment for longer.

Myers (1992)

The prospective and retrospective retirement perceptions of university professors and

their spouses were studied by Myers (1992) through the Graduate School of the

Syracuse University. The approach was to identify eight marital couples where at

38
least one spouse was a professional academic. Each couple was then interviewed

five years pre-retirement and then four years post-retirement. This

attitudinal/behavioural approach sought to identify themes and commonalities to

examine the quality of retirement transition achieved by academic couples.

Myers’ view was very much humanist in nature and focused on the impact that a

retirement event can have on the individual and the couple. Myers found that

personal continuity in the retirement transition was achieved by an inner-directed

process of expecting, planning, accepting and engaging. In addition, she found that

this process was bolstered by the themes of responsibility, respect and caring for

others, mental activity and persistence. Further, she found that individuals managed

change and disruption through natural therapeutic strategies of emotional venting,

rational assessment, decision making, acceptance of the unchangeable, and engaging

resources. Finally, Myers concluded that mutual supports between retiree and

spouse, family, friends and institutions benefited all parties and smoothed the

passage to satisfying post-retirement living.

Whipple (2001)

Whipple (2001) researched the early retirement decisions of baby boomer scientists

and engineers in America. Whipple used a sample of 535 scientists and engineers

born between 1946 and 1964 from the private, government and educational sectors.

Through a set of 69 Likert scale questions, Whipple looked at affective and

normative needs to retire through eight retirement decision antecedents. Importantly,

39
these included relationships with management and co-workers, work schedule

flexibility, education, salary, and family expectations.

The study was guided by the theories of individual decision-making, organisational

commitment, and role continuity and revealed both the retirement plans of this group

and the motivations behind those plans. Ultimately the study found significant

associations between the planned retirement age of individuals and a range of factors

including inducements to participate in the career work environment, acceptance in

the workplace, value of employment roles, costs of continued employment; and an

obligation to stay with the current employer.

Whipple advised that a shortcoming of his (2001) approach was a failure to record

the work histories of participants. He asserted that the inclusion of questioning

regarding previous jobs, career changes and retirement histories of individuals would

have provided for a more comprehensive study. Whipple noted that his research

would have benefited from a longitudinal rather than cross-sectional study whereby

the pre-retirement intentions of individuals could be checked against their actions in

retirement.

Kolodinsky, Avery & Pelch (1995)

As discussed earlier, the term ‘retirement’ can mean different things to different

people. Kolodinsky, Avery & Pelch (1995) considered this when they researched the

retirement timing decisions of American men in terms of various definitions and

interpretations of the term ‘retirement’. They divided retirement into two main areas,

40
being total and partial retirement. The study attempted to examine how retirement

antecedents affected the probability of falling into a particular retirement category.

To this end Kolodinsky et al. (1995) developed a model and tested a set of influential

factors against seven different retirement categories based on the number of hours

worked per year. The factors, or variables, applied to the model centred on economic

and social retirement factors. Some of these factors were applicable to the present

study including salary, years of education, job satisfaction, non-hazardous

employment, and after-retirement plans.

Kolodinsky noted that since the results were sensitive to the criteria used to define

retirement, it was important for the validity of any subsequent study to adopt a single

retirement definition category and remain faithful to its purpose. From this

Kolodinsky et al. (1995) questioned the validity of previous work into retirement

intentions and suggested that the use of self-reporting data could not give a clear,

consistent picture of the variables that influence retirement. This research concluded

that the most accurate and robust results were achieved through the use of restrictive,

objective criteria and suggests that this approach be adopted in any subsequent

research. These findings assisted the present study by adopting a single retirement

definition and using clear and restrictive criteria in the data collection questionnaire.

Government

There were two major Australian studies concerned with the ‘work to retirement’

transition of older workers and the impacts for the public sector. In Workforce

Beyond 2000: Retirement Intentions. Survey of Western Australian public Sector

41
employees 45 years and older, research was conducted by the Public Sector

Management Division of Western Australia’s Ministry of the Premier and Cabinet.

The purpose of this work was to provide specific information to assist in workforce

planning in the Western Australian public sector. This research responded to the

ageing population, both in terms of the community and the state’s public workforce

through changes in community demographics, its need for services and the ability of

an ageing workforce to provide them, underscored by labour economics.

The research involved the distribution of a survey instrument to a sample of 250

senior executive members (of a population total of approximately 300) and 10,800

non-senior executive member (from a total population of 55,000). All sample

members were aged 45 years of over. The survey was distributed in three bands.

Band 1 comprised the health and education sectors. Band 2 comprised agencies with

greater than 500 Full Time Equivalent workers (staff) and Band 3 was distributed

across the remaining public sector agencies. The non-senior executive members

were posted a self-completion questionnaire and this was perhaps the main reason for

the relatively poor response rate of 26%. The senior executive members were

personally interviewed, via telephone, on a slightly modified questionnaire. This

dramatically boosted the response rate to 86%. The questionnaire was loosely based

on that used in the ‘Retirement and Retirement Intentions Survey’ (ABS 1997). The

research data was then grouped and interpreted. This grouping was presented as

chapters on Retirement Timing, Retirement Triggers, Interest in Alternative Work

Arrangements, and Retirement Planning. The data interpreted was not presented as

statistically factual but rather as statically representative of trends.

42
The principal finding of this Western Australian work was well articulated by

Morrish (2001 p.14):

Although some people may be encouraged to work for longer or

improve their current planning activities, others may be less
inclined to change. Therefore, the strategies for dealing with this
segment of the workforce must be managed carefully. A balance
needs to be struck between supporting those who are looking for
assistance to continue employment and adequately replacing those
who have no desire to remain part of the workforce. It is important
that resources are not wasted trying to change what cannot be
altered.

A focus of this Western Australian work was the intended retirement from the public

sector and subsequent transition to paid employment in another agency or capacity.

The data recorded the participation rate of workers by age group. The research

provided an opportunity for parent agencies to identify the issues that organisations

create for workers considering external employment and to remove or address those

barriers. The research also addressed the issue of phased retirement, or the use of

reduced hours, responsibility and/or capacity while still retaining some form of paid

employment. The work was able to predict the financial impost on public sector

agencies as a consequence of projected increases in the rate of retirement 1% in 2000

to 3% in 2010.

The other major Australian work, ‘Paths to Retirement: What light the Workforce

Circumstances and Retirement Attitudes of Older Australians Survey sheds on the

issue’ was interpreted by Barnes (2003) through Wallis Consulting for the Federal

Department of Families and Community Services (FACS). The FACS work

examined the employment outcomes for the Australian population of people then

aged 55-64 years. It provided information on the levels of income support and social

security provided by the Federal government, both of which had a wider impact on

43
economic prosperity and social justice. As with the Western Australian example, the

FACS work focused on workforce participation rates but divided the sample into five

groups dependant upon the length of time out of employment.

This sample was much broader than the Western Australian model, in that it sampled

all of the population and not simply public sector employees and provided useful

guidance in terms of the factors that can be used to predict workforce attrition by

personal and group characteristics. The survey was conducted through two

telephone surveys of people then aged 45-69 years. Information was drawn from

3,500 income supported customers (pensioners etc) and 2,000 people who did not

receive any income support. The survey questions were the same for all interviewees

and focused on attitudes to work and retirement, training of older workers,

experience of job loss, re-entry to the workforce, retirement intentions, and living in

retirement. The data was interpreted and considered to be representative of around 5

million Australians identifiable by age, sex and social security receipt.

This survey ultimately concluded that the rate of involuntary exits from employment

was as high as 70% for men and that there were significant differences in the rates of

involuntary exits between men and women. The survey also found a correlation

between lower education standards and an early involuntary exit from the workforce,

and that an early exit from employment was strongly associated with having a low

income, particularly for single people. This study was useful to the present work as

it discussed the issue of ‘Pathways to Workforce Exit’ and guided the development

of the data collection questionnaire in terms of gender, education, health and income

factors.

44
The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted a broader scale survey, in 1997 called

Retirement and Retirement Intentions (RRI). The RRI was used to examine changes

in retirement trends over time and the income arrangements retirees and potential

retirees have made to provide for their retirement. Such data was primarily used by

the Federal government to consider changes to income support and superannuation

policies. The data was based, essentially, on all Australians via the National Census

and was the largest possible sample that could be used in this country. The RRI

collected information about retirement and the retirement intentions of Australians

by gender for those aged 45 years and over and included the intended age at

retirement and income in retirement. This data was particularly useful as it is part of

a longitudinal study and was regularly analysed.

While there were differences in the sample (men at retirement age and women post

45 years of age) the reasons for retirement give some guidance as to the gender based

influences and experiences, particularly for health and care giving. It was also found

that the intention to retire differed for men and women for those aged 45 and over.

Of those intending to retire between the ages 55 and 64, 30% were male and 44%

were female. Those intending to retire at 65 and over, 34% of males reported their

intention whilst just 14% of females did. The percentage of people unsure about

their retirement ages remained fairly constant with 34% of males and 38% of

females. This illustrated some clear differences between the experiences, influences,

and ultimate decision-making processes between men and women.

45
The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) Survey, a longitudinal

household-based panel survey that sought to track households over an indefinite

period by interviewing them every year. Knox (2003), as a Research Officer for the

Department of Family and Community Services (Australia), utilised the HILDA data

to specifically study the retirement intentions and plans of members of the 45 to 54

age bracket in Australia. This work was beneficial to this research as it addressed

similar concepts and demographics and provides a pathway to producing a useful

survey questionnaire.

In 2003, Knox sampled fourteen thousand people using a questionnaire entitled

‘Workforce Circumstances and Retirement Attitudes Survey’. This study apportioned

those surveyed into identifiable sub-groups by factors including gender, occupation,

income, health, home-ownership, and level of community participation and

determined the impact of these factors on the decision to retire and retirement age.

The obvious advantage of this study lay in the large sample size and its logistical

ability to track results longitudinally. The results showed clear differences in the

retirement intentions of men and women. Knox also examined issues of job

satisfaction, stress and flexibility as key factors impacting on one’s decision to retire.

The study concluded that for males in the private sector, flexible work hours and a

stress-free environment were associated with their intention to retire later. The study

found that for females working life tended to be extended if they held a university

education and were not partnered.

Knox found that almost a quarter of all workers in the 45 to 55 age group could not

say when they intended to retire or had no retirement plans. There was a direct

46
correlation between lower income and increased uncertainty with regard to

retirement age in that the lower the income the less retirement planning occurred.

Another important finding of this work was a difference between the intended and

actual retirement ages of those surveyed with the actual retirement being

significantly later than intended. The work also found that while females tended to

retire at an earlier age than their male counterparts this gap is narrowing as female

workforce attachment is increasing. It was also found that 62% of workers who

retired before the age of 60 did so involuntarily and that this was a result of factors

beyond the control of the individual including their health and the prevailing

economic conditions of the time. As such, it predicted that an increase in

retrenchments coupled with lower investment returns (interest rates) would place an

upward pressure on the retirement age while the reverse would see a return to the

trend of earlier retirements.

Knox also examined data from the ‘Retirement Intentions of Mature Workers’

(2003). This work was prefaced with the keen observation that the people

‘commonly referred to as the baby boomers are now approaching retirement and

their retirement aspirations are of significant policy interest’ (Knox 2003 p.4).

Knox’s approach was one of labour economics with a focus on the cost impost on

society generally and self-funded retirees specifically. The HILDA sample

applicable to this area of study was 2,428 people (45 to 54 years of age) of whom

1,870 (77%) were in paid employment at the time. Knox examined what he termed

‘Factors affecting retirement age’ (Knox 2003 p.7) including gender and martial

status, occupation and type of work, education, current income and retirement

income, and employment conditions.

47
Knox found that the actual and intended retirement ages for men were 60.0 and 61.4

respectively and 55.9 and 59.3 for women were clearly different. This supported the

work of Dohm (2000) who found that most workers in New Zealand who intended to

retire at age 60 to 65, typically retired five years earlier than that. Knox concluded

that gender, home ownership and the retirement intentions of a partner were the

major factors influencing the retirement age decision. He also concluded that

workforce attachment for women was increasing.

Barnes (2003) used the same raw data as Knox to examine retirement intentions of

the 55 to 64 year old age group. This study was also conducted for the Department

of Families and Community Services. She divided her sample into five groups based

on their employment status. This allowed Barnes to examine, more closely, the

factors that ‘path’ people to retirement in terms of both voluntary and involuntary

directions. Barnes identified clear links to occupational longevity through levels of

education, long-term health (particularly for men), income, and marital status. The

study found that the mode of exit from the workforce reflected the characteristics of

the individual in a pre-retirement context and that any policy changes proposed to

encourage longer working lives would need to be cognisant of this.

The views of Knox and Barnes were balanced against that of Penna, Sanders and

Sidney (2001) who examined retirement intentions from a non-governmental

perspective and introduced an employer/employee dynamic perspective to voluntary

exit from employment. ‘Penna Consulting’ was a private commercial venture

offering careers consultancy, career management and corporate outplacement. From

this it could be drawn that the interests of Penna, Sanders and Sidney would be

48
inextricably linked with Penna Consulting and that their perspective would be

influenced, to say the least, by commercial imperatives. The Penna perspective was

very interesting because it viewed the aforementioned issues in terms of both

employees and employers. The paper began with an examination of the ageing

population phenomenon and shrinking labour pool and explained the issue of ageism

in employment as it relates to legislation, economic pressures, longer life spans and

demographic change. This study conducted focus groups and then sought responses

from agencies (employers) and individuals (employees). Interestingly, despite

mailing questionnaires to over a thousand organisations, only one hundred and ninety

responded (roughly twenty percent), while roughly half of the five hundred

employees invited completed the questionnaire. It could potentially be construed

from this that this issue was of greater interest to employees than employers.

Police officer attrition and turnover

The examination of employee turnover within policing organisations was not

insignificant. The literature indicated an increasing awareness of the non-operational

aspects of managing a police organisation including human resource management, a

growing commitment to human services, officer welfare, and the sheer cost of

recruiting, training and retaining police (Ryan 2001). The literature also indicated

that police organisations were reacting to a sudden and dramatic shift in society

towards litigation (Gaven 2004). There were a number of studies on police officer

turnover in Australia, reported below, that could be used to provide guidance to this

work. These studies focused on preventable turnover of pre-retirement age members

and tended to centre on gender imbalance in resignations and illness related

49
terminations of employment. The studies were somewhat silent, however, on police

officer retirement intentions.

Gaven (2004)

Gaven (2004) conducted research for the Queensland Police Service as part of its

ongoing reviews and analysis of preventable and non-preventable staff turnover.

This research, conducted through the Queensland Police Service’s Equity and

Diversity Unit centred on a document called the Separations Questionnaire. This

questionnaire was a non-enforceable requirement for all members leaving the

organisation and sought to achieve three outcomes:

1. Identify issues of alleged unlawful behaviour causing the separation

(primary sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace bullying)
2. Provide the separating member with the opportunity to voice their
views on issues relevant to the operations and management of the
organisation, and identify and track trends longitudinally since 1996;
and
3. Act as a means to identify and reduce preventable staff turnover.
Essentially, this process attempted to ‘provide a picture of who is
leaving the Service and why?’ (Gaven p.3)

This work looked at separation reasons in terms of family, other job, health, study,

retirement, moving career, and personal. Since the questionnaire had an equal

employment opportunity focus much of its data interpretation leaned heavily towards

the four identified target groups; women, people with a disability, people from a non-

English speaking background, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples.

The examination of the questionnaires was perhaps just as significant for this study

for what it did not conclude. The questionnaire sought to explore the reasons for

50
separation from the Queensland Police Service, who (if anyone) was responsible for

or contributed to the person leaving, what efforts had been made to prevent the

person from leaving, and if any subsequent efforts could or may be made to re-

employ the member at some future time. This however was only for members

resigning and not retiring. Gaven’s (2004) work reinforced that the Queensland

Police Service, at that time, did not appear to be taking any purposeful examination

of preventable retirement-based attrition. The work also gave guidance to the present

study in terms of the reasons for resignation as a possible window to the factors

associated with voluntary retirement. Issues of family, other job, health, study,

moving career, and personal reasons were all examined as being distinct from

‘retirement’ as a sole reason for leaving, but the aforementioned factors were found

to be significantly influential in the decision to leave through resignation. This aided

the study by concentrating attention on these factors through the focus groups.

Lynch & Tuckey (2004)

Lynch & Tuckey (2004), for the Australasian Centre of Policing Research, recently

studied this issue of police voluntary turnover through ‘Understanding voluntary

turnover: An examination of resignations in Australasian police organisations’. This

study aimed to describe the Australian and New Zealand experience of voluntary

preventable resignations of sworn police officers and identify and investigate the key

factors contributing to those resignations. Lynch and Tuckey (2004 p.3) prefaced the

study with the observation:

‘Employee turnover, and in particular voluntary resignations, is an

important issue for Australasian police organisations. While some
employee turnover is inevitable, and can indeed be positive for both

51
 individuals and organisations, the loss of experienced personnel
has a number of significant negative implications for police
organisations. This is particularly so given the nature of police
organisations and the changing nature of the labour market,
careers, and modern policing.’

The study investigated voluntary turnover of police officers by comparing the

experiences of Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions. Specifically, the study

analysed resignation and total separation rates of sworn police officers, and identified

the individual, organisational and external factors associated with officers’ decisions

to resign from their police departments. Additionally, the study described the

features of the organisational environment that influence the career decisions

(particularly resignations) of sworn officers and recommended strategies to reduce

resignations of sworn police officers.

The study then used both questionnaire and interview to sample 277 (questionnaire)

and interview 132 ex-police officers from the Western Australia, South Australia and

Victorian police services. The questionnaire, entitled ‘Reasons for Leaving the

Police Department’, involved quantitatively rating 54 reasons for leaving questions

and responses to two free response questions. This process produced two findings.

Firstly, police organisations need to reassess the way in which resignations were

handled and viewed. Secondly, there were five recurring critical issues that lead to

preventable turnover: quality of life and satisfaction; flexibility issues and flexible

solutions; management and leadership; promotions and other career issues; and,

resources. Significantly, the study found that the main issue for police organisations

was identifying who was resigning and why they were resigning.

52
Drew (2003)

Drew (2003) looked at police officer voluntary turnover in an Australian jurisdiction

by gender and career stage. Her work was based on the premise that previous studies

were limited in that they attempted to make predictions for all individuals, at all

times, and across all places. She argued that shortcomings of previous works needed

to be addressed and sought to develop employee turnover models that are

organisationally specific with relevance to the context under study while giving

consideration to the impact of career stage and gender on the process. Drew sought

to conduct the first large-scale research of this type as she considered that previous

works had been lacking in the size of their samples or that they were specific to the

United States of America. In essence, Drew looked at voluntary police turnover by

career stage and the differences between men and women in that context. Drew

conducted three studies.

Study One examined gender as a predictor of ‘turnover’ differences in the

recruitment phase. She found that members who withdrew from the recruiting

process were more affected than not by feelings and found no marked differences in

this regard between men and women. Study Two looked at recruits in their first year

of police employment and found that socialisation and gender began to play a role in

turnover. This study identified two variables that she considered as particularly

relevant to police organisations in influencing turnover intentions. These were

person-organisation fit and person-job fit. Study three examined turnover intention

across career span. Drew found that career stage impacted on the relevance of

turnover predictors and that, in some instances, gender affects the strength of those

53
predictors. Importantly, she concluded that two models for turnover prediction were

needed with one catering for the majority of officers and a slightly modified model

being applicable for officers in the (less volatile) late career stage. Drew concluded

that while gender was not sufficiently differential to warrant separate turnover

models, the strength of predictive relations by gender needed to be considered.

The contribution of the studies

Of most significance to the present study was that both Gaven (2004) and Lynch &

Tuckey (2004) studied who was resigning and why they were leaving but did not

include retirements in their studies. Even Drew (2003), who studied employee

turnover by career stage, suggested that the later career stage was less volatile in

terms of turnover and presumably not the focus of her attention. This reinforced

what was found in the macro literature review that police officer retirement had not

been the focus of significant study. The inference from this was that retirement and

resignation were two different things and when one considers police officer

‘turnover’ they are speaking of everything except retirements.

In regards to resignations the studies found that issues of family, other job, health,

study, moving career, and personal reasons (Gaven 2004) and quality of life and

satisfaction, flexibility issues and flexible solutions, management and leadership,

promotions and other career issues and resources (Lynch & Tuckey 2004)

contributed to preventable attrition. Lynch & Tuckey also identified that individual,

organizational, and external factors were associated with officers’ decisions to resign

and, importantly, that police organisations needed to reassess the way in which

54
resignations were handled and viewed. The same could most likely be applied to

police officer retirements.

Police officer retirement

The issue of retirement with regard to police officers had been discussed by Atchley

(1976) who proposed that retirement was possible when an individual was able to

establish an income without performing work. Given that income generation is

either provided by ones own savings and investments, compulsory savings such as

superannuation, or the provision of a governmental pension, it is the progression to

withdrawal of labour that defines retirement in this sense. Therefore, if a member

withdrew their labour to commence another income generating job, their

employment was terminated, or they simply resigned without an ability to generate a

sufficient income (job, savings, social security or otherwise catered) then that person

was not considered to have retired.

This is not the case with police officer retirement in the United States of America

where retirements are generally based upon length of service and almost all retired

officers immediately commenced a second career or other employment supplemented

by a partial pension from their police service (Violanti 1992). The commencement

of a second career is due mainly to those officers being relatively youthful as against

those who would normally be considered to be of retirement age (Atchley 1976).

The Queensland Police Service experience is different in that, anecdotally, almost

every officer who retires does not seek an alternative income stream through

working.

55
Violanti (1992)

When Violanti (1992), a retired American police officer, detailed the historical

development of service based police pensions in the United States of America he

prefaced his study with the observation that most Americans, through the late

nineteenth century, opposed the idea of paying a person for not working as it was too

far removed from the strong work ethic of the era. Police unions in Australia

appeared to be lobbying to adopt an American-style system of length-of-service

based retirement for their officers. An examination of the American system can

assist this study in terms of documented officer perceptions and post-retirement

experiences and can be adapted as a basis for examining the impacts of voluntary

retirement on officers of the Queensland Police Service. Violanti studied the

perceptions and experiences of American officers and reported that a sense of loss of

power and cohesiveness, coupled with a feeling of no longer being a member of the

police fraternity, was significant. Anecdotally, the Queensland example appeared to

be similar but less severe due mainly to officers holding office until they formally

enter traditional retirement. The issue of this sense of belonging, however, was a

very powerful one and needed to be considered further.

Violanti’s thesis, as an American work, could not be completely transposed to the

Australian experience particularly in terms of the limited life span of United States

police careers. The Australian experience was far more ‘job for life’ than the twenty-

year service pension situation in the United States. Violanti articulated the

experiences of his subjects in the format of brief anecdotes to illustrate the varying

56
influences on these people both pre and post-retirement. He offered a view that

particularly younger police officers viewed retirement as an employment benefit and

that the closer one got to retirement, the more that ‘retirement’ was perceived as a

destination.

Violanti grouped the respondents into reasons for retirement including ready for

change, tired of work, disability, job opportunity, internal pressure, and age. He

found a ‘turning point’ in police careers where officers decide either to exit policing

and seek an alternative vocation or remain beyond that which is normally

experienced. He found that police attitudes towards retirement were guided by peer

group perceptions and that many members experienced difficulties in the retirement

decision-making process. He concluded that there was a significant link between

work involvement and satisfaction. Violanti’s presentation of police officer attitude

changes in later career was particularly useful to the present study. He cited Slocum

and Cron’s (1985 p.126) work, ‘Job Attitudes and Performance during Three Career

Stages’ to explain how officers tended to be well settled in their roles pending

retirement:

‘There is no need to break new ground either because the

ground they have already broken has given them an adequate
standard of living or because they have not succeeded in the
past 20-25 years and have little hope of succeeding now’

This was particularly relevant to the present study given the hierarchical rank

structure of the Queensland Police Service and the reality that it became statistically

less likely to be promoted as one rose through the ranks. Thus promotion as a

traditional motivational tool potentially became less relevant and the disruption from

change as a consequence of promotion potentially became more pronounced.

57
Violanti (1992) also found a correlation between work satisfaction and attitude

towards retirement in that if ones work caused a negative perception then retirement

(as opposed to work) tended to be regarded as a positive alternative. Violanti found

this most pronounced in ‘the street cops, who ride patrol or work traffic. Their work

situation has become one of drudgery; they are at the bottom of the organizational

hierarchy and perform what is considered the dirty work of policing.’ ( p.37)

Violanti aided the present study by giving it context and purpose. He concluded that

the most widely used criteria for involuntary police retirement was age and that this

was intractable as mandatory retirement ages were set by legislation. This reinforced

the purpose of this work to discover what influenced non-mandatory retirement

decisions as the only possible means of addressing preventable attrition. Violanti

also posed a final question: ‘Where to from here?’ The present study sought to

extend Violanti’s work and to build a greater understanding of police officer

retirement decision making by determining the factors that are associated with this

very significant issue for those officers.

Gender and retirement intentions

Ekerdt, De Viney & Kosloski (1996) observed that, in terms of thought and planning,

people approached retirement differently. At the time that this study was conducted,

just five female police officers in the Queensland Police Service had ever achieved

retirement age (QPS Aurion data 2004). While no definitive number of female

police officers who resigned could be obtained, the statistic is a compelling one

given that its Annual Report (2005) revealed that over 22% of the Queensland Police

58
Service’s officers were female. The notion of gender differences in police officers’

retirement decisions was considered to be an important one and deserved to be

examined.

Hong and Xu Yu’s model clearly showed that the gender of the worker was an

influential element of the retirement decision. This was supported by Knox (2003)

who found that ‘gender and marital status’ was a factor affecting retirement age and

that women were found to retire earlier than they had intended. Additionally, the

Australian Bureau of Statistics reported gender retirement differences in their 1997

Retirement and retirement intentions survey detailed later in this chapter. The Lynch

& Tuckey (2003) examination of resignations of police officers also found that the

average resignation rate for females was significantly higher that their male

counterparts and Drew (2003) specifically studies gender as a turnover predictor in

policing.

Knox’s (2003) research also demonstrated clear differences in the retirement

intentions of men and women and a significant difference in the gap between the

actual and intended retirement ages of men and women, with women being found to

retire significantly earlier than they intended. Barnes (2003). Barnes found four

factors that contributed to the ‘Pathways to Workforce Exit’ including the variation

between male and female population, education levels, health status, and household

income. This was reflected in the Australian Bureau of Statistics (1997) Retirement

and Retirement Intentions research that also found gender differences in the reasons

for retirement of women aged over 45 who retired from full time work.

59
Gender, and to a lesser extent other demographic characteristics, were found to

impact on the retirement decision. The inclusion of gender and key specific

demographic identifiers was recommended by the Reference Group (as detailed in

Chapter Three) and it was ultimately decided that ten demographic identifiers would

be studied.

Retirement triggers

Central to the present study was the notion of retirement triggers. This was well

articulated in the study Workforce Beyond 2000: Retirement Intentions. Survey of

Western Australian public Sector employees 45 years and older. This research was

conducted by the Public Sector Management Division of Western Australia’s

Ministry of the Premier and Cabinet and specifically examined what it described as

‘Retirement Triggers’ (p. 23). These were categorised as financial status,

psychological factors, reaching a certain age, family and friends, and health

considerations.

The issue of financial security as a retirement trigger is important with employees

facing financial difficulty being more likely to remain in, or seek a return to, paid

employment than those without such pressures (Hansson, DeKoekkoek, Neece &

Patterson 1997). But finance was only one of the more compelling triggers that led

to the decision to retire. The Western Australian work found that the decision to

retire was complex and included such factors as the number of dependants at home,

reaching the eligible retirement age, reaching mandatory retirement age, a lack of

interesting work, job related stress, health, and the pursuit of leisure activities.

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Barnes (2003) found clear links to occupational longevity through levels of

education, long-term health (particularly for men), income, and marital status. She

advised, however, that since the mode of exit from employment reflected the pre-

retirement characteristics of the individual, any attempts to encourage longer

working lives through changes to policy would need to appreciate these factors.

Simply changing policy to increase workforce participation rates without considering

all of the work and non-work related issues would see, at best, increases in

employment longevity that are far lower than anticipated. From this, Barnes

instructed that retirement for many people was a ‘path’ as opposed to a destination

and any research concerning this issue needs to consider all of the factors impacting

on the individual.

Penna et al. (2001) found that the personal as well as community perception of what

it was to be ‘aged’ was changing as life expectancy increased and that employee and

employer attitudes were changing in response to changes in societal structure and the

prevailing economic climate. Also, they found that as individuals approach

retirement age their attitude towards retirement changed.

Whipple (2001) found that human resource management policies and practices

relating to older workers were under pressure to modernise. He found differences

between the baby boomer generation and the pre-baby boomer generation that

indicated that the current human resource management policies, as established by

previous executives, might come under pressure to conform with the changing

expectations of the future retirees. Whipple reported that a substantial percentage

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(70.1%) of baby boomer scientists and engineers planned to retire early, that is,

before the mandatory age of 65 (p 91). Further, he reported that the cohort (early

retirees) did not feel a strong obligation to remain with their current employer, feel

that employer provided inducements to delay retirement were insufficient, had a

greater organisational tenure and wanted more control over their daily routine.

Whipple also reported the cohort as having a strong desire for certain consequences

of retirement such as greater time for family and leisure.

Knox (2003) also examined issues of job satisfaction, stress and flexibility as key

factors impacting on one’s decision to retire. Barnes (2003) detailed some retirement

factors that were relevant to the present study including gender, education, and

physical ability to perform their work.

The literature was silent on police officer retirement triggers and it was found that

most research into voluntary turnover excluded voluntary retirement as a category.

While examinations were made of resignations, dismissals and failures to complete

training, voluntary retirement did not appear, in any Australian jurisdiction, to be

viewed as preventable staff loss (ANZEOCC 2004). The research was typified by

the approach of Lynch & Tuckey (2004) who looked at total separations and found a

direct link between gender and early exits from policing. Their principal finding

provided impetus for the current study, that is, that police organisations needed to

reassess the way in which separations are viewed and handled. They asserted that

police organisations needed to find out who is resigning and why. From this it was

possible to progress to why police are retiring early. Lynch & Tuckey also

synthesised their findings into five critical issues that led to preventable turnover. It

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was considered highly probable that all of these issues also impact on pending

retirees, including quality of life and satisfaction, flexibility, management and

leadership, career issues, and resources.

Drew (2003) examined police turnover modelling by, amongst other things,

examining career stage. She specifically found that the existing predictive turnover

model for police failed to accurately capture members in advanced career stages.

Drew also advised that the context of the organisational environment should be

examined to identify factors that may be specifically relevant to the context of the

study. It was necessary, therefore, to consider what retirement triggers might exist

within the organisational environment and the members impacted by it.

Lessons learned from the analysis of the studies

So far this chapter has examined literature on retirement, retirement decision making,

gender and other demographic differences, and police officer attrition. It has shown

that while there has been some considerable work done in the areas of retirement

triggers and police officer turnover, these studies have been discrete and there have

been no specific police retirement triggers studies conducted previously. The key

lessons learnt by previous researchers have been extracted from their studies so that

by studying the methods and findings of researchers in two fields, retirement

intentions and police officer turnover, it became possible to synthesise these into a

framework for a police officer specific, retirement intention study.

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The valuable lessons learnt through this approach have enabled the emergence of

patterns evident in the prior research conducted into retirement age intentions.

Firstly, there were differences between the retirement age intentions and actual age

of retirement in almost all instances with most people reporting, when asked, either

that they must work to an age beyond that which they intended or that they were

retired involuntarily at too early an age. Secondly, there existed clear differences in

the retirement triggers and ages between men and women, particularly with regards

to health, finance, education levels, and family status.

Significant guidance to the direction of the research into police officer specific

retirement age intentions has been provided by the close analysis of the studies.

Whipple (2001), who studied the retirement intentions of baby-boomer scientists and

engineers, identified a deficiency in his approach with his failure to consider the

work, career and retirement histories of those sampled. He advised that his study,

and its validity, would have benefited from the inclusion of questioning regarding

previous jobs, career changes and retirement histories. The way that research data

was collected and the tests that are applied to it strongly affected its outcome and

validity (Kolodinsky et al. 1995). They found that results were sensitive to the

criteria used to define retirement and that the use of self-reporting retirement cannot

give a clear and consistent picture of the variable that influences retirement. They

recommended the use of restrictive, objective criteria in any subsequent research to

limit self-reporting anomalies and maximise validity. The present study utilised

specific criteria for demographic data and utilised a Lickert scale for the retirement

trigger items to allow the respondent the ability to respond within the given range.

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The use of self-reporting can be problematic in terms of how an individual defines

retirement (Morrish 2001). Her work, which centred on public sector employees,

found that many members who reported ‘retiring’ did in fact secure some form of

paid employment outside of government. This was supported by Violanti (1992)

who studied (length of) service-based retirements for police officers in the United

States and found that almost all officers ‘retiring’ entered a second vocation due

mainly to there relatively young age. This supports the notion of clearly defining the

term ‘retire’ in the data collection phase. The term ‘retire’, if taken colloquially,

could mean vastly different things to different respondents and could significantly

affect the validity of any findings.

Violanti’s (1992) work needed to be viewed from a United States perspective where

police career lengths are typically limited to twenty years of service regardless of

age. While the American experience is not readily comparable to the Australian job-

for-life experience his work did, however, provide some valuable insights into police

retirement. Violanti concluded that the retirement decision is a difficult one for the

individual, that peer perceptions played a major role in this decision making process,

and that there was a significant link between work involvement and satisfaction.

Violanti’s work, whilst affirming the findings of much of the Australian research on

this issue, offered another perspective through an American lens.

The studies by Barnes (2003) for the Federal department of Families and Community

Services (FACS) ‘Paths to Retirement: What light the Workforce Circumstances and

Retirement Attitudes of Older Australians Survey’ shed light on the issue of

retirement triggers, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (1997) ‘Retirement and

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Retirement Intentions’ (RRI), strongly showed the differences in retirement attitudes,

triggers and intentions for men and women. From this it was clear that gender

identification was vital to the validity of any data collection. Knox (2003) also made

a gender based finding but concluded that the workforce connection gap between

men and women was narrowing as workforce attachment for women increases. He

found, also, that the partner status and partner intentions were a significant factor in

the final retirement decision for those sampled. Hong & Xu Yu (1995) concluded

that retirement timing was not nearly as wage sensitive for women as for men and

that women tended to place a higher value on non-monetary factors, such as family

responsibilities, in their decision to retire.

Importantly for the current study, the Western Australian Government research found

that retirement factors were not constant and tended to either increase or decrease

with age depending on the individual and their changing circumstances. The study

looked at the issue of alternative working arrangements and phased retirement.

Phased or incremental retirement is a process whereby an individual no longer

adheres to the model of a finite period of full time work followed by complete

retirement. Rather it is a process of reducing ones work commitments, typically in

increments, until a transition to full time retirement was achieved. In OECD

countries the transition period is typically five years (Reday-Mulvey 1997). The

Western Australian study sought opinions on possible transitional arrangements such

as a gradual reduction in hours, reduced responsibility, work from home, and casual

or contract employment post-retirement.

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None of these pre-retirement arrangements were effectively implemented in a pre-

retirement context in the Queensland Police Service and their introduction would

require careful consideration. While employment flexibility options are a stated

incentive to remain in employment in the Queensland Police Service’s ‘Work and

Family Policy’ (2005), the study needed to determine if, and to what extend,

inflexibility was a possible trigger for retirement.

Conclusions

The literature was silent on police officer retirement intentions. There was some

consistency regarding the retirement intentions and decisions of workers generally

and in specific occupations other than policing. Additionally, there was some

considerable consistency in factors associated with police officer turnover (in a pre-

retirement context) in what could be regarded as a defined field of study centered on

police officer preventable attrition. The present study, however, was breaking new

ground in determining police officer retirement triggers.

In summary, the literature showed that retirement decision making was a complex

and multi-faceted process which was impacted and influenced by a range of issues

and considerations. The concept and interpretation of what is it to be retired was

shown to be variable and open to some degree of interpretation.

Issues of retirement triggers and demographic characteristics and in particular gender

were consistently studied or found by researchers. Finance, career stage, age,

employment conditions, opportunity, and type of work performed were suspected to

67
form the likely basis of the retirement intention for police officers. A full list of

retirement triggers was compiled and presented to the Queensland Police Service

Reference Group for discussion. (This list is provided as Appendix C) The

Reference Group, as explained in Chapter Four, was used to consolidate these

triggers and remove those that were not considered applicable to the current study

and its purpose of positively addressing the high rate of voluntary retirement in the

subject cohort.

The study needed to determine if, and to what extent, these triggers were consistent

with the Queensland Police Service experience and what additional specific triggers

had not been identified in the literature. This was achieved through the use of Focus

Groups.

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CHAPTER THREE – FOCUS GROUPS

Introduction

Focus groups were used in this research to provide localised input and a greater

depth of knowledge about the contemporary issues being experienced by Queensland

police officers in the group being studied. The use of focus groups permitted the

researcher to try to identify some of the ‘multiplicity of factors…(present in the

Queensland Police Service)…that is the subject of the research’ (Thomas 2003 p.34).

This was vital because research of this nature had never been attempted on this

sample group and the literature review, whilst providing guidance, needed to be

validated and supported by group-specific information. It was important that the

group be able to tell the researcher who they were before the researcher attempted to

understand them (Boote & Beile (2005).

The Queensland Police Service advertises the diversity of its workforce and range of

scope of working roles (Diversity Management Plan 2006). A single member can,

and does, transition from roles as diverse as an operational police officer to an

educator, to an investigator, to a dog handler, and to a host of roles where it becomes

to distinguish the sworn officer from a civilian member, for example in the

information technology and administrative fields. From this it was apparent that any

attempt at proposing corrective measures to address a low rate of workforce

participation of the subject group would require an understanding of the generalised

cohort member. What was required was a ‘window’ into this group (Violanti 1992).

69
With the guidance and imprimatur of the Reference Group, this window consisted of

three focus groups specifically designed to typify the majority of the subject cohort

to cover male and female, operational and non-operation, and urban and rural

applications. As explained in the next chapter, the Reference Group was specifically

interested in difference of gender, operational and non-operational roles, education,

age, the method of admission to the organisation, education, remote location, and

promotional prospects of the individuals. These were sought as it was suspected that

these issues could be positively addressed by any possible preventative or corrective

policy measures by the organisation. For instance, there was no desire at this level to

examine the impact of dubious decisions of the judiciary or the role of the media on

member’s retirement intentions. This study focused on human resource implications

policy implication.

The purpose of the Focus Groups

Focus groups were used to provide the researcher with a snap-shot of contemporary

views, beliefs and opinions on retirement age triggers as perceived by members of

the Queensland Police Service. These focus groups sought to validate, expand and

localise the information found in the literature. As explained in greater detail in

Chapter Four, the use of focus groups aided the content validity of the study by

ensuring that the ‘measures include an adequate and representative set of items that

tap the concept (Cavana, Delahaye & Sekaran 2000 p.213).

It was theorised that a range of views would be offered by the members of the

various focus groups that would be Queensland Police Service specific. By finding

70
the consistencies in these views, any subsequent quantitative questionnaire would be

contemporary and relevant to Queensland Police Service members. Three focus

groups were used to encompass gender, location, and operational status. The groups

were encouraged to discuss generic retirement issues and then specific items

generated by each group. This is in accordance with Johnson & Christensen’s (2000)

view that a focus group is a situation where a moderator keeps a small and

homogenous group focused on the discussion of the research topic.

In a sense, the use of these focus groups provided an ethnographic insight into the

realities of the sample group, a ‘descriptive study of the “way of life” of some

identifiable group of people’ (Wolcott 1988 p188). This made it possible for certain

generalisations to be drawn about the sample group in terms of their collective

experience/s. It was already known that this group had been subjected to a number

of significant events that would likely impact on their retirement decision-making

such as changes to superannuation rules, a major corruption inquiry, a change in the

rank and promotion structure mid-career, and an increased rate of accelerated

organisational change towards career’s end. While these changes were apparent to

most members of the sample, it was necessary to determine whether these had a

possible influence on the retirement age intention, either positively or negatively, and

how this impacted upon the individual.

Selection process

These cohorts were recruited on a voluntary basis through a small-scale electronic

marketing exercise using the internal police email system. This involved canvassing

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possible candidates suitable for inclusion in the focus groups by emailing an

unsolicited invitation. This included a brief overview of the proposal, the requisite

ethical statements, and contact details for the university and the Queensland Police

Service research personnel. Expressions of interest were returned to the researcher

and were followed up with a personal telephone call until sufficient numbers of

volunteers were obtained.

Three groups were established to allow for purposeful discussion and an exploration

of the issues that were identified. Meetings were conducted as facilitated discussions

where the participants were asked broad questions about retirement intentions as

discussion starters and were then asked specific questions from the literature to

remove any confusion or to explore specific points and to validate triggers. The

responses of these focus groups greatly assisted in the construction of the

questionnaire and confirmed the relevance of several theoretic concepts that were

identified in the literature. Chiefly these were gender difference, age, employment

flexibility and financial considerations. Additionally, the focus groups identified

issues specific to the local Queensland Police Service situation including the

historical issue of cadetships (as opposed to the current adult entry), rank, operational

status and shift work, strong opinions of the ‘concept’ of retirement, and a diverse

view on post-retirement activities and continued working life. These are discussed

later in this chapter.

To achieve a balanced perspective of the likely contemporary views of the

Queensland Police Service, three determinants were established within these Focus

Groups. To reflect the views of people who intended to stay employed, exit

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employment or who hadn’t yet made up their mind, members were classified into

three categories that were, for the sake of simplicity, known as the ‘go’, ‘stay’ and

‘undecided’ cohorts.

A total of twenty members made up the three Focus Groups. Six identified as being

in the ‘stay’ cohort, four in the ‘go’, and nine were ‘undecided’. One member

declined to identify with any group description. The groups consisted of two groups

of seven and one group of six members respectively. The term ‘operational’

indicated that the member was actively engaged in the use of the legislative powers

of a police officer, that is, investigations and arrests. The term ‘non-operational’

indicated that the member was involved in corporate functions and, whilst still an

experienced sworn officer, were not presently using the legislative powers of a police

officer.

‘Go’, ‘Stay’, and ‘Undecided’

The ‘go’ cohort was made up of members of the Queensland Police service who

were highly motivated to exit employment at age fifty-five or earlier. This cohort

typified those members who wished to exit employment at the earliest possible

opportunity through the medium of voluntary retirement (as opposed to straight

resignation). This group consisted of members who are seeking to access voluntary

retirement at age fifty-five and/or bring forward effective retirement commencement

date through use of leave entitlements and or other means such as sick leave. It was

anticipated that the members of this cohort would provide insight into the possible

triggers for members who wish to sever their employment with the Queensland

73
Police Service at the earliest possible time, whether or not they do so to retire in the

true sense or seek alternative employment.

The ‘stay’ cohort consisted of officers who were highly motivated to remain in

employment until the compulsory retirement age of sixty or longer. This cohort

included those members who intended to remain employed with the Queensland

Police Service until forced into retirement due to their age, and/or sought to remain

with the organisation in some other paid capacity. Also included were those

members who sought to work until the last possible moment before accessing any of

their accrued leave entitlements or accept a monetary payment in lieu of these

entitlements.

The ‘undecided’ cohort comprised those members with little or no opinion or great

level of interest in their intended timing of retirement. It was anticipated, at that

time, that they would provide an insight into the possible retirement triggers of the

vast majority of subject members.

Using the role described by Krueger (1998) of the ‘enlightened novice’, the groups

were guided through a series of discussions about the retirement age decision-making

process. The three groups met separately from one another, although they did know

of the existence of the other groups. They were not given any indication of the views

and responses of other groups.

The focus groups were operated along the lines of what Tashakkori & Teddlie (2003)

identify as a ‘mixed type’ whereby the participants were relatively free to respond to

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both open and closed questioning and the desired outcome was more qualitative than

quantitative. As recommended by Tashakkori & Teddlie, the focus groups were used

as a forum for probing questions, exploring ideas, establishing interpretive validity

and, perhaps most importantly, obtaining ‘in-depth information about exactly how

people think about an issue’ (p. 310). Each of the three focus groups are now

discussed.

Group One – male, non-operational, urban

The male non-operational group (Group One) consisted of two Inspectors and five

Senior Sergeants who all occupied positions within the headquarters building under

corporate (non-operational) working conditions. This group consisted of two

members of the ‘Stay’ cohort and five members of the ‘Undecided’. Interestingly,

this group was planned to be all male but included a female member who did not

wish to participate in a female-only discussion. Also one member had changed his

view from ‘Go’ to ‘Undecided’ just prior to the meeting and one other member was

due to finish his employment as a result of forced age retirement within two weeks of

the discussion.

Superannuation and financial issues dominated the discussion with the nexus

between promotion, superannuation dividends and life expectancy and the need to be

financially secure for many years being prominent. This group raised diverse issues

from retirement being “a part of life” to one member articulating his view that

retirement villages were “God’s waiting room” and that he was not ready to concede

to ageing to a point where he could no longer be viewed as “useful”. Another said

75
that the closer he got to retirement, the more critical his retirement decisions became

and that while he had never discussed retirement in the first thirty years of his service

it was now his main subject of conversation with his peers. He further viewed

retirement as a means to do the things that he couldn’t currently do because he would

have the time and financial means (superannuation) to do them.

Another important issue was that of “changing goalposts”, that is, restructuring of

promotional qualifications and systems that changed one’s ability to compete for

advancement. One member described, for instance, the move towards an

Assessment Centre system for promotion to Inspector as being the defining moment

in his retirement decision-making process. He said that when he was told of the need

to undertake development and assessment, at age fifty, that it was simply “too much”

and that he feared that he would undergo development for several years only to be

told that he was not suitable. He said that, while he self-identified as ‘Undecided’,

this one factor was the reason why he was at “sooner rather than later” end of the

spectrum. This led to greater discussion about promotion and a theme evolved where

the group saw a clear distinction between being eligible for promotion, capable of

promotion, being promoted and indeed even wanting to be promoted. The consensus

of this group was that there was nothing wrong with not wanting to be promoted but

the system, organisational culture and financial benefits were geared towards seeking

promotion. Another member described that he had seen, in others, that the

Assessment Centre system had left people “shattered”, that failure at that level “was

a bitter pill to swallow” as he viewed the Assessment Centre as his “last throw of the

dice” for promotion.

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The group, overall, identified the major retirement triggers as age, alternative

opportunity, finance, and promotion. Of major interest were the member’s responses

when questioned about the certainty of their retirement age decision with every

member indicating that they were not sure about when they wanted to retire and that

there were too many factors involved to form a definite position. This view was

largely consistent with all focus groups and was the overall theme of the process. It

was quickly apparent that while there was some level of distinction between groups

and individuals the major similarity was a view that the retirement decision was

complex and multi-faceted.

Group Two – female, operational / non-operational, urban and suburban

The all female group, Group Two, consisted of one Inspector, two Senior Sergeants,

and four Sergeants based in and around Brisbane. Three members were operational

(working Detectives) and three were non-operational (corporate support functions).

Three members of the group identified as being members of the ‘Go’ cohort whist

the remaining four were less specific and considered as being more closely

associated with the ‘Stay’ and ‘Undecided’ descriptions. The group presented a

significant deviation from Group One in that they were far more vocal about their

non-work related issues and interests and less concerned about their police

employment in terms of their retirement age decision-making than Group One.

Comments such as “Women have more interests and friends outside the police than

men” and “I have too many other things going on with family and interests to be

working forever” set the tone for the group. One member from the ‘Go’ cohort

spoke of how she had been actively planning retirement at age fifty-five for many

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years as her intended transition to a second career (trade) at that age. Her view was

that her police employment would be over and she would then use the opportunity to

do what she had always wanted to do. Conversely, another member of the ‘Go’

cohort summed up her situation as “I’m tired” and that the extra efforts of being the

primary care giver to her family, when coupled with her work, made her look

forward to gaining more leisure time in retirement.

The group discussed reasons for the historical lack of female officers achieving

retirement age in the Queensland Police Service, as opposed to those who have

resigned, and theorised that “things will change” as a result of a more equal system.

Gender-based human resources policies such as mandatory resignation of female

officers when marrying had been abolished and the general view was that the current

human resource regime is better than the one that they had experienced. Two

members of the group were openly critical of the attitudes of males and their

propensity to leave their spouses “for a newer model”. Whilst not discussed in great

detail it was clear that there is a strong perception of difference between men and

women in terms of their domestic, rather than vocational, commitment.

Group Two also embraced non-traditional models of employment such as part-time

and telecommuting and listed options for post-retiree’s employment including

marking items of assessment, conducting selection panels and creating rosters. Three

members then discussed the relative merits and issues in looking at the retirement

issue from a post-retirement perspective and that the research might be better

conducted by sampling those who had already retired. On the whole the group

considered their major retirement triggers to be outside interests, leisure time, family

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and the increased opportunities made available by the increase in free time. The

group was also significantly more certain about their intended retirement age than

Group One.

Group Three – male, operational / non-operational, rural and remote

Group Three (operational males in a regional environment) again presented a

differing view to the other two groups. This group identified as having four

members of the ‘Undecided’ cohort, one from the ‘Stay’ cohort, and one who

declined to self-identify. This group appeared to be initially suspicious of the

likelihood of real change in the policies of the Queensland Police Service in their

favour and tended to exhibit a cautious approach to the discussion. However once a

few members began to explore various issues the conversation become more fluid

and some very interesting views were articulated. Specifically, the group tended to

return to the theme that the Queensland Police Service did little by way of honouring

or celebrating the retirement of long serving officers and was “happy to just watch

them walk out the door.” Another member made the observation that the promotion

system was too narrow and that there was little incentive to remain if promotion was

one’s only or primary goal. There was a high level of discussion regarding the “real

reason that people retire” and the general consensus was “that while all people have

to retire” some stay on because they either “love the job” or “can’t afford

(financially) to retire.”

The group then moved to discuss the psychological impact of retirement which was

typified by such comments as “I have a real fear of retiring, of being less than I was”

79
and “it would be hard to retire, especially if you intend to stay in your own (small)

town.” This led to a discussion of how many “become sour and unbearable in their

last two years (of employment)” and speculation about the reasons for this. The

group generally considered that it was “a pretty big step” to go from being a police

officer to a civilian and that a loss of self-esteem and identity may well follow as a

result.

This led to some fairly animated discussion about the transition to retirement and a

perception of a lack of effort on behalf of the Queensland Police Service and their

own peers when a member retired. It was generally considered that the organisation

did not do enough to help members into retirement. Notable comments included ”we

get trained to do everything except retire” and “you would think that if you gave

twenty, thirty or forty years of work to the Service, that they would give you twenty,

thirty or forty minutes to help you retire,” and “even the local factory would give you

a gold watch – we get nothing.” From this the issue of some officers “using their

sick leave as a part of their salary” and taking extended sick leave as a means of

effectively reducing their age at commencement of retirement was raised. The group

identified that some officers legitimately accessed their sick leave but that others, in

their view, “rorted the system” to effectively retire at age fifty-three.

It became clear that the discussion was deviating from its intended focus and the

group was asked to nominate the key factors that they perceived in themselves or

others from their peer group that contributed to the retirement age decision making

process. In response, the group raised factors including health, dissatisfaction with

their work, lack of confidence in management, being “out of favour” (feeling that

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others are given preferential treatment), a lack of enthusiasm and a lack of

confidence in their ability to do their job at a high enough level. This was qualified

with several members mentioning or endorsing the view that ‘it all depends on where

you are and what you are doing’ with the overall theme that non-operational tasks

were less objectionable and comparatively less difficult for older officers to perform.

The general consensus of this group was that operational policing and shift work

were more difficult and less appealing for older officers.

When asked, only one member was certain as to his intended retirement age (age

fifty-seven) as he intended to gain employment in another vocation at that time and

then work until at least sixty-five years of age. All other members stated that they

were not certain as to their retirement age and indicated that it was too complex a

decision. Of interest, three members stated that they had not retired as they intended

at age fifty-five because their latest Enterprise Bargaining Agreement added

additional pay scales that they would become entitled to and that this was important

as it increased their superannuation payout. This trigger alone (salary) had increased

their effective retirement age by two years.

Summary

The focus groups both confirmed the literature and added to it by identifying some

issues and triggers specific to members of the Queensland Police Service. The focus

groups validated triggers identified in the literature including age, finance, outside

interests (including family), dependants, health, dissatisfaction with their work,

alternative opportunities, and leisure time.

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Additional Queensland Police Service specific issues were identified by the focus

groups including the likelihood of promotional advancement, operational status and

related shift work, the mode of admission to the organisation, organisational

commitment and support, a lack of confidence in management, a lack of enthusiasm

and a lack of confidence in the ability of some officers to do their job at a high

enough level.

The focus groups also provided some guidance in the construction of the wide-scale

questionnaire including a facility to permit members to identify as being a Police

Cadet (an employment mode that no longer exists) and extending the ability to

identify the level of formal education to below the provisional minimum of a Junior

Certificate. As a snap-shot of the Queensland Police Service the focus groups

indicated considerable consistency with the literature and also raised a number of

issues specific to the organisation. A list of these specific triggers identified was

compiled and considered by the Reference Group as explained in Chapter Four.

(These triggers are listed in Appendix D).

The study now had information regarding possible generic and Queensland Police

Service specific retirement triggers. This information was gathered from the

literature and small scale focus groups. The focus groups themselves did not deliver

a consistent source of retirement triggers and it was clear that each focus group had a

‘theme’ that was somewhat unique. Given that the purpose of this study was the

determination of a means to positively address a high rate of voluntary attrition from

within a large (1700 member) specific occupational cohort, it was considered that a

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qualitative study may well not provide sufficient depth and that it would be more

appropriate that a quantitative study be conducted.

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CHAPTER FOUR – METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter describes the methodology used in this research. It details the requisite

approval processes, and explains how the questionnaire was created within a non-

experimental survey methodology. It details the use of an expert Reference Group to

aid the study and the way in which the data collection method was proposed and

executed. Validity and reliability methods are outlined and explained as to their

relationship with the main aim of this study – the identification of possible triggers

and demographic characteristics that influenced the retirement age intentions of

Queensland Police officers. The chapter also details the quantitative methodology

used to analyse the data.

As discussed in Chapter Two, the literature relevant to the study consisted mainly of

either studies of community retirement intentions generally or of police officer

turnover but not police officer specific retirement decision-making. This was mainly

due to existing police officer turnover studies being concerned primarily with issues

of physical and psychological impairment and gender based differences which had

little application to issues pertaining to voluntary retirement.

This study conducted a survey of police officers approaching retirement age. For

these officers the literature was unable to supply specific information on what their

retirement age triggers were likely to be. The literature did, however, provide

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information on a wide range of possible triggers and suggestions for an appropriate

research methodology.

‘The tall trees’ approach: the researcher’s analogy relating to a doctorate.

This thesis was an academic work based upon strict research protocols for the

awarding of the degree of Doctor of Education. This thesis also, however, had a

practical use for the future administration of police human resources. To this end it

was likely to be available to police officers who may well have had little exposure to,

or interest in, the nuances of academic rigour. These police officers possess,

however, an acute knowledge of, and experience in, investigative processes. The

distinction between these two, that is, research and investigation, could easily be

blurred and there was a desire for the research process to be explained.

In detailing the academic process on which this study was underpinned the

researcher offers those with little time or interest in this facet of this work, the

following analogy as a brief alternative explanation.

This analogy tells of a pilot in a rural area whose attention was often drawn to a line

of trees that appeared unique to all others in the area. It was impossible for the pilot

to determine why they appeared to be different because, from his perspective, they

were the same species, form and colour and appeared identical to those around them

but somehow – just different. Most significantly, these trees appeared to be in a

dead-straight line. The pilot repeatedly asked himself just what it was that made them

appear different and the question remained unanswered until one day, when the

weather conditions forced him to approach the area from a different direction, he

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gained a new perspective and saw that the trees were casting a greater shadow and

from that he saw that they were, in fact, considerably taller than all others around

them. He again saw that these ‘tall trees’ were in a perfectly straight line. His

curiosity roused, he began to speculate as to how and why this phenomenon could

have come about. Could the trees have access to some unseen stream and therefore

receive greater moisture enabling their accelerated growth? That was unlikely as it

as the trees held such a defined pattern, with such clear starting and finishing points,

that it did not appear to be an issue related to nature. Were the trees a different, but

closely related, species that occurred in this straight line? Was this some man-made

intrusion on the natural order, some post-modernistic ‘installation’ so obscure that

the artist intended only for curious pilots and birds to enjoy their labour? Was it

deceit on a grand scale, an optical illusion, or was it something less austere? The

only way for the pilot to determine this was to get out of the aircraft and investigate.

Again, a new perspective was required and this one needed to be obtained at ground

level. The pilot walked into the forest, found the tall trees, and set about learning

why the trees were what they were. After systematically negating all of the obvious

and obscure possibilities, the pilot was at an impasse until he found the remnants of

some wire poking from the bark of each tall tree. After further searching he

determined that, most likely, at some time in the distant past a person had taken

advantage of the existing natural infrastructure to build a fence. Why dig in fence

posts when there are plenty of sturdy tree trunks to do the job? This person had

simply nailed their wire to whatever tree happened to be in a straight line and, long

after the fence had become obsolete, the nails driven into the trees had provided

some nutrient that caused the trees to grow unnaturally tall.

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This ‘tall trees’ approach has been applied to this research. The data has been

viewed from many angles and differing perspectives. The shadows have revealed

themselves and the ‘trees’ have been found. The obvious causes have been

examined. The nails have been located and their consequences proven.

Ethical approval and the Queensland Police Service

In addition to the ethical approval required by the Queensland University of

Technology as the academic sponsor, the proposal required ethical approval by the

Queensland Police Service as the organisation being examined and through whom

the research was conducted. There were two main factors which needed to be

considered by the Queensland Police Service. First, the conducting of this research

may have generated interest within the ranks by members approaching voluntary

retirement age. This may have had a flow-on effect with these members and/or their

relevant industrial representative (unions) seeing this research in a way that is not

intended, that of the Queensland Police Service attempting to delay the retirement of

members beyond that currently permissible. Second, the sponsorship of the parent

organisation of this research could have been considered, by some, as support for

their position that the Queensland Police Service should amend its retirement

policies. To counter this, a carefully worded caveat appeared on the research

instrument clearly explaining the purpose and boundaries of this work and directing

all inquiries to the researcher for explanation if required.

Approval for this research was obtained from the Queensland Police Service at its

instigation, confirmation, and submission stages. This approval was sought and

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granted via the organisation’s Research Committee inline with their established

policies and procedures.

Determination of the research strategy

This study sought to obtain information on retirement age triggers for Queensland

Police officers and how these triggers were associated with the timing of an officer’s

intention to retire as early as possible, or to continue to serve to a later retirement

date. The study was considered to be non-experimental as it would be utilising

existing information from currently serving officers. At the time the study was

conducted just under 1,700 officers were either in the age range where voluntarily

age retirement was possible, or within five years of the requirement to make a

decision on possible retirement (QPS Aurion data 2005). This information was

useful to the Queensland Police Service as part of its human resource management

planning processes.

A qualitative approach similar to Lynch and Tuckey’s (2004) research in which a

small number of officers could be examined in depth on their views was rejected on

the basis that while such an approach could provide considerable insight into the

influences affecting particular officers, it could not realistically be generalised to

provide information on the cohort of officers able to retire or approaching retirement.

This was because these officers were considerably diverse in terms of their locations,

experience, and the realities and expectations of their roles. A small-scale

examination of Focus Groups was conducted, as explained in Chapter Three, but this

was used to guide the direction of the quantitative questionnaire as opposed to being

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a separate study in its own right. The value of the findings of this research lay in its

ability to study as many of the subject cohort as possible. To achieve this within the

resources available to the researcher, a quantitative study was necessary.

While Lynch and Tucky (2004) explored police turnover from a predominantly

gender based perspective, it was considered that their approach had some

applicability to the present study’s whole-of-cohort endeavour. A concern, however,

was the aforementioned vast differences anticipated within the cohort in terms of

geographic placement, position within the rank structure, operational status, and

cumulative work history. It was considered that there was too much variation across

the group to reliably transpose those issues from a small number of in depth

interviews.

Similarly, a series of in-depth case studies, similar to the approach used by Violanti

(1992) was considered and ultimately discounted. Violanti’s approach was to use

case studies to explore the retirement transition in light of the post-retirement

experience. Again it was considered that establishing a sample that would be

capable of being representative of the entire group would be beyond the scope of the

resources available to this research.

The results of the work of Barnes (2003) suggested that it would be possible to

obtain sufficient specific information from a large number of subjects to conduct a

Queensland Police Service-wide study. It was considered appropriate that a survey

approach could be utilised to achieve the raw data required for interpretation.

Specifically the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) Survey data, as

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used by Knox (2003) and Barnes (2003) provided a large volume of relevant

information that could be used by a number of researchers from the same very large

sample. This information was obtained through a broad scale questionnaire.

To ensure quality of meaning, this study adopted the Whipple (2001) approach of

using Likert scale questions. This permitted a range of responses within set

questioning criteria. The net effect of this was that this research had the logistical

ability to sample widely whilst still allowing the respondents the ability to respond

appropriately.

A non-experimental survey methodology was chosen as it provided a clear and

concise data collection tool within the established practices of the Queensland Police

Service. The focus groups used in the formation of the questionnaire (as explained

later) provided a strong view that a simple electronic questionnaire would generate a

strong response. The survey methodology attempted to gain an insight on the nature

and extent of retirement age triggers and their association with the individual’s

demographic characteristics.

As specific information was ultimately to be sought from the subjects, a

questionnaire was considered to be the most appropriate instrument for the survey.

The use of a questionnaire provided a number of advantages including an ability for

the study to be logistically managed using the existing Queensland Police Service

information technology systems, particularly internal email. This enabled a swift,

reliable and auditable means to conduct and track the survey. Another advantage

was that the questionnaire could be completed by a large number of respondents,

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certainly a far greater number than could be sampled using a face-to-face method.

The use of a questionnaire ensured anonymity for the respondent and ultimately

contributed to a very high return rate. Details of the development of the

questionnaire and its structure are provided later in this chapter.

Validity was attained through content validity and construct validity. Content

validity was proposed through an examination of the literature, the use of focus

groups, and the guidance of an expert panel in keeping with Cavana, Delahaye &

Sekaran’s (2001) description of measuring the ‘adequate and representative set of

items that tap the concept.’ (p. 213) Construct validity was achieved through a factor

analysis of the statistically significant trigger items obtained from the above sources.

Cavana et al. describe construct validity as testifying to ‘how well the results

obtained from the use of the measure fit the theories around which the test is

designed’ (2001 p. 213)

The Reference Group

This study utilised a Queensland Police Service Reference Group whose purpose was

to assess the accuracy and appropriateness of the questionnaire content from an

industry specific ‘human resource’ perspective. The present study was undertaken to

address a specific workplace issue (high rate of voluntary retirements) and a

workplace specific reference ability was vital. This group consisted of the then

Deputy Chief Executive (Resource Management), Mr John Just PSM, who was

ultimately responsible for all Queensland Police Service human resources and his

Project Director, Inspector Lloyd Taylor, who coordinated whole-of-organisation

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reviews. The Reference Group met with the researcher on three occasions. This was

at the conclusion of the literature review, the conclusion of the Focus Group

discussions and prior to (to approve) the final format of the questionnaire.

The very specific interest for the Reference Group was the retirement triggers that

influenced the greatest quantum of members and specifically sought initially to

identify the effects of differences of gender, operational and non-operational status,

the method of admission to the organisation, education, remote location, and

promotional qualification of the individuals. These were sought as it was suspected

that these issues could be positively addressed by any possible preventative or

corrective policy measures by the organisation and were the subject of concurrent

projects or lines of inquiry for the Queensland Police Service.

The Reference Group considered the triggers and issues identified from the literature

(Appendix C) and the Focus Groups (Appendix D) and sought to refine them into a

single list. This list resulted in the production of the final questionnaire and this is

presented as Appendix E. The Reference Group removed those triggers identified

that were not considered to be within the scope of control of the Queensland Police

Service. For example, the trigger of marital status had been fairly consistently

identified in the literature but was not appropriate to be addressed by Queensland

Police Service policy. All identified triggers and issues were discussed and

determined to be either relevant or irrelevant to the study in a Queensland Police

Service context. The triggers that were not advanced to the final questionnaire were

marital status, disabilities, social security, parental status, self-employment, work

rate, the number of dependants, partner’s retirement intentions, business and property

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investments, and immigration status. This approach aided in the content validity of

the questionnaire being achieved.

Development of the questionnaire

The questionnaire used in this study was developed in a number of sequential stages.

These are shown below:

1. Items found in the literature that could be considered as possible

triggers for retirement were collected;

2. Focus groups were conducted involving serving police officers in an

attempt to identify specific local (Queensland) triggers which did not

appear in the literature, and to refine a number of those identified as

relevant from previous studies;

3. The full lists of triggers and issues identified in steps 1 and 2 were

considered by the Queensland Police Service Reference Group and

refined. Unnecessary or invalid triggers were not progressed to the

questionnaire stage.

4. A draft questionnaire was compiled.

5. The draft questionnaire was then examined by the Queensland Police

Service’s Research Committee administered through the

organisation’s Ethical Standard Command and a panel from the

university to test for its ethical integrity;

6. The draft questionnaire was tested by a pilot group (as detailed in the

next section);

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 7. Minor refinements were made to the questionnaire (as detailed in the

next section);

8. The questionnaire was transferred to an electronic form as a drop-

menu word document with no scope for free range written responses,

that is, all responses required a selected response from a given set and

there was no capacity for the respondent to articulate their thoughts in

their own words. This enabled standardised data establishment and

also assisted in the likelihood of completion as the respondent needed

only to move the mouse on their computer to fully complete the form;

and,

9. The questionnaire was emailed to all sworn Queensland Police

officers born before 1 July 1960. Usable data was received from 641

respondents and electronically converted to an electronic (SPSS)

format for analysis.

The data for this work was collected using a comprehensive questionnaire that was

offered to every available member of the subject cohort. This meant that individual

sample members received the questionnaire in an unsolicited email message on the

closed Queensland Police Service email server. The questionnaire was offered to

just under 1700 members from a list compiled from their dates of birth, that is, those

born before 1 July 1960. This list included all ranks and classifications except those

above the rank of Superintendent. These members were excluded, as their number

was so few. These members represented less than 4 percent of the cohort and their

views, given their relative success with the promotional system and the probability of

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them being contracted well beyond the mandatory retirement age of sixty years,

made their responses unrepresentative of the overwhelming majority of the group.

A further group of just over two hundred members did not receive the questionnaire

as their email account was closed due to either an out-of-office facility (generally

indicating that they were on recreation leave) or exceeding authorised mail limits to

receive the message (full email account). This was anticipated and within the

expected tolerance for the sample size. Ultimately, it was determined that

approximately 1490 members received the questionnaire. From this, and within the

four weeks allocated to return the questionnaire, 641 sample members returned

completed responses. One month after the launch of the questionnaire, the electronic

access link was terminated and no further data was offered or accepted.

The questionnaire approach was used to permit quantitative analysis of the data and

give wide-scale meaning to the views of the focus groups and the literature. The

work endorsed what Glesne & Peshkin (1992 p.6.) describe as using ‘numbers and

statistical methods… (tending) to be based on numerical measurements of specific

aspects of phenomena… (and seeking)… measurements and analyses that are easily

replicable by other researchers.’ This allowed for an increase in the sample size well

beyond that which would be possible by personally interviewing the entire sample.

This meant that the returned data would cover a greater number of officers than

could be achieved by using most other collection methods and improve the

interpretation and validity of the findings.

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It was considered vital, and this was reinforced by the focus groups and the test-run

subjects, that the questionnaire had to be concise, simple to use, and easy to complete

and return (Thomas 2003). There was a strong view held by the focus group

members (particularly the operational members) that a paper-based questionnaire,

particularly if it required manual completion and return by post, would be largely

rejected and almost universally ignored by members of the sample cohort. To

alleviate this problem and to maximise the rate of completed return, a simple

electronic questionnaire was developed and tested. The major features of this

approach included a short explanatory note, the requisite ethical and informed

consent forms, a hyperlink to the questionnaire and a ‘submit’ icon. Trials of this

approach indicated that the entire process could be completed in around ten minutes

and this undoubtedly contributed to the high rate of returned data.

Format of the questionnaire

The most appropriate method to obtain information from a large group was to survey

as many of the group as possible and this could most effectively be achieved through

the use of a structured questionnaire. The survey questionnaire was designed to

highlight the importance of completing the questionnaire and described how the final

results would be used. To minimise abstract interpretation and misinformation and to

aid data retrieval and analysis, the questionnaire was carefully constructed. This

involved the extensive use of a Likert scale format. Lievesley (1993) recommended

a five-point Likert scale from ‘Strongly agree’ to ‘Strongly disagree’ as being

appropriate for this type of questionnaire. This format had been consistently and

successfully used in prior Queensland Police Service questionnaires and this

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approach provided a succinct and reliable method of efficiently collecting the data

required to interpret and report on the current factors influencing the retirement age

decision-making process of sworn members of the Queensland Police Service.

The questionnaire was constructed in an automated, electronically delivered and

retrieved form, and administered via the Queensland Police Service Microsoft

Outlook email system. The sample was identified and selected solely on the basis of

their dates of birth through an internal human resources computer system (Aurion)

with this information used to create a specific email group. In this way the survey

could be delivered and returned electronically and could be accessed by all sample

members with access to the Queensland Police Service email facility. It utilised a

web-based database into which all return information was automatically downloaded.

This database was then transferred into a Microsoft Excel format and then processed

by the SPSS program so that statical analysis could be undertaken. A further

consideration of this method was the nature of the email system being used. The

Queensland Police Service email server was password protected for all users, which

ensured a high degree of security. This email system was further accessed by

members of the sample group on a daily basis allowing for ease of use and increased

access to the survey.

The format of the questionnaire followed the pattern and appearance of other

questionnaires previously used by the Queensland Police Service. It was felt that this

would assist members to navigate the questionnaire and further assist the return rate.

The actual structure of the questionnaire, that is, the order and wording of questions

and statements, the use of a Likert scale, and the acquisition of essential demographic

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data were the subject of significant deliberation. The final format was determined by

combining the findings from the literature review, focus-groups, Queensland Police

Service Reference Group, academic supervisors and through the members ‘test

running’ the questionnaire.

Of most concern was the order of the questions. It was felt that if certain questions

or statements were included too early in the questionnaire, it would corrupt or

influence the way in which members answered their questions. For example, if the

issue of part-time working arrangements were included early in the process, the

reader would have this in their mind and this might influence their subsequent

answers. For this reason any questions that related to proposed or innovative flexible

workplace practice designed to increase workforce participation rates, were left until

the very end of the questionnaire. This specifically related to the issues of

employment options, non-shift work, part time and non-operational working

arrangements. These questions were positioned as the final four in the questionnaire.

The framing was also considered by the focus groups, as the framing of the question

would undoubtedly affect its answer. Specifically it was found that the female group

had a higher level of knowledge of non-traditional working arrangements (part-time

etcetera) than the mixed group or the male group. It was considered that the answers

of the ultimate questionnaire would have been unduly influenced if the issues of non-

traditional work practices were introduced at the start of the questionnaire, that is, if

the notion of part-time and more flexible work arrangements were introduced too

early.

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The questionnaire was developed so that the demographic data for each of the first

ten items would permit the development of frequency tables for each item. All of

these items involved only categorical data and the use of frequency tables was the

appropriate way to summarise this information. Means and standard deviations were

to be obtained for each of the remaining 57 questionnaire items. Each item required a

response on a five point Likert scale as continuous variables for which a summary

involving means and standard deviations would be appropriate.

The purpose and process to be followed was then explained. This explanation

provided a marketing opportunity to attempt to increase the response rate. Sample

members were reminded that their participation was optional and that their responses

were voluntary and confidential. The questionnaire then sought ‘basic demographic

details’, ostensibly as a precursor to the questionnaire proper, but these responses

were vital in the interpretation of the data. Ultimately, only one potential participant

contacted the researcher prior to completing the questionnaire with an inquiry about

the purpose of the questionnaire. The inquirer stated that he would only complete the

questionnaire if the results were used to ‘change the system’. Since such an

undertaking could not be given, the inquirer was dutifully advised. Several

members, some known to the researcher and some not, emailed with positive

comments and a general view that the study was a worthwhile endeavour.

The researcher entitled the questionnaire -‘Retirement Timing’- to better reflect the

theme of the questionnaire and reduce the possibility of participant preconceptions.

For instance, if the questionnaire had been entitled, ‘Retirement Timing: Are men

and women different?’ it would be reasonable to expect that the reader would address

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the questions from that perspective and places a “hidden” agenda on the

consciousness of the participants as they address the items. A number of titles were

considered and the terms ‘triggers, influence, satisfaction, and transition’ were all

found to have no benefit and also a likelihood to taint the immediate thoughts of the

participants. The title ‘Retirement Timing’ was considered to be of a sufficiently

generic nature to identify the issue without influencing the outcome.

The questionnaire sought to identify and analyse the triggers that influence

retirement and required a fairly broad range of questions. It also had to be

sufficiently concise to generate an adequate completion rate. A test was devised

Queensland Police Service Reference Group in an effort to rationalize the

questionnaire and limit ambiguity. As such, all proposed questions were tested

against the following criteria:

1. Does this question assist in identifying a retirement trigger?

2. Can this question be effectively answered?

3. Will this question influence subsequent responses?

1. Is this question necessary?

2. Can the information be obtained from some other means?

This process ultimately reduced the initial number of individual questions and

statements from over 150 to 67. The reduction and consolidation of questions was

considered to be a contributor to a greater rate of return and securing of valid data.

Participation in the questionnaire was anonymous as it was considered, and later

confirmed by the focus groups, that this would be a requirement as both the response

rate and validity of data might well have been compromised by requiring identity

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disclosure of participants. Notwithstanding this, minimal demographic information

was sought and obtained of the participants so that this information could be used in

interpreting the returned data. Age, gender, and education were major contributors to

the retirement decision (Hong and Xu Yu (1995), Kolodinsky et al. (1995), Knox

(2003) and Barnes (2003)). The questionnaire sought to identify these details at the

outset as a battery of ‘general’ questions, which was presented more as an

introduction than as a part of the questionnaire proper. The use of this approach is

relatively common within similar surveys used by the Queensland Police Service on

the sample group (eg. Separations Questionnaire (2001), Positive Workplaces Survey

(2005)). Specific questions related to policing were included. These included

operational status, promotional qualification, and organisational rank as a means to

identify what Drew (2003) described as ‘career stage’ and its impact on the intention

to retire. These had been identified in the literature review as separation triggers

(Lynch and Tuckey (2001) and Drew (2003)).

A question regarding intended retirement age was asked at the commencement of the

questionnaire, in the form of: ‘As things are for you now, would you be more inclined

to retire: at or near 55; at or near 60; I don’t know yet?’ This was designed to

clearly elicit retirement intentions at the commencement of the survey and prior to

seeking the applicant’s consideration of the retirement triggers being examined. It

was considered likely, given the aforementioned voluntary retirement rate of 87%,

that the majority of the cohort would indicate a preference for retirement in the at or

near 55 category.

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The participant was then introduced to the central issue of retirement triggers. The

questionnaire provided a list of triggers as identified in the literature ((Barnes (2003),

Knox (2003), FACS (2003), Whipple (2001), Kolodinski et al (1995), and Hong and

Xu Yu (1995)). These triggers included health, opportunity, finances, mandatory

retirement, working conditions, job satisfaction and relationships.

A series of questions drawn from Violanti (1992) centering on comradeship, a sense

of power/worth, and a sense of belonging were then presented. The questionnaire

also probed issues drawn from the focus groups. These triggers were

rank/promotion, operational status, peer recognition, and changing organisational

circumstances.

The triggers were presented as a series of statements which invited a scaled response

from the candidate. As such, each person was able to rank their opinion from

strongly agreeing to strongly disagreeing with that statement. Ultimately, there were

no reported difficulties or ambiguities with the structure and the high response rate

tends to support the notion that the questionnaire’s structure was sound.

The sample

When this study was conducted, just under 1,700 Queensland Police officers fell

within the age group subject to analysis. Inclusion in the group was on the basis of

employment as a sworn officer with the Queensland Police Service and date of birth

prior to but not exceeding 30 June 1960. A number of options were considered as to

how best sample this group and provide meaningful and truly representative data.

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Ultimately, as explained later in this chapter, it was decided to offer the questionnaire

to all the members of that group. The total number of 647 responses was received of

which six were not able to be used and were deleted from the study. Thus a final

group of 641 officers constituted the sample. The size of the sample exceeded the

requirements for all statistical analysis performed for the study (size requirements for

each form of analysis are discussed later in the chapter when the specific statistical

applications are outlined). In comparison to most police surveys, the response rate

for this study was exceedingly high. This may have been due to the interest that

retirement holds with the cohort and its high relevance to the age group for whom the

survey was conducted.

It was not logistically possible to personally interview, at length, all members of the

Queensland Police Service able to access voluntary retirement. As Kemper and

Teddlie (2000 p. 172) observes, ‘Sampling issues are inherently practical. Scholarly

decisions may be driven in part by theoretical concerns, but it is in sampling, perhaps

more than anywhere else in research, that theory meets the hard realities of time and

resources.’ It would also have been unreliable to draw conclusions about the

retirement triggers of this group through the use of a small representative sample and

the pragmatic limitations of broad-scale sampling had to be managed. As Kemper,

Stringfield and Teddlie (2003 p.275) so rightly asserted, ‘In research, sampling is

destiny.’ The large sample in this work, that is 641 returns from a possible 1700

members, was exceptionally high for a survey of this type.

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Summary

As the data collection instrument, the questionnaire was considered to have been an

authentic instrument as it was constructed from carefully considered items drawn

from the literature and three small-scale focus groups to test for localised content.

The researcher was guided in selection of the items by an industry Reference Group

with a focus on seeking information to identify the dominantly independent triggers

that influenced voluntary retirement. The purpose underlying such careful

consideration of members of the Police Service was that the results of the study

could contribute to the development of policy strategies to address the high rate of

voluntary retirement. The questionnaire was therefore able to produce valid and

reliable data that could then be used to facilitate quantitative analysis on ten

demographic characteristics and a range of 57 Lickert scale responses to retirement

influence trigger statements.

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 CHAPTER FIVE –ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

This chapter details the analysis of the data in terms of the initial analysis, factor

analysis, and binary logistic regression. The findings that were drawn from this

analysis and their relationship to the three research questions is then presented.

The questionnaire was constructed in a format to facilitate statistical analysis. This

analysis involved conventional univariate analysis, a factor analysis seeking common

factors within the questionnaire items employed, with internal reliability of the

factors being measured using Cronbach’s alpha, and regression analysis to obtain the

relative importance of contributing variables. In looking at the differences between

groups or demographic variables and specific questionnaire items chi-square and t-

tests were utilised. As analysis proceeded and a refinement of possible triggers was

sought, a factor analysis of the fifty-seven questions was undertaken. Following the

factor analyis, logistic regression was used to examine the contributions of the

factors on the intention to retire early or late and to examine if the demographic

variables had an influence on the contribution of these factors. The data obtained in

the Questionnaire was summarised and analysed using SPSS statistical programs.

Initial analyses and presentation of the data

In the initial examination of the data, frequency tables were compiled for information

provided by each of the first ten items on the questionnaire. All of these items

involved only categorical data and the use of frequency tables was therefore an

appropriate way to summarise this information. These tables are provided for

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reference as Appendix A. Means and standard deviations were then obtained for

each of the remaining 57 questionnaire items. Each item had required a response on a

five point Likert type scale and thus met the requirement for continuous variables for

which a summary involving means and standard deviations was appropriate. This

information is provided as Appendix B.

The next stage of the analysis was an examination of the categorical data responses

for items one to nine on the questionnaire to determine if statistically significant

differences in these responses were present for subjects identifying as early or late

retirees. As this analysis involved two groups of subjects (early and late identifying

retirees) and all information was in the form of categorical data, the non-parametric

chi-square test for independence was utilised. Pallant (2005 p.287-8) presented this

test as an appropriate one for such an analysis and the findings for these analyses are

provided in Appendix C.

The responses of the two subject groups (early and late identifying retirees) on each

of the remaining 57 items of the questionnaire were then examined to determine if

any statistically significant differences were present on these items. As the responses

for the two groups on these 57 items were available as continuous variables and the

early and late identifying retirees groups were mutually exclusive, the independent

samples t-test was utilised as an appropriate statistical test for the examination

(Pallant 2005, p. 205). The findings for these analyses are presented as Appendix D.

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Factor analysis

Hair et al (1995 p.16) have defined factor analysis as “a statistical approach that can

be used to analyse interrelationships among a large number of variables in terms of

their common underlying dimensions”. A factor analysis was employed in this study

to identify the “common underlying dimensions” for the 57 Likert scale type items in

the questionnaire. These items had been compiled from a search of the literature and

the responses of a number of focus groups, so considerable overlap in their

underlying constructs was expected and a factor analysis was therefore appropriate to

identify the more general underlying dimensions covered by these items. In this

analysis, all usable responses from early identifying retirees, late identifying retirees,

and those who identified as undecided (a total of 643 respondents) were used. The

responses of all three groups involved in the study were used in the factor analysis as

the purpose of this analysis was to identify underlying dimensions in the data rather

than to identify specific differences in the responses of early and late identifying

retirees.

Kline (1994 p.7) had identified two types of factor analysis, exploratory and

confirmatory, dependant upon the purpose for which they are used. Kline described

the use of exploratory analysis as ‘to explore the field, to discover the main

constructs or dimensions’ (p. 7). He described the process of confirmatory factor

analysis as:

Based on previous studies or on relevant theory, factor loadings for the

variables are hypothesised. Confirmatory factor analysis then proceeds to fit
these loadings in the target matrix, as it is called, as closely as possible.
How good the fit is can also be measured. (p. 10)

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As there were no previous studies in the literature with which the data obtained in

this study could be compared or referred to for indications of factor loadings, an

exploratory factor analysis was undertaken.

In undertaking this factor analysis, the sample size necessary to provide reliable

factors was an important issue. Most authorities have advocated a large sample size.

Kline (1994 p.72) supported his recommendation for large sample sizes with the

comment “the more subjects the better” but such recommendations have provided

little specific guidance on actual sample numbers for a researcher. Tabachnick and

Fidell (2001 p.588) were more specific with their recommendation of “at least 300

cases for factor analysis”. Both Stevens (1996) and Hair et al (1995) were more

specific still and suggested five subjects per variable as being an appropriate ratio for

reliable dimensions, while Nunnally (1978) had suggested a much larger ratio of 10

to 1 as being appropriate. For the current study, the ratios suggested by these writers

had been adopted in assessing the adequacy of sample size. With 57 items involved

in the factor analysis and a sample size of 643 subjects, the subjects to variable ratio

was 11.28 : 1, which was more than double the ratio specified by Hair et al and

Stevens, and also satisfied the far stricter recommendation of Nunnally. The number

of subjects involved in the study was therefore considered appropriate for a factor

analysis of a 57 item questionnaire.

Another important requirement for a factor analysis was that the data to be analysed

was itself suitable for factor analysis. Pallant (2005) described two tests which could

be used to assess the suitability of data for a factor analysis. These were Bartlett’s

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test of sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling

adequacy. For the data to be suitable for factor analysis, the Bartlett’s test of

sphericity should be significant with p<.05 (Pallant, 2004 p.174). For the 57 items

analysed in this study, the Chi-square value for this test was 10178.52 (1596, N=

643) with p<.0005. The MSA for the 57 items involved in the analysis was .874.

With .6 given as the minimum MSA value for a good factor analysis by Tabachnick

and Fidell (2001), and a MSA of .5 or higher considered sufficient by Kinnear and

Gray (1994), the data to be analysed was shown to have exceeded by a comfortable

margin the requirements of these two tests in assessing its suitability for factor

analysis.

The determination of the number of dimensions (factors) to be extracted was a major

aspect of the factor analysis. Pallant (2004) described three methods commonly used

in such a determination. These were Kaiser’s criterion, where only factors with and

eigenvalue of 1.0 or more are retained; Cattell’s scree test, where each of the

eigenvalues of the factors are plotted and the plot is inspected to find the elbow

(point in the curve where it changes direction and flattens out) with only those

factors above the elbow being retained; and a Parallel Analysis in which the

eigenvalues obtained in a study are compared with those obtained from a randomly

generated data set of the same size with only those eigenvalues which exceed the

corresponding values from the random set being retained. When the first of these

tests was applied to the data in the current study, 15 eigenvalues greater than 1.0

were observed (see Appendix E). Cumulatively, these accounted for 60.14% of the

variance in the data, but after some initial larger differences, only small percentage

differences were found in the increases in variance as the number of eigenvalues

109
increased. Stevens (1996) recommends Cattel’s scree test as the preferred method

for determining the number of factors to be extracted in situations where more than

40 variables and sample sizes greater than 200 are involved. The application of

Cattell’s scree test to the data indicated five factors as being appropriate (see

Appendix E). The parallel analysis suggested that the appropriate number of factors

would be nine. The eigenvalues for the randomly generated data set used in the

parallel analysis are provided as Appendix F. When analyses in which large

numbers of factors were included were run, a problem was immediately encountered

with only small numbers of items appearing on most factor scales. This would not

provide reliable factors. Pallant provided advice for such a situation:

It is up to the researcher to determine the number of factors that he/she

considers best describes the underlying relationship among the variables.
This involves balancing two conflicting needs: the need to find a simple
solution with as few factors as possible, and the need to explain as much of
the variance in the original data as possible. Tabachnik and Fidell (2001)
recommend that researchers adopt an exploratory approach, experimenting
with different numbers of factors until a satisfactory solution is found. (p.175)

This advice was taken, and after much testing a five factor model was ultimately

adopted. It is interesting to note that of the three tests applied to assist in the

determination of an appropriate number of factors, the Cattell Scree Test with its

initial indication of five factors was by far the best indictor of the appropriate number

of factors.

Orthogonal rotation using the varimax technique was employed in the factor

analysis. An orthogonal rotation was preferred for the analysis as the study sought to

identify independent (uncorrelated) factors and an orthogonal rotation is most

appropriate for this purpose. Varimax rotations also attempt to minimise the number

of variables that have high loadings on each factor thus providing the simplest

110
possible factor structure which may aid interpretation of the factors. Pallant (2005)

cautions that that when a varimax rotation is employed, it is prudent to also perform

an oblique rotation (which does not assume that the factors are uncorrelated) and use

the output from the oblique rotation to provide a check on “how strongly

intercorrelated the factors actually are” (p. 185). This was done in the current study

using an oblimin rotation. The component correlation matrix for the oblimin rotation

is contained in Appendix G where the oblimin rotation details are provided.

Examination of this matrix shows a maximum correlation of .3 which was obtained

in only one instance, with all other correlations being below this value. Using the

criteria specified by Pallant (p.189) the independence of the factors was verified and

an orthogonal rotation using the varimax technique accepted as appropriate for the

study.

In assessing the reliability of a scale, “one of the main issues concerns the scale’s

internal consistency. This refers to the degree to which the items that make up the

scale ‘hang together’” (Pallant 2005 p.90) and were measuring the same underlying

construct. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to obtain a measure of the internal

consistency of each of the five scales identified and used in this study from the factor

analysis. Pallant considered that any scale with an alpha value above .7 could be

taken as a reliable scale (p. 92). Three of the factors comfortably exceeded this value,

but two fell below .7. Both of these scales had only small numbers of items making

up the scale. Pallant has noted that “Cronbach alpha values are, however, quite

sensitive to the number of items in the scale. With short scales (e.g. scales with fewer

than ten items), it was common to find quite low Cronbach values (e.g. .5)” (p. 90).

As recommended by Pallant, the mean inter-item correlations for items in these

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scales have also been reported. Specific details on the composition and reliabilities of

each scale are provided in Chapter 4 where the findings of the study have been

discussed and in Appendix H where the SPSS outputs for the alpha calculations have

been provided.

Binary Logistic Regression

Logistic regressions were used in this study to assess the impact of predictor

variables (factors and demographics) on the decisions of Queensland police officers

to identify as officers seeking to retire at or near the minimum retiring age of 55

years or at or near the maximum retiring age of 60 years. As the dependent variable

(retirement age) was a categorical variable with two groupings (early or late retiree

groups) conventional multiple regression was inappropriate. Logistic regression was

a related technique that could be applied when the dependent variables were

categorical. In this study, as the dependent variable was a dichotomous dependent

variable (i.e. with only two categories) the SPSS Binary Logistic Regression

procedure was used. This procedure was suitable for categorical dependent variables

and also permitted the predictor (independent) variables to be either categorical or

continuous, or a mix of both (Pallant p.160). With no theoretical bases or precedents

available to guide a stepwise entry of the variables, or to indicate a preference for

this form of entry, the default SPSS forced entry method was used. “In this approach

all predictor variables are tested in one block to assess their predictive ability, while

controlling for the effects of other predictors in the model” (Pallant 2005 p.160).

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Two binary logistic regressions were performed. The first involved only the

dependent variable (the retirement timing decision of being either an early or late

retiree) and the five factors identified in the factor analysis. This was done to

ascertain the contributions of those factors to the retirement decision. The second

binary logistic regression involved the same dependent variable and five factors, but

also included a number of the demographic features (categorical variables) obtained

at the beginning of the questionnaire (such as gender, rank, operational status, etc).

These were included in the second regression to ascertain if their inclusion improved

predictability of the retirement timing decision of if the inclusion of these variables

influenced the predictive ability of the original five factors.

As with factor analysis, sample size and the number of variables involved in the

analysis were again important considerations. Hair et al (1995) considered sample

size to be “the most influential single element under the control of the analyst” (p.

103) and noted that “the desired level is between 15 to 20 observations for each

independent variable” (p.105). Stevens (1996) also suggested a ratio of 15:1 as being

a requirement for a reliable regression. With 534 subjects identifying as early or later

retirees and five factors, this requirement was easily met for the first regression with

the ratio being 106:1. For the second regression involving 14 variables, the ratio of

38:1 also comfortably exceeded the requirements of both theorists.

A further issue which needed to be addressed before a binary logistic regression

could be performed was to ascertain the suitability of the data for this procedure.

According to Pallant (2005) “You should always check for high inter-correlations

among your predictor (independent) variables. Ideally, your predictor variables will

be strongly related to your dependent variable but not strongly related to each other”

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(p.161). For the current study, a test for multicollinearity, as recommended by Pallant

(p. 161) was carried out using the variables to be used in the analyses and tolerance

values examined. The tolerance values when the five factors were examined ranged

from .500 to .875, thus confirming the suitability of the five factors for inclusion in a

binary logistic regression. (A tolerance value less than .1 would have indicated that

some factors were strongly related to others and that the data was not suitable for a

logistic regression. (Pallant p.161)) The tolerance values for the five factors together

with the nine demographic variables included in the second regression were then

calculated. These ranged from .172 to .930 with only one value being below 3, thus

also confirming their suitability for inclusion in the logistic regression. All tolerance

values are provided in Appendices I and J.

The Findings

In this section the findings of the study are presented and discussed. Initially, the

demographic variables of the participants and their association with the retirement

decision are explored. The investigation of the three research questions is presented,

and finally, the factor analysis of the data is detailed.

The identification of the retirement intentions

Central to this study were the issues of early and late retirement intentions of the

police officers involved. A self-disclosure of retirement intention was sought in the

demographic data. Reproduced below in the questionnaire format, the respondents

were specifically asked:

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Question 10
As things are for you at
the moment, would you
be more inclined to want At or near 55 At or near 60 I don't know yet
to retire?

This question was asked as part of the general introduction questioning in the

demographic data and before any specific questions regarding retirement triggers and

alternative working options. This was done to ensure that the data for this question

was not in any way tainted or influenced by the structure of the questionnaire (as

explained in Chapter Three). This item provided the study with a clear perspective

of each subject’s retirement intentions, in a pre-retirement context, and without the

influence of the study itself. This question, ultimately, determined the relationship of

all the other questions to the central issue of retirement triggers and it was important

as an identifier.

What was most significant about the responses to this question was the almost equal

division between the ‘retire at or near 55’ group and the ‘at or near 60’ group with

266 (41.7%) and 268 (42.0%) respondents respectively. This differed markedly from

the literature which had displayed a historical incidence of 87% of Queensland

Police Service members accessing voluntary retirement (notwithstanding that ‘at or

near 60’ may include an element of voluntary retirement at, for instance, age 59).

While it could be argued as to how many of these members would ultimately

transition to retirement at their currently intended age, the data certainly indicated an

intended preference that is split evenly between early and mandatory retirement.

Further, the perceived ‘safe’ option of reporting in the ‘I don’t know yet’ and therein

leave one’s option open was significantly under-reported with just 104 respondents

(16.3%) choosing this option. It had been anticipated that a far greater number of

115
respondents would not have formed a sufficient view of their retirement intentions

and would report as undecided.

Investigation of Research Question One

The first research question sought to examine the demographic identifying data of

participants who identified as seeking early or late retirement and is restated here.

How do the demographic characteristics of individual police officers

relate to their retirement intentions?

In order to address this question, the data was examined for differences on the

demographic variables of respondents who indicated an intention to retire ‘at or near

55’ and ‘at or near 60’. Statistically significant differences were found for two of the

variables, gender and admission method, with a number of the remaining variables

indicating some trends in the data. The variables examined were:

• Age;

• Gender;

• Rank;

• Length of service;

• Operational status

• Shift worker status.

• Education;

• Qualification for promotion;

• Admission method;

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The first demographic data question on the research instrument sought block

responses on the respondents’ age. Given the time that the questionnaire was

released and the dates of birth of the sample group, respondents answering in the

affirmative for the ‘under 50’ category were essentially aged 45 to 50 years and,

given the legislative restriction on age retirement, those respondents nominating as

being ‘over 55’ had to be between 55 and 60 sixty years of age.

The ages of officers reported their intended retirement ages as being “at or near 55”

or “at or near 60” have been provided in Table 1.

TABLE 1: Retirement intentions by Age Group

Under 50 50-55 Over 55

At or near 55 137 122 7

At or near 60 115 90 63

The significant decline in the number of officers in the over 55 group was expected

as many of the officers who would otherwise have been in the over 55 group would

have already retired if their retirement intentions were for retirement at of near age

55. When the retirement intentions of officers in the three age groupings were

examined, a Pearson Chi-Square value of 51.554 with df =2 and p< .0005 was

statistically significant. However, although this Pearson Chi-Square value was

statistically significant, little inference could be made from the findings because of

the over 55 years group consisting only of officers who had already chosen to extend

their service.

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Question Two sought information on the gender of the participants.

Just 45 members of the group (7%) reported as female with the balance (598, or

93%) reporting as male. This was anticipated and largely representative of the

gender balance of that age portion of the Queensland Police Service. This was

because, despite fairly recent (post-1992) gender-equity recruiting drives, female

officers have traditionally been significantly underrepresented in the more senior

ranks and/or as older officers.

The chi square value of 2.985 (after continuity correction) obtained for this group

was not statistically significant with p = .084 and df = 1. However gender, and its

specific relationship to retirement intentions, was interesting. Almost twice as many

females indicated an intention to retire ‘at or near 55’ (24) than ‘at or near 60’ (13).

In contrast, their male counterparts recorded very little difference in the numbers

preferring earlier or later retirement with 242 expecting to retire at or near 55 and

255 indicating a preference fro retirement at or near 60. Despite the small number of

female officers involved in the study, this did suggest that female officers were far

more likely than their male counterparts to want to retire at the early end of the

available spectrum.

Question Three asked respondents to identify their rank with a choice of

Constable/Senior Constable, Sergeant, Senior Sergeant, or Commissioned (which, in

this study, was Inspector and Superintendent).

The association of rank with the retirement decision is presented in Table 8.

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TABLE 2: Retirement Intentions by Rank
Constable / Sergeant Senior Commissioned
Senior Constable Sergeant

At or near 55 57 109 58 41

At or near 60 61 108 55 43

Rank, in this context, was an interesting phenomenon. Increasing rank, by any

reasonable consideration, would indicate an increase in responsibility and therein be

linked to increasing income. In the Queensland Police Service, however, many

officers who move from an operational to non-operational role on promotion actually

lose a significant percentage of their take home pay because of the loss of their

Operational Shift Allowance (which compensates for evening, weekend, and public

holiday shifts). This could be balanced against an increase, generally, in their

superannuation dividend, an increase in base salary, and the opportunity to ultimately

seek higher rank-by-rank promotion, but promotion could, for some individuals, be a

disincentive.

Secondly, an increase in rank in the Queensland Police Service also has the net effect

of decreasing one’s ability to work in all geographic locations. Many senior officers

must work out of the major governmental centre of Brisbane City. Members are

making decisions daily on how a promotion will impact their ability to remain in a

geographic location and/or an operational stream, for example, working as a

detective or in a traffic enforcement capacity. Issues of family, friends, and financial

commitments become significant in the ultimate decision to seek or accept a

promotion.

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Differences between the ranks of officers choosing to retire at or near 55 and those

choosing to retire at or near 60 were not statistically significant with a Pearson chi

square value of .260, df = 3 and p =.967. There was virtually no difference for any of

the ranks as to when they intended to retire and it was concluded, therefore, that rank

alone was not a significant contributor to the retirement age decision.

It is important to note that the rank system of the former Queensland Police ‘Force’,

prior to 1992, was based substantially on the length of employment and that the

present system is a blend of longevity and merit. It was therefore valuable to explore

how the individuals’ length of service was associated with the retirement age

intention. This was sought in Question Four of the questionnaire.

Question Four asked for the respondents’ length of service which was the commonly

used term for the number of years that the person has been a Queensland police

officer. This was divided into four categories of less than 15 years, 16-25 years, 26-

35 years, and over 35 years. Length of service was compared with reported intended

retirement age. This data is presented in Table 9.

TABLE 3: Retirement Intention by Length of Service

-15 years 16-25 years 26-35 years +35 years

At or near 55 35 75 140 14

At or near 60 51 69 110 33

Initially, the opposite ends of the length of service spectrum were observed. For

both the officers with ‘less than 15 year’s service’ and those with ‘more than 35

years service’ it was found that more members were seeking to retire later than to

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retire near the earliest possible age. This was in contrast to those of between 16 and

35 years of service where the situation was reversed, albeit marginally. It was

apparent that the members who were newest to the organisation (in this context)

displayed a stronger desire to remain until age retirement than their more

experienced counterparts. This may well have been as a combination of a desire or a

need to increase their superannuation dividend, or having a ‘fresher’ view of their

role as a late starter to this career.

This was even more apparent with the group who had the longest period of

employment. Well over twice as many of these members stating an intention for

later retirement. Once again, this must be balanced against the fact that some

possible members of this group who had decided to retire at or near 55 would have

already left the service.

The chi square value of 1.797, df = =2 with p =.407 did sot support any significant

relationships between length of service and retirement age intentions for police

officers.

Question 5 sought the operational status of the members of the cohort by asking if

their position was either operational or non-operational (explained below).

The responses relating to the operational and non-operational working status of

members and their stated retirement intentions is presented in Table 4.

TABLE 4: Retirement Intentions by Operational Status

Operational Non-operational

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At or near 55 163 102

At or near 60 166 102

This demographic identifier was important because operational policing (conducting

investigations, making arrests, and the more physical aspects of the role) was viewed

as a less favourable type of working arrangement by the focus groups than was non-

operational policing (desk work, supervision, and training ). It was generally

considered, by the focus groups, that the non-operational aspects of policing better

suited older workers. This was supported by the literature to the extent that the risk

and recovery issues from injury were greater for older workers and further supported

by the very nature of mandatory age retirement for police officers. The questionnaire

established that around three fifths (395, or 61.5%) of respondents had operational

positions, and two fifths (247, or 38.5%) were non-operational.

In regards to the influence of operational and non-operational status on retirement

intentions, the Pearson chi square value of .000 (after continuity correction) with df =

1 and p =.989 clearly showed that being operational or non-operational did not

appear to indicate a desire for earlier or later retirement. This was interesting in so

far as it tended to contradict the views espoused by some members of the focus

groups.

This was again the case for the shift worker / non- shift worker demographic.

Question 6 asked the respondent if they were a shift worker or not.

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The study explored the shift worker status of respondents to see if it had an

association with the intention to retire early or late. The data is presented in Table 5.

TABLE 5: Retirement Intention by Shift Worker Status

Shift work Non-shift work

At or near 55 145 121

At or near 60 148 118

Whilst a slightly greater number of respondents identified as working irregular shifts

(348 or 54.3%) than those on conventional day work (293 or 45.7%), the proportion

of day and shift workers were fairly evenly divided. This was interesting given the

salary structure of Queensland Police officers in that between 21% and 35% of their

income was derived from penalties and allowances from performing shifts work.

This was also relevant given the findings of the literature review in regards to the

negative impact that shift work had on older employees generally. Further, it was

important to consider that there were many geographic locations whereby access to a

non-operational role was simply not possible and / or there were other reasons

(subsidised housing being a major one) why officers cannot or would not transfer to

another location whereby they could access a non-operational or non shift work

position. Additionally, these non-operational roles were generally the subject of

appointment on merit and it may well be difficult for some officers to feel that they

are able to compete effectively for such a position.

By the very nature of the identifier, it was considered highly probable that shift work

and operational status would be closely mirrored (there were very few operational

positions that do not entail shift work and visa versa) and this was confirmed in the

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study. As with the operational status identifier, a statically insignificant Pearson chi-

square of .030 (after continuity correction) with df = 1 and p = .864 was found.

From this it was clear that appointment to shift work did not significantly affect ones

decision to retire earlier or later.

The questionnaire also sought the respondent’s education level and gave the

respondent a choice of Sub Junior/Junior, Senior, Trade/TAFE, or University

categories.

Whilst the educational entry standards for the Queensland Police Service at the time

of this questionnaire required a minimum of 240 hours of study at undergraduate

level, the entry requirements for the bulk of the sample cohort were either a Junior or

a Senior Certificate or lower. The returned data showed a largely even distribution

across the four criteria as indicated in Table 6.

TABLE 6: Education Level Breakdown

Sub Junior / Junior 135 (21.1%)

Senior 149 (23.3%)

Trade/TAFE 194 (30.4%)

University 161 (25.2%)

The slightly elevated returned data for the ‘Trade/TAFE’ category was most likely a

result of the former (to 1992) promotion system where members were required to

successfully complete three Technical and Further Education (TAFE) subjects in

police law, arts and sciences. The data was interesting in view of the continuing

debate regarding the ‘professionalisation’ of policing, that is, the argument to link

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success in policing with a generic university level qualification. No attempt has been

made to examine this issue further outside of what is presented below but this may

well be of interest to subsequent research specific to the police / education debate.

Further, given the information offered by the focus groups, it would appear likely

that just as many of the members reporting a university level education would have

obtained this subsequent to, as opposed to prior to joining the Queensland Police

Service. The retirement intentions by education level data is reproduced in Table 7.

TABLE 7: Retirement Intentions by Education Level

Sub-junior / Senior Trade / University
Junior TAFE

At or near 55 66 62 77 57

At or near 60 49 54 96 69

The Pearson Chi-Square value of 6.227 with df = 3 and p =.101 indicated that the

education identifier was not statistically significant as an indicator of early or late

retirement intentions. However, the data does suggest a trend that members with

lower levels of education are more likely to desire early retirement while members

with higher levels of education tend to desire later retirement.

The questionnaire also sought information on the respondent’s ability to apply for

promotion and how that might be associated with a desire for early or late retirement.

The respondents were asked if they were qualified for promotion to the next rank or

not. The responses provided have been summarised in Table 7.

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TABLE 7: Retirement Intentions by Rank
Qualified for promotion Not qualified N/A

At or near 55 100 126 40

At or near 60 116 115 37

Qualification for promotion involved successful completion of, amongst other things,

the Management Development Program which was an essential element for

promotion to Sergeant, Senior Sergeant and Inspector (commissioned) ranks. The

term ‘Assessment Centre’ was a further essential element for promotion to Inspector.

Further, there was no compulsion on an individual to attempt or complete these

elements but promotion to the next rank was not possible unless the individual had

successfully completed the relevant requirement. This was important because the

study sought to see if such a requirement impacted on the retirement age decision.

The study sought guidance from the cohort as to how they had positioned themselves

for advancement to higher ranks. Basically all members not already in a

commissioned rank would have been either qualified or not qualified for promotion.

Those members already of commissioned rank should have recorded a ‘Not

applicable’ response and this was largely the case with 96 of the 105 commissioned

officers so reporting. The difference of nine commissioned officers could be largely

explained by members ‘adding’ real or perceived requirements for promotion such as

successful completion of highly relevant (but not essential in terms of the MDP or

Assessment Centres) courses that may assist promotion to the more senior

commissioned ranks.

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The bulk of respondents (those below commissioned ranks) were again largely

evenly split in terms of their qualification for promotion with slightly less (253 or

39.3%) being qualified. 294 (45.7%) had not yet or did not intend to ever become

qualified for promotion. It was not possible to distinguish what proportion of those

respondents who had not positioned themselves for promotion ever intended to so do

and the study would have benefited from including this question. The only basic

conclusion that could be drawn from this issue was that around half of the cohort had

not positioned themselves for promotional advancement.

The study then examined this data in relation to retirement intentions. With a

Pearson Chi-Square value of 1.797, df = 2 and p = .407, the relationship was not

statistically significant.

However, a trend indicated by the data was of interest. Disregarding the very similar

results for the ‘Not Applicable’ response, the data tended to indicate that promotional

qualification had almost no impact on the intention to retire later, but that it did

appear to impact on those who intended an earlier retirement. However, it could also

be argued that while some officers may have intended to retire earlier because they

had not gained promotional qualification, others may not have sought promotional

qualifications because of their intention to retire early.

The final demographic indicator was the method of admission to the Queensland

Police Service. The respondents were asked to state how they entered the

organisation through a choice of Cadet, Probationary, or Recruit entry status.

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The study sought to identify if the admission method had an association with the

intention to retire early or late. The admission methods for early and late retirees are

reproduced in Table 8.

TABLE 8: Retirement Intentions by Admission Method

Cadet Probationary Recruit

At or near 55 59 163 43

At or near 60 36 166 66

The method of admission to the Queensland Police Service, for this cohort, could

only have been in one of three ways, that is, entry as a Cadet (school leaver at either

15 or 17 years of age and then an extensive residential training program and only

available prior to 1993), Probationary (mature entry (over 17 years of age) with

compacted educational component and only offered prior to 1993), or Recruit

(commenced in 1993, similar to Probationary entry and may include an abridged

program for ex-police and inter-jurisdictional transferring officers). There has been a

long held argument about which system, if any, has been more successful at

producing police officers. What was certain was that the move away from Cadets

and Probationarys and the switch in policy to Recruits coincided with a period of

massive restructure and reform of the Queensland Police Service. This was

important because the status quo and predictability of the promotion system was

completely disrupted and it was anticipated that this would have a major impact on

the career satisfaction and therein retirement intentions of those who had served

before this period. This had been referred to by all focus groups as a ‘moving of the

goal-posts’ and the source of tremendous frustration for some but also improved

opportunity for others. It was also important to note that entry to Queensland police

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for female members was different under the various systems relevant to this cohort

wherein women could only enter as Cadets, women could not enter at all, and later

that women could only enter as Probationary’s or Recruits.

Inclusive of females, this study identified a similar number of Cadets (119, or 18.5%)

and Recruits (133, or 20.7%) with a much larger number of Probationary’s at 390

(60.7%). This response was in accord with that expected and reflected the relevant

proportions in the Queensland Police Service.

The Pearson chi square value obtained for this analysis of 10.432, df = 2, p = .005

supported a relationship between admission method and retirement intentions for

police officers.

It was seen that admission to the organisation as a Probationary had virtually no

impact on the retirement decision. However, admission as a Recruit did suggest an

association with the retirement decision but, due to the chronology of the

organisation, it may be highly likely that these members expressed a desire for later

retirement for the same reasons as described in the ‘length of service’ analysis earlier

with recruit members all being relatively new to the organisation.

To further refine this aspect, this question was re-examined for males only. Again,

the data was statistically significant with a Pearson Chi-Square value of 7.500, df=2,

p=.024 and is presented in Table 9.

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TABLE 9: Retirement Intentions by Admission Method
Cadet Probationary Recruit

At or near 55 53 male 151 male 37 male

At or near 60 36 male 162 male 57 male

This analysis again showed that the greater proportion of Cadets preferred retirement

at or near 55 while the greater proportion of Recruits looked towards retirement at or

near 60.

Summary of Research Question One

Research Question One sought to determine how the demographic characteristics of

the individual related to their retirement intentions. The only demographic items that

had a direct association with retirement intentions were gender, length of service, and

the method of admission to the organisation.

Gender was important with almost twice as many females indicating an intention to

retire ‘at or near 55’ than ‘at or near 60’. In contrast, their male counterparts recorded

very little difference in the numbers preferring earlier or later retirement which

suggested that female officers were far more likely than their male counterparts to

want to retire at the early end of the available spectrum.

Length of service (the amount of time served in the organisation) was associated

with retirement intentions with the newest members displaying a stronger desire to

remain until age retirement than their more experienced counterparts. At the

opposite end of the spectrum, members who had the longest period of employment

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were well over twice as likely to state an intention for later retirement. This had to

balanced against the probability that many of these members had already surpassed

the ability to retire early due to their age.

The admission method to the organisation was important with almost twice as many

Cadets reporting an intention to retire earlier rather than later.

Whilst not conclusive, the education level of the individual indicated a trend towards

later retirement for those with higher levels of academic qualification.

Importantly, operational status, shift worker status, rank, and qualification for

promotion had no association with the retirement decision.

Investigation of Research Question Two

The second research question sought to identify items that were rated differently by

officers preferring either early or later retirement and which could be considered as

possible triggers associated with the retirement intentions of the respondents. For

each of these items, independent sample t tests were performed to ascertain whether

there were statistically significant difference between the responses to the statements

given by respondents identifying as retiring at or around 55 and those identifying as

retiring at or around 60. The research question has been restated here.

What are the triggers that are associated with the retirement age
intention of baby-boomer police officers in Queensland?

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Data for investigation of the second research question was provided by the

respondents’ responses to statements 1 to 57 in the non-demographic section of the

questionnaire. Each of these statements had been sourced from the literature and the

focus groups. Respondents rated each statement on a five point scale with responses

ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The study sought to see if the

responses made to these statements were able to distinguish between officers

indicating early or late retirement intentions. Statistically significant differences for

the responses given by officers indicating a preference for retirement at or near 55

and at or near 60 were found for 45 of the 57 statements.

Significant differences in the responses of officers indicating early or later retirement

intentions with p<.0005 were found for 32 items. These were:

1 I am almost old enough to retire and I can’t wait –

2 Because of my age I will be forced to retire –

4 My health is poor and I feel that I can’t keep working -

5 I can’t get promoted so there is no point staying on –

6 There should be an age limit for operational policing -

9 I have plans for travelling or a hobby that require me to retire to free up the time

10 I don’t want to work anymore–

11 Police should be forced to retire earlier than the other workers -

12 I’ll retire at around 55 because it is what everyone does –

14 I will really miss being in the ‘job’ -

15 If legally possible I would want to keep policing past 60 -

16 55 is no longer ‘old’ -

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17 I am sick of shift work –

18 I have been looking forward to retirement from the day I started working –

20 I am too old to be a police officer now –

21 I no longer want to work full time –

22 I feel that I am fit enough to keep working –

24 I can’t stand the way that everything keeps changing –

27 It is wasteful to force people to retire –

28 I have earned the right to retire – make someone else do the work -

29 I intend to live for a long time and I want as much superannuation as possible -

30 There isn’t enough flexibility in my work schedule

31 I really enjoy going to work -

35 There is an expectation by my spouse/family that I will retire soon –

37 It would be good if the Service did more to encourage me to stay on -

41 I will be bored when I retire -

42 I have carefully planned how I will spend my retirement -

43 I am no longer happy to be doing this job –

45 60 is too old to be in the police -

48 It is time to let a younger person have my role –

49 I have waited for my retirement age as an honourable way to leave -

57 I would stay on if I could get a non-operational role –

Significant differences in the responses of officers indicating early or later retirement

intentions with p<.01 were found for 8 items. These were:

4 My health is poor and I feel that I can’t keep working –

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19 I would stay on if I could do something different -

32 Getting promoted is very important to me –

38 I have too many financial commitments to retire now –

46 I no longer enjoy the relationships that I have with my colleagues –

50 I have no debts anymore so there’s no point in keeping working –

51 You can’t take it with you so I’d better starting spending it now –

52 My role, as a police officer, is very important and I will be hard to replace –

Significant differences in the responses of officers indicating early or later retirement

intentions with p<.05 were found for 6 items. These were:

7 People age at different rates and some people remain able for much longer –

8 I have plans for a new career or job –

23 I will really miss my mates and the camaraderie –

25 I feel that, at best, I am just being tolerated by my colleagues –

34 Policing is too dangerous these days –

The fact that for the majority of the items in the questionnaire significant differences

were found in the responses of subjects depending on whether they had indicated a

preference for early or later retirement was not unexpected as all items had been

sourced either from the literature or from local focus groups. However, with such a

large number of items, it was considered appropriate to conduct a factor analysis of

all questionnaire responses to ascertain if a number of common dimensions existed

for the 57 items utilised in the questionnaire. An understanding of these dimensions

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could be of considerable importance for any persons seeking to influence the

retirement decisions of Queensland police officers.

The factor analysis

In order to identify common dimensions in the responses provided by all subjects in

the 57 item questionnaire used in this study, a factor analysis was undertaken.

Factors were extracted using the SPSS program via Principal Component Analysis as

detailed in Chapter Three. Five factors were identified. Only four items in the

questionnaire did not load onto a factor with a loading of .3 or higher, and these

items were discarded early in the analysis. The five factors identified were examined

for consistency and underlying themes. Once these themes were identified, each

factor was given a ‘name’. The names were, as far as was possible, selected to

encapsulate all of the responses that formed that group.

Factor One was entitled appropriateness and the questionnaire items contributing to

this factor have been shown in Table 10.

TABLE 10: Appropriateness Factor

Factor One: Appropriateness - ‘It’s time to go’

No. Loading Text

1 .680 I am almost old enough to retire and I can't wait

9 .595 I have plans for travelling or a hobby that require me
to retire to free up the time
10 .571 I don't want to work anymore
28 .571 I have earned the right to retire - make someone
else do the work
35 .558 There is an expectation by my spouse/family that I
will retire soon
21 .531 I no longer want to work full time
11 .511 Police should be forced to retire earlier than the
other workers
45 .506 60 is too old to be in the police
49 .499 I have waited for my retirement age as an

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 honourable way to leave
43 .473 I am no longer happy doing this job
48 .470 It is time to let a younger person have my role
51 .441 You can't take it with you, so I'd better start
spending it now
50 .437 I have no debts anymore so there's no point in
keeping working
42 .436 I have carefully planned how I will spend my
retirement
12 .417 I'll retire at around 55 because it is what everyone
does
20 .415 I am too old to be a police officer now
5 .386 I can't get promoted so there is no point staying on
6 .358 There should be an age limit for operational policing
18 .353 I have been looking forward to retirement from the
day I started working
34 .300 Policing is too dangerous these days

Appropriateness encompassed the questions that indicated that it was ‘time to go’, or

an appropriate time to achieve the destination of retirement. Appropriateness was

constructed of elements that mainly centred on the person believing that the age they

were approaching meant that they were able to retire or were allowed to retire.

These included elements related to finance and safety that were directly attributable

back to their perception of their age and their relationship to the destination of

retirement. This factor encompassed responses which all indicated that the members

considered that they had achieved, or were approaching, an age where it was

appropriate for them to retire.

Factor Two was entitled worth and belonging and the questionnaire items

contributing to this factor have been shown in Table 11.

TABLE 11: Worth and Belonging Factor

Factor Two: Worth and belonging

No. Loading Text

14 .589 I will really miss being on the 'job'

36 .578 I have enormous experience and this will be lost when I retire

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52 .578 My role is very important and I will be hard to replace
31 .572 I really enjoy going to work
23 .556 I will really miss my mates and the camaraderie
37 .504 It would be good if the Service did more to encourage me to
stay on
15 .467 If legally possible I would want to keep policing past 60
16 .455 55 is no longer 'old'
27 .429 It is wasteful to force people to retire
22 .339 I feel that I am fit enough to keep working

This factor centred on the individuals’ sense of value to the organisation and society

and the sense of camaraderie from belonging to the police family. Worth and

belonging displayed characteristics of commitment to the policing role and a sense of

reward from it, highlighted by the belonging to what the focus groups had articulated

as being ‘in the job’. This factor consisted of responses that were associated with the

positive aspects and relationships of the policing role and the positive self-image of

the individual as a police officer. This involved a sense of worth (something of value

to give) and belonging (to the police ‘family’).

Factor Three was entitled flexibility and the questionnaire items contributing to this

factor have been shown in Table 12.

TABLE 12: Flexibility Factor

Factor Three Flexibility

No. Loading Text

55 .792 I would stay on if I could stop doing shift work

57 .788 I would stay on if I could get a non-operational role
56 .749 I would stay on if I could work just a few days a week
54 .641 I would love to know what my options are to working full time
19 .550 I would stay on if I could do something different
39 .519 I would keep working if I had better conditions
17 .422 I am sick of shift work
30 .391 There isn't enough flexibility in my work schedule

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Factor Three centred on non-traditional and reduced work commitments, modified

working arrangements, and a change to the working environment and type of

activity. This factor contained a number of statements surrounding the rigidity of the

individuals working arrangements and possible potential moves towards greater

flexibility of work practice options.

Factor Four was entitled influences and relationships and the questionnaire items

contributing to this factor have been shown in Table 13.

TABLE 13: Influences and Relationships Factor

Factor Four Influences and relationships

No. Loading Text

40 .639 I am getting pressured by my colleagues to retire

47 .554 I am being 'head-hunted' by another employer
53 .466 A family member will support my retirement financially
25 .457 I feel that, at best, I am just being tolerated by my colleagues
46 .450 I no longer enjoy the relationships that I have with my colleagues
4 .421 My health is poor and I feel that I can't keep working
8 .386 I have plans for a new career or job

This factor focused on statements which detailed mainly aspects of workplace

involvements.

Factor Five was entitled financial and the questionnaire items contributing to this

factor have been shown in Table 14.

TABLE 14: Financial Factor

Factor Five Financial

No. Loading Text

26 .670 Money is the most important reason why I will keep working
38 .551 I have too many financial commitments to retire now
33 .444 I have paid tax all my life and I want the government to start

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 paying me
29 .539 I intend to live for a long time and I want as much superannuation
as possible
44 .361 I would keep working if I had better pay

The factor focused predominantly on financial issues.

Internal reliability of the factors

To determine the internal reliability of the factors, Cronbach alpha reliabilities were

calculated for each of the five factor scales as recommended by Bryman and Cramer

(1997). Cronbach’s alpha is described by Hair et al (1995) as a ‘commonly used

measure of reliability for a set of two or more construct indicators. Values range

between 0 and 1.0, with higher values indicating higher reliability among indicators’

(p.618). These reliabilities are presented in Table 15.

TABLE 15: Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities for the five factors extracted
Factor Reliability
Appropriateness (It’s time to go) .875
Worth and belonging .793
Flexibility .790
Influences .635
Financial .582

Bryman and Cramer (1997) recommended that when Cronbach’s alpha is used “the

result should be .8 or above” (p. 64), while Pallant (2005) has noted that “Ideally, the

Cronbach alpha coefficient of a scale should be above .7 (p. 90). The Cronbach

alpha for internal reliabilities of the first three factors were all above .7 and actually

approached or exceeded .8 and therefore supported high internal reliabilities for these

three factors. Factors four and five showed lower reliability and it would have been

desirable for them to have displayed greater reliability. However, both factors four

and five consisted of less than 10 items. As noted by Pallant (2005) “Cronbach alpha

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values are, however, quite sensitive to the number of items in the scale. With short

scales (e.g. scales with fewer than 10 items), it is common to find quite low

Cronbach values (e.g. .5)” (p. 90). Pallant recommends that for short scales “it may

be more appropriate to report the mean inter item correlation for the items” (p. 90).

For factor 4 (Influences and relationships) the mean inter item correlation was .207.

This was within the optimal range recommended by Briggs and Cheek (1986) of

between .2 and .4. Factor 5 (Financial) had a mean inter item correlation of .190.

This factor showed a mean inter item correlation slightly below the optimal range of

.2 to .4 recommended by Briggs and Cheek.

Summary of findings for Research Question Two

Research Question Two sought to identify the triggers that were associated with the

individual’s retirement age intention. Of the 57 potential triggers identified from the

literature and the focus groups, 45 showed statistically significant relationships with

a subject/s retirement timing decision.

A factor analysis of the 57 items used in the questionnaire yielded five factors.

The first factor was entitled ‘appropriateness’ and encompassed issues that

indicated that the individual had formed, or was forming, a view that they were

approaching a time at which it was appropriate to retire. The second factor ‘worth

and belonging’ centred on the individuals’ sense of value to the organisation and

society and the sense of camaraderie from belonging to the police family and a sense

of reward from it. This factor consisted of items that were associated with the

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positive aspects and relationships of the policing role and the positive self-image of

the individual as a police officer of worth (something of value to give) and belonging

(to the police ‘family’). The third factor focused on issues of flexibility and the

inflexible aspects of working conditions. The fourth factor involved triggers around

workplace involvement along the theme of ‘influences and relationships.’ This

factor indicated that individuals did not act in isolation when forming their retirement

intention. The fifth factor featured ‘financial’ issues and indicated that money and

financial security were potential issues in retirement decision-making.

Investigation of Research Question Three

The study also sought to identify how the triggers identified in the study were

associated with police officers’ decisions to retire earlier or later and Research

Question Three has been restated here.

How are these triggers associated with officers’ intentions to retire

earlier or later?

The decision to use binary logistic regressions as the research tool in the

investigation of research question three has already been explained and justified in

Chapter Three. In this earlier chapter details were provided establishing the

suitability of the sample size and the nature of the data for binary logistic regression.

Two binary logistic regressions were carried out. In the first regression, only the five

factors identified in the examination of research question two were included for

officers indicating earlier or later retirement preferences. In the second regression,

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demographic characteristics were also included to determine if their inclusion would

improve predictability or influence the predictability of any of the five factors

examined in the first regression.

First Binary logistic Regression

A full print out of this regression has been provided in Appendix I.

A chi-square value of 210.493, df = 5, p < .0005 was obtained in the Omnibus Tests

of Model coefficients section of the analysis. This “goodness of fit” test confirmed

that the model with the five factors entered as variables was a significantly better

predictor than SPSS’s original guess without those factors shown in block O on the

provided printout. The results for the Hosmer and Lemeshow Test also supported the

model in this analysis as being worthwhile. For this test a chi-square value of 12.186,

df = 8, p = .193 was obtained. As explained by Pallant (2005), this test is interpreted

differently to most other statistical tests, with a poor fit being indicated by a

significance value < .05. The significance value obtained here of .193 was

considerably greater than the minimum .05 value. In the model summary, The Cox

and Snell R square and the Nagelerke R square indicated that between 35.6% and

47.4% of the amount of variation in the dependent variable was explained by the set

of variables (the five factors) in the model.

As explained by Pallant (2005) “the Variables in the Equation table gives us

information about the contribution or importance of each of our predictor variables”

(p. 168). Four of the five factors contributed significantly to the predictive ability of

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the model. The most significant contributor was factor one with a Wald value of

66.906, df = 1, p<.0005. This factor had a B value of -2.955. It was of interest that

this was the only factor with a negative B value. The next most influential factor was

factor four with a Wald value of 31.358, df = 1, p<.0005. This factor had a B value

of 1.747. Other significant contributors were Factor 5, with a Wald value of 6.490, df

= 1, p=.011 and factor two with a Wald value of 5.654, df = 1, p=.017. The

remaining factor, factor 3, did not contribute significantly with a Wald value of

1.356, df = 1, p =.244.

The sign of the B value was of considerable importance. As noted by Pallant (2005)

“This will tell you about the direction of the relationship” (p. 168). In the current

study, a negative B value showed factors for which a higher score increased the

likelihood of an officer preferring early retirement, and a positive B value showed

factors in which a higher score would increase the possibility of an officer staying on

to a later retirement date.

A final item of interest in the first logistic regression was the Exp (B) value for factor

four. The Exp (B) values are the odds ratios for each of the five factors. An “odds

ratio” is “the increase (or decrease if the ratio is less than one) of odds being in one

outcome category when the value of the predictor increases by one unit” (Tabachnik

and Fidell, 2001, p. 548). Of particular note was the high odds ratio (compared to the

odds ratios of all other factors) found for factor four. This value of 5.738 was

markedly higher than the next highest odds ratio of 1.813 found for factor two. In

terms of one of the desired outcomes from this study (encouraging police officers to

serve beyond the 55 year earliest retirement age) this suggested that attention to this

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factor would be most productive in any planning to encourage officers to defer

retirement.

Second Binary Logistic Regression

The second binary Logistic Regression included the five factors utilised in the first

regression, but also included the demographic variables examined in the study. A full

print out of this regression has been provided in Appendix J.

The chi-square value of 274.72, df = 23, p <.0005 obtained in the Omnibus Tests of

Model coefficients confirmed that this model, with both the factors and demographic

variables entered, was a significantly better predictor that the original SPSS guess

without those variables shown in block O. The Hosmer and Lemeshow test also

supported model as being worthwhile with a chi-square value of 6.455 , df = 8, p =

.596. The Cox and Snell R Square and the Nagelkerke R Square values of .447 and

.596 respectively indicated that the variables in the model now explained between

44.7% and 59.6% of the variation in the dependent variable. This was an increase of

approximately 10% on the variation explained in the first analysis when only the five

factors were used.

The inclusion of demographic data in the regression did change the influence of a

number of the factors. Factor one remained as the most significant contributor, with

a Wald value of 67.667 df = 1, p < .0005 (a very slight increase on the value in the

earlier regression), but the B value for this factor changed from -2.995 to -3. 783.

Factor four remained significant with a Wald value of 16.794, df = 1, p <.0005, but

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this value was considerably down from the value of 31.358, df = 1, p <.0005

obtained in the earlier analysis. Factor five showed a marked increase in Wald value

(from 6.490, df = 1, p =.011 to 14.264, df = 1, p < .0005) indicating considerably

greater contribution to the variation in the dependent variable. Factor two was no

longer a significant contributor, with a Wald value of 1.918, df =1, p = .166. Factor

three again did not contribute significantly to variation in the dependent variable.

Only two of the demographic variables contributed significantly and meaningfully to

the variation in the dependent variable. These were education and gender (1). For

education, an overall Wald value of 9.505, df =3, p = .023 was obtained, with the

most significant contribution being found in the education 2 band (Senior standard)

(Wald value of 8.984, df =1, p = .003). All B values for education were positive,

indication that this demographic was associated with a preference to retire later.

Gender one, with a Wald value of 3.902, df = 1, p = .048 was only slightly outside

the .05 cut off limit used in the study. The negative B value obtained here (-1.221)

was supportive of the earlier discussed preference of female officers to prefer earlier

retirement. Although age did obtain a significant Wald value (26.882, df =2, p

<.0005) and positive B values, it was not examined further for reasons explained in

greater detail earlier in the study (principally that a number of officers (in the 45-60

age group) preferring early retirement would have already retired thus biasing the

age sample towards those deciding to continue to a later retirement date).

Summary of findings for Research Question Three

The overall summation that could be made from these analyses was that factor one

was the most important contributor to the intended retirement age decision. Factor

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four was also an important and significant contributor. Factor Two was an important

contributor in it own right, but when the demographic variables were considered, it

no longer contributed significantly. Factor five contributed significantly with and

without the demographic variables, and increased far more as a significant

contributor when the demographic variables were introduced. However, as noted in

the factor analysis section, this factor contained a limited number of items that did

not show high reliability. Factor three did not contribute significantly at any stage of

either analysis. The only demographic variables to contribute significantly were

education, which was associated with later retirement and gender, which supported

the earlier retirement intentions of female officers.

Summary

The study sought to answer three research questions that applied to police officer

retirement intentions. It was anticipated that this data would generate valid findings

that would support recommendations that could potentially be used to positively

address workforce participation rates amongst the sample group. The study achieved

a significant return rate of data and this enabled statistically significant findings to be

generated. The relationship of this data and the findings to the present study is

discussed in Chapter Six.

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 CHAPTER SIX – DISCUSSION

Introduction

This chapter discusses the overall study, its analysis and findings. It begins with an

overview of the process and then explores each of the three research questions.

There is discussion on the findings and their relationship to previous research and an

exploration of the specific issues that were generated by the focus groups. This

includes issues that were expected to be confirmed by this study but were not. This

chapter provides the basis for the conclusions and recommendations that are detailed

in Chapter Seven.

Summary of the study

At the time this study was conducted, Queensland police officers were offered a five

year age range in which retirement was possible. These officers were permitted to

retire from age 55 and were forced to retire at age 60. The Queensland Police

Service had previously identified that only 13% of all police officers were staying in

their employment until the mandatory retirement age of 60. Retirement of these

officers at the earliest possible opportunity presented a considerable loss of

manpower to the service, and this study was undertaken to investigate some possible

triggers for the decision to retire being made.

A survey of the literature had shown that while considerable work had been done on

retirement and a number of possible triggers identified, little work has been done on

police retirement, and no investigations of police specific retirement triggers had

been undertaken. The situation was further compounded by the fact that the major

147
study of police retirement was American, with retirement in that system based on

years of service and not age as in Australia. A list of possible retirement triggers has

been compiled from the literature and then focus groups of Queensland police

officers were then used to discuss some aspects of these possible retirement triggers

and generate others that were specific to the Queensland Police Service.

Central to this study was the apparent one-size-fits-all reason for police officer

retirement that was discovered in the literature review. This was at odds with the

multiple reasons for police officer resignations which were also found in the

literature. This study sought to identify these retirement triggers and determine how

they might influence police officer retirement intentions.

Three specific research questions associated with the retirement decisions of

Queensland police officers of the baby-boomer generation were formulated and

subsequently investigated. These questions were:

1. How do the demographic characteristics of individual police officers relate to

their retirement intentions?

2. What are the triggers that are associated with the retirement age intentions of
baby-boomer police officers in Queensland?

3. How are these triggers associated with officers’ intentions to retire earlier or
later?

Investigation of Research Question One

The literature had consistently identified that some demographic variables were

significantly associated with retirement decisions of individuals with age, gender,

148
and education being major contributors to the retirement decision (Hong and Xu Yu

(1995), Kolodinsky et al (1995), Knox (2003) and Barnes (2003)). Police officer

specific triggers included operational status, promotional qualification, and

organisational rank (Lynch and Tuckey (2001)) and career stage (Drew (2003). The

Queensland Police Service Reference Group had added their own possible retirement

triggers of the method of admission to the organisation (Cadet, Probationary or

Recruit) and the qualification for promotion status of the individual.

These were consolidated into nine demographic identifiers of age, gender, length of

service (years in the job), rank, operational status, shift-worker status, education

level, qualification for promotion, and method of admission to the organisation. This

categorical data was analysed using univariate analysis through Chi-square tests

against the responses to the tenth question of the questions seeking details of the

individuals intended retirement age.

When research question one was investigated, it was found that three of the

demographic variables examined had a statistically significant association with early

or later retirement intentions. These demographic items were gender, length of

service, and the method of admission to the organisation.

Almost twice as many females indicated an intention to retire ‘at or near 55’ than ‘at

or near 60’ in contrast to their male counterparts who recorded almost equal numbers

in seeking earlier or later retirement. It was expected that this would be the case and

was consistent with both the literature (Lynch and Tuckey (2003), Drew (2003),

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(Barnes (2003), Knox (2003), FACS (2003), Whipple (2001), Kolodinski et al

(1995), and Hong and Xu Yu (1995) and the focus groups.

Those who entered the organisation as a Cadet were significantly more likely to

report an intention to retire earlier than those who entered as a Probationary or

Recruit. No direct conclusions could be drawn from this and it may well be that the

admission as a Cadet was related to the amount of time served in the organisation

which was also associated with retirement intentions with the newest members

displaying a stronger desire to remain until retirement at of near 60 than their longer

serving counterparts.

Whilst not statistically significant, the findings indicated that a greater proportion of

individuals with higher education levels tended towards later retirement than those

with more generic academic qualifications. This supported the findings of Barnes

(2003), Knox (2003), FACS (2003), Whipple (2001), and Kolodinski et al (1995).

An important but unexpected finding was that operational status, shift worker status,

rank, and qualification for promotion had no association with the retirement decision.

This was somewhat at odds with both the focus groups and the literature review and

is discussed later in this chapter.

Investigation of Research Question Two

The second research question, as stated above, sought to identify triggers associated

with retirement age intentions. Data for investigation of the second research question

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was provided by the 57 items in the non-demographic section of the questionnaire.

These had been sourced from the literature and the focus groups made up of

Queensland police officers. Respondents rated each statement on a five point scale.

T tests were utilised to ascertain if statistically significant relationships existed

between the respondent’s rating on each item and their indicated early or late

retirement intentions. Statistically significant relationships were found for 45 of the

57 possible triggers. A subsequent factor analysis involving the 57 items identified

five factors. These factors were:

The appropriateness factor encompassed items which all indicated that the

members considered that they had achieved, or were approaching, an age where it

was appropriate for them to retire. This factor was by far the most significant and

influential in retirement decision making (as shown in the regressions analyses

associated with research question three), with high scores being associated with a

preference for retirement at or around the earliest possible age.

The worth and belonging factor was made up of items that were associated with the

positive aspects and relationships of the policing role and the positive self-image of

the individual as a police officer. This sense of worth (something of value to give)

and belonging (to the police ‘family’) was the fourth and least significant and

influential factor, with high scores being associated with a preference for retirement

at or around the latest possible age.

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The flexibility factor consisted of items that were associated with aspects

surrounding the rigidity of the individuals working arrangements. This factor did not

contribute significantly to retirement preference.

The influences and relationships factor focused on trigger statements indicating

that individuals did not act in isolation when forming their retirement intention.

The fifth factor, financial, focused on financial issues but due to the relatively low

Cronbach’s Alpha value (.558) was not a statistically reliable factor. This factor

indicated that money and financial security were contributors that influenced

retirement.

The relationships of the factors identified in the study to the literature

There was some considerable consistency in the factors and triggers identified in this

study and those identified in the literature.

The Appropriateness factor, or variations of this theme, were identified by Myers

(1992) ‘how they viewed themselves and their retirement transition’, Hannson et al

(1997) ‘reaching a certain age’, Knox (2003) ‘reaching an appropriate retirement

age’, and Violanti’s (1992) ‘ready for change’ and ‘tired of work’.

Worth and belonging, as a theme, was identified by Myers (1992) ‘how social and

institutional connections contributed’, Lynch and Tuckey (2003) ‘promotion and

other career issues’, and Violanti (1992) ‘work involvement and satisfaction’.

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Flexibility, or alternatively inflexibility, was identified by Whipple (2001) ‘working

conditions’, and Lynch and Tuckey (2003) ‘flexibility issues and flexible solutions’.

External pressures and internal relationships, and variants of this theme, were

identified by Hong and Xu Yu (1995), ‘work satisfaction’, Whipple (2001)

‘relationships with managers and co-workers’ and ‘family expectations’, Kolodinsky

et al (2000) ‘family and friends’, Knox (2003) ‘employment conditions’, Hannson

et al (1997) ‘pursuit of leisure activities’ and ‘seeking an alternative lifestyle’ and

Violanti (1974) ‘internal pressure’.

Financial, or money related themes, were identified by Hong and Xu Yu (1995)

‘earnings and wealth’, Whipple (2001) ‘finances’, Kolodinsky et al (1995) ‘salary

and income’, FACS (2003) ‘household income’, Barnes (2003) ‘income’, and Knox

(2003) ‘retirement income’.

Investigation of Research Question Three

Research Question Three sought to examine how the five factors identified in the

study were associated with the retirement intention. The statistical process of binary

logistic regression was employed and two regressions were undertaken. In the first

regression, only the retirement intention indications and five factors identified in the

study were employed. In the second regression, the demographic variables were

added.

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Factor one ‘appropriateness’ was found to be the most important contributor to

retirement age intention. This was the only factor for which higher scores were

associated with a preference for early retirement.

Factor two ‘worth and belonging’ was an important contributor in it own right, but

when the demographic variables were considered, its contribution was reduced

significantly. For this factor, higher scores were associated with a preference for

later retirement.

Factor three ‘flexibility’ did not appear to have a significant association with the

retirement decision process.

Factor four ‘influences and relationships’ was found to be the second most important

contributor to retirement age intention. Higher scores on this factor were associated

with a preference for later retirement.

Factor five ‘financial’ also contributed significantly with higher scores on this factor

being associated with a preference for later retirement. What was interesting about

this factor was that its contribution to the retirement decision increased significantly

when the demographic variables were included in the analysis.

Discussion on the findings

As detailed in Chapter One there was a very high rate (87%) of early retirement

within the Queensland Police Service at the time that this study was commenced. It

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was strongly suspected that operational status (traditional policing duties),

difficulties with the rigours of rotational shift work, and issues associated with the

rank structure would be key influences in the (early) retirement age decision. Much

of this notion was supported anecdotally, through some of the literature and some

focus group members. It was believed that these issues leading to a desire for earlier

retirement would be confirmed by the study. This, however, was not the case.

The first finding that was notable in this study was the finding of an almost equal

division in the stated retirement age intentions between the ‘retire at or near 55’

group and the ‘at or near 60’ group with 266 (41.7%) and 268 (42.0%) responses

respectively and with just 104 respondents (16.3%) choosing to report in the ‘I don’t

know yet’ category. This demonstrated a significant deviation from the actual

retirement outcome of their immediate peers who were far more likely to retire

earlier rather than later and the focus group members who were reluctant to commit

to a retirement intention.

Upon detailed examination, rank, shift worker status and operational status were

found to have little impact on retirement intention. Operational status and shift

worker status were closely mirrored (almost all shift workers were operational police

officers and visa versa) and it was anecdotally reported that older officers resisted the

demands of operational policing with the inference being that an inescapable

operational status would lead to a desire for earlier retirement. This notion had been

supported by some of the literature on the detrimental affects of the ageing process

and some members of the focus groups. The study found, however, that the

operational status of an individual was not statistically significant in the retirement

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age decision processes, and the results when viewed showed an almost even split that

clearly indicated that being operational or not did not affect a desire for earlier

retirement.

Qualification for higher rank was also found to be of far less importance than

originally presumed. Rank was (and continues to be) pivotal to the operations and

culture of the Queensland Police Service. Rank was linked to organisational

position, responsibility, an element of income generation, superannuation generally

and, to some extent, prestige. It was found through the focus groups, however, that

income often dropped when a member was promoted to a non-operational role

through the resultant loss of penalty provision or the ‘Operational Shift Allowance’

and that there were other financial and non-monetary benefits for many members to

not seek higher ranks. This included the need for members to often relocate upon

attaining a promotion and the resultant impact that this had on the members’ family.

The focus groups indicated that the ability or desirability to relocate, change, and in

some cases ‘put yourself up for failure’ in later employment life was significant.

Ultimately, it was found that the individual’s rank and qualification for higher rank

was not a clear indicator of employment longevity. These variables did, however,

suggests some possible association with when the member intended to retire in that

members of lower ranks generally sought earlier retirement. However, this was not

statistically significant.

The current age of the police officer was found to be difficult to link to any clear

retirement age influence. This was due, in the main, to the data being difficult to

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value against the criteria as the current age and retirement age often overlapped.

That is, officers who were already over 55 years of age were almost certainly not

going to report a retirement intention of ‘at or near 55’. It was found, however, that

the older the officer was the more they were inclined to seek a later retirement and

that the members who were newest to the organisation displayed a stronger desire to

remain until age retirement than their longer serving counterparts.

The issue of educational levels was found to be complex particularly given the range

of prerequisite education levels required for entry to the Queensland Police Service

over the last three decades. Educational levels, as a retirement trigger, were not

found to be statistically significant. However, the data did indicate a trend that

members with lower levels of education were more likely to desire early retirement

and members with higher levels of education tended to desire later retirement. While

this trend was apparent, it was debatable as to whether the attaining of higher levels

of education was indicative of a greater organisational commitment or enthusiasm by

the individual or linked to the ‘length of service’ relationship with newer members

requiring higher levels of education and the trend of newer employee’s to seek later

retirement.

It was seen that admission to the organisation as a Probationary had virtually no

impact on the retirement decision. Admission as a Recruit, whilst impacting on the

retirement decision, was unreliable. This was due to the chronology of the

organisation with Recruit entry only being available in recent years, it was highly

likely that these members expressed a desire for later retirement for the same reasons

as described in the ‘length of service’ crosstabulation above as these members were

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all relatively ‘fresh’ and seeking the benefits of longevity that their longer serving

colleagues had already attained. Admission as a Cadet showed a statistically

significantly relationship to the retirement age decision with Cadets showing a desire

for earlier retirement.

By separating gender from the entry admission profile, the study found that there was

virtually no change in the retirement intentions of male and female officers who

entered the organisation as Recruits, but a considerable difference in the retirement

intentions of female Probationarys and a significant difference in the retirement

intentions of female Cadets. In both of these later cases, female members were far

more likely to intend ending their careers at or near 55 years of age. As such, the

study found a strong correlation between gender, admission to the organisation, and

retirement intention.

An important outcome of the study was the verification of 45 “triggers” which had

been sourced from the literature and focus groups as having statistically significant

relationships with police officers’ decisions to retire “at or near 55” or “at or near

60”. This was not unexpected as the process to achieve content validity (literature

review, focus groups and Reference Panel) was somewhat comprehensive and

designed to produce the most relevant and valid questionnaire possible. This study

has provided validation of these items as possible triggers for a large sample of

police officers, thus establishing their credibility for use by other researchers. Of

equal importance was the factor analysis performed on the questionnaire items used

in the study. Five factors were identified. For the current study, this identification of

more generalised areas associated with the retirement time in decision making was

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important as it provided specific areas in which the Queensland Police Service could

then attempt to influence in any program designed to encourage officers to continue

serving to a later age.

The first and most significant factor identified “appropriateness” did not appear to be

one that could be easily influenced as it reflected personal decision-making by the

individual officer. Unfortunately for any program designed to encourage longer

service, higher scores on the factor were associated with an intention to retire earlier,

rather than later. However, for all three of the remaining factors that were found to

contribute significantly to the decision, higher scores were associated with the

decision to retire later. Factor four, influences and relationships, was particularly

noteworthy in that, of all the factors, it provided greatest potential for influence

through any program undertaken to encourage later retirement.

Factor three, flexibility, did not contribute significantly to retirement timing

intention. This was somewhat of a surprise as both the literature and focus groups

had supported the idea that more flexible working conditions would be attractive to

older officers and could encourage extended service. This result could have been

biased away from the expected outcome as a result of the timing of questionnaire.

The questionnaire was delivered at a time when, at least anecdotally, those members

completing the questionnaire were being negatively impacted upon by subordinate

officers accessing flexible work options. At the time of data collection, issues of

part-time and work-from-home arrangements were a relatively new practice and

substantially removed from the experience of the members participating in the

questionnaire. Many of these members would have also been in managerial roles

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and experiencing difficulties in managing such arrangements with their staff. It was

possible, therefore, that issues of workplace flexibility were not as apparent as they

might have been if the culture of the organisation was more embracing of these

concepts. It was also possible that a similar questionnaire, at some future point in

time, would have recorded a greater emphasis on issues of workplace flexibility.

Summary

In conclusion, this study found the likely retirement outcomes for this group of baby-

boomer pending retirees would be different from that being experienced at the time

when the study was commenced. It is likely, given the almost equal division of

intended retirement age at opposite ends of the spectrum, that the average retirement

age of these officers will move away from the reported 87% rate of early retirement.

It was found that the predicted major causes of early retirement (operational status,

rank, and shift work) were not nearly as relevant as suspected and that the retirement

decision is significantly complex. While education and gender were the only real

demographic variables that contributed to the retirement decision, the study found

that it was possible to group retirement into factors. These factors form the basis of

the conclusions and recommendations presented in Chapter Seven.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN – CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents conclusions drawn from the study and makes recommendations

for the Queensland Police Service to consider should it wish to take some action to

positively address the workforce participation rates of its older sworn officers. This

chapter also discusses the limitations of the study and makes recommendation for

subsequent and future research.

The goal of this study was the determination of the retirement triggers and retirement

intentions of baby boomer police officers in Queensland. It was undertaken as part

of a professional doctorate to enhance professional practice in human resource

management. To then end, the study sought more to focus on applied investigation

and problem solving than ‘pure’ research and the pursuit of theoretical knowledge.

The outcome of the study, as detailed in this chapter, is the addressing of the

identified retirement triggers of the sample through policy remedies. These remedies

are recommended with the support of the study’s findings and can be applied through

an educative process and increased institutional awareness.

This study concluded that the Queensland Police Service had a workforce of older

sworn officers who were evenly divided as to their retirement age intentions. This

was in contrast to the previous situation of 87% of members retiring before their

mandatory age as discussed earlier in the study. This study has supported the

concept of ‘retirement age triggers’ as noted in the literature with 45 specific

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triggers, identified in the literature search or through focus groups, validated in the

study for Queensland police officers. Demographic aspects showed little overall

influence on an officer’s retirement age intention. A factor analysis of the

questionnaire items used in the study identified five factors, of which four

contributed significantly to a police officer’s retirement timing intentions.

It was found that a perception of employment condition flexibility did not

significantly influence retirement intention. It was concluded that greater flexibility

and control over working conditions may not have the net affect of increasing the

employment longevity of the individual. This was in contrast to the collective view

of the focus groups and indications from the literature. However, given the

consistency of this factor being identified in the literature and the relative strength of

the assertions of the focus groups that flexibility was a desirable option, it may be the

case that the present study has failed to fully extrapolate the relevance of this factor.

The probable reasons for this are detailed in Chapter Five (a generalised dislike of

the management of part-time employees and a resistance to change).

Upon examination it was surmised that this was because the focus groups had the

opportunity to discuss a range of issues associated with flexible working

arrangements whereas the questionnaire recipients simply responded to the questions

in isolation. From this, it is possible that the concept of flexible working

arrangements had not ‘had a fair hearing’ and that the sample members responded

negatively to the concept as a result of the difficulties that they had experienced in

attempting to manage subordinate officers flexible conditions. It is asserted that the

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notion of flexible work practices for post-retiree’s needs to be tested beyond the

scope of the present research.

The literature had identified a means to reduce the impact of sudden retirement

through the notion of phased-retirement and with it a reduction in working hours,

responsibility and work volume. It was assumed that this would be applicable to the

Queensland Police Service, but this was not the case. It was concluded that the

issues of rank, location benefits, pre-retirement income and its direct correlation to

superannuation dividends under the defined benefits policy, and to some extent

prestige did not support the notion of phased retirement in a Queensland Police

Service context. However, it was concluded that a form of phased retirement might

be applicable to these members in a post-retirement context. These officers could

retire in the traditional sense on full benefits and then be ‘courted’ by the agency

back into its labour force through the sense of camaraderie that individual officers

evidently possessed.

It was found that this keen sense of worth and camaraderie as a police officer was

identified as having a strong association with a later retirement intention. This was

not entirely unexpected and, whilst this factor was found in other studies (Myers

(1992) and Hannson et al. (1997)), it was a phenomenon that appeared to have

particular relevance in the context of policing (Lynch and Tuckey (2004) Violanti

(1992)). It was therefore concluded that a continued association with the

organisation in a positive light was important in influencing the retirement decision

to the later end of the spectrum.

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It was found that the financial implications of employment and retirement were a

contributor to the retirement intention with the financial factor contributing to a

decision favouring later retirement. It was concluded that financial issues were not

absolute as a stand-alone contributor to the retirement decision but moreover a

trigger that compounded other factors.

The ‘appropriateness’ factor was the only factor where higher scores indicated a

preference for earlier retirement. The study did not specifically explore the probable

myriad of reasons for why the majority of individuals felt that the age of fifty-five

was the appropriate age to retire. This was understandable given that legislation

permitted retirement at that age, superannuation provided the means to retire, and

that the majority of the individual’s contemporaryies were retiring at or near that age.

What was interesting was that there was no organisational ‘counter’ to this factor and

therein no policy or attempt to prolong employment longevity.

This becomes particularly important when considering the ‘relationships and

influences’ factor. Higher scores on this factor were associated with a preference for

later retirement but there was no attempt to influence this through Queensland Police

Service policy. It was left to the individual and their circle of influence to determine

an appropriate retirement age. The organisation was not a participant in this process.

What was required was a means to capitalise on the later retirement influences of the

‘financial’, ‘worth and belonging’, and ‘influences and relationships’ factors to

counter to isolated ‘appropriateness’ factor. Additionally, the ‘flexibility’ factor

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needed to given a more contemporary offering to the sample members. This study

generated three recommendations designed to achieve this.

It was noted during the study that the Queensland Police Service did little to prevent

early retirement attrition and that the individual was left to determine what their own

appropriate retirement age should be. This presents the opportunity for the

individual to be influenced and guided in their decision prior to actually retiring.

Recommendations

If it were the intention of the Queensland Police Service to take some action to

reduce the quantum of preventable voluntary retirement, the following

recommendations may be of assistance.

Recommendation One:

Queensland Police Service Alumni

The present situation. The Queensland Police Service does not currently have any

purposeful means to maintain contact or affiliation with its former members except

through the largely informal and voluntary Retire Police Association Incorporated.

This Association has no tangible benefits for the organisation and benefits for the

individual are ad hoc. Retired police have no formal association with the

organisation that was such a major part of their identity and reality for the majority of

their life. Whilst it is acknowledged that not all retired (or former) members of the

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Queensland Police Service may want this link with the organisation, the findings of

this study support the notion of a sponsored and endorsed alumnus group.

The alternative ‘Queensland Police Alumni’. The sense of worth and belonging

that the individual held with ‘the job’ might well be extended into retirement through

a formalised affiliation with the organisation after retirement. This post-retirement

link was already evident with some former members joining the Retired Police

Association Incorporated. However, the Queensland Police Service did not appear to

have had expended significant effort into this since 1998. The bulk of information

about the activities of the Retired Police Association was, in fact, being conveyed to

serving officers through the journal of the Queensland Police Union of Employees.

Whilst acknowledging that the organisation had, at best, only a moral or good faith

obligation in regards to retired police, it was argued that employment market

conditions had shifted to a point where the Service was beginning to fail to capture a

significant potential labour resource by allowing retirement without any attempt to

limit preventable retirement attrition. It was acknowledged that this potential labour

force was ageing, but then again, so was the general population and the general

labour force.

It was recommended that the Queensland Police Service complement its Retired

Police Association initiative by implementing a formal ‘alumni’. Such an alumnus

group could be managed from within the organisation and provide restricted access

to appropriate portions of the Queensland Police Service’s intranet website, thereby

maintaining purposeful contact with the retiree. This would enable some potential

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for a range of benefits for the individual and their self esteem and potential

knowledge management and human resource benefits for the organisation.

Through this it might be possible to operate a web-based re-employment procruiting

‘job site’ for members of the alumni to perform a range of appropriate tasks or roles

for defined periods. This proposal is explained in Recommendation Two

‘Procruiting’.

Recommendation Two:

Procruiting

The present situation. The Queensland Police Service does not expend any

discernable effort on preventing voluntary attrition at the retirement end of the

spectrum and instead devotes tremendous effort towards recruiting new members.

This focus has served the organisation well for almost 150 years, but the human

resource environment in which it operates is shifting markedly and approaching a

point where it may well become unsustainable. The primary problem for the

Queensland Police Service, in this regard, is to have functions and activities

completed by qualified and capable personnel across all areas of its jurisdiction.

The alternative: ‘Procruiting.’ This study found that the financial issues that were

associated with retirement and employment were a significant but not absolute

determinant of the retirement decision. It was considered that a policy could be

introduced to maximise the employment longevity of individuals past the age that

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they would have otherwise retired fully. This would most likely need to be on an

other-than-full-time basis and underpinned on a philosophy of flexible compromise

between the individual and the organisation. The findings of a positive employment

longevity from the ‘influences and relationships’ and ‘worth and belonging’ factors

indicate that extended employment life might well be possible for this group of

Queensland Police officers.

The potential labour force of retired police is experienced, trained, security cleared

and located in most geographical areas of the state and could be harvested through a

process nominally entitled ‘procruiting’. ‘Procruiting’ could be described as the

engagement of employees at the veteran end of the employment cycle, just as

‘recruiting’ is the engagement of employees at the neophyte level.

Procruiting could enable former full-time members to extend their affiliation with the

Queensland Police Service, assist in the transfer of knowledge and experience to less

senior members, and significantly increase the available labour force across the State.

Such a proposal could be extended to any sworn member of the organisation who

was no longer engaged on a full-time basis. Potentially, procruiting would suit any

role which would benefit from an appropriate level of policing knowledge but not

require the exercise of police powers, investigation and arrest, or the carriage and use

of weapons. While there may well be some apprehension at the thought of older

‘police’, one must consider the potential of this guaranteed labour force in the same

way that non-traditional employees have previously been engaged in the labour

market during times of war.

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By way of a possible example, an Officer in Charge may choose to reposition sworn

officers into front-line operational roles and temporarily ‘move’ a vacancy to a role

suitable for procruiting. This use of procruitee’s could enable managers to keep

necessary operational positions filled by appropriate officers and supplement this

with a workforce of experienced but no-longer-front-line’ personnel.

In terms of a labour force solution this would operate by human resource managers

identifying vacancies suitable for procruiting and advertising and filling them on

contract via the Alumni site. If successfully implemented it should be possible to

procruit appropriate members in a very short space of time to perform roles for

periods from hours to months dependent upon the required task. Individual members

of the Alumni may or may not seek employment dependent upon their individual

circumstances. In a real sense some members may seek employment for brief

periods to supplement their income and maintain contact with their peers, seeking

extensive or continual periods of employment to increase their employment life, or

find the notion of continued employment distasteful and not access the procruiting

opportunities.

It is important to note that this concept could operate in any geographical location

where retired police exist.

The procruiting proposal should also enable a capacity to maintain currency for

members who were no longer full-time employees and ease their re-entry to the

workforce. This concept may be further extended to cater for members on leave

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without pay, part time arrangements, or rehabilitation programs. This should then

lessen the demands on mainstream human resources.

Recommendation Three:

Assisted Retirement Program.

The present situation. The Queensland Police Service does not possess a current

program to assist officers to retire. Information offered tends to be limited to

contacts for superannuation and financial advice. Individual members are left to

themselves to seek this information and there does not presently appear to be any

intention to alter this.

The alternative: ‘Assisted Retirement Program.’ The forming of a decision as to

an appropriate age for the individual to retire has no purposeful input from the

organisation. Notwithstanding the limitations of this study, it might be valuable for

the Queensland Police Service to investigate a means to assist members with the

retirement decision and the transition into retired life in respect to the influences and

internal relationship factor.

The Queensland Police Service might consider sponsoring a formal and purposeful

retirement transition education package to assist members in the pre and immediately

post-retirement phases. Whilst an electronic pre-retirement package did exist under

the organisation’s Career Planning Unit website, it was relatively low level and

generic and did not present any real options to the candidate to retirement.

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In a practical sense, this may well be extended to include negotiated working

arrangements, procruiting (as explained above), and a range of options to voluntary

retirement. The range and scope of this proposed program would be contingent upon

the outcome intended by the Service. This would at least give the Queensland

Police Service some means to balance, if desired, the external pressures and internal

relationships factor identified in the study and provide some expert assistance to the

individual to help them navigate their path to retirement.

Conclusion

This study has found that the Queensland Police Service has an extremely valuable

human resource pool that is potentially being wasted by being permitted to leave

without any attempt to reduce, restrict, or prevent this loss. It has also been found

that many of these members feel a strong connection to the organisation and are

reluctant to sever that tie. However, and this is perhaps the most important issue

that impacts on police human resource management, the organisation must have the

will to retain these members or this study has been a wasted effort. The means to

reduce this voluntary retirement loss has been identified and a way to retain members

beyond traditional retirement has been offered.

“You never miss your water until your well runs dry.” The human resources well for

the Queensland Police Service is drying up. This is occurring at the very time that

the biggest leak in this well is about to start. It should be possible, however, to

restrict this leak and perhaps some effort towards better using what is left.

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172
Recommendations for future research

This study identified “triggers” for retirement age decision making that were

applicable to Queensland police officers. Future studies could extend the

investigation of the validity and applicability of these triggers beyond the police

officer sample utilised in this study. In identifying and validating these triggers, the

current study has provided a bank of questionnaire items that could be employed by

future researchers investigating retirement decision making.

This research also identified four factors which have shown statistically significant

relationships to early or late retirement decisions. The areas covered by each of these

factors could be further examined, in both the police and wider contexts. In an era of

low unemployment and at a time when governments are encouraging people to work

longer, the three factors where high scores were associated with a later retirement

decision should warrant further study, particularly in any applied research seeking to

determine strategies to encourage workers to extend their retirement age.

The influence of demographic variables is also one which warrants further

investigation. The noted preference of female officers for earlier retirement is one

such area. The educational level and academic requirements of officers and their

possible influences on retirement decisions is another area where further research is

indicated by the study. This research is particularly needed as higher qualifications

are now being expected of recruits, and further study and courses are now associated

with advancement requirements.

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This study focused on Queensland police officers. However, the loss of experienced

older staff is not singularly associated with that organisation. Investigation of

possible retirement triggers to be found in other industries and their influence on staff

retention is therefore also suggested.

Future studies would perhaps benefit from specifically examining issues related to

rejoining police and / or inter-jurisdictional transferees. The present study did not

attempt to separate this sub-group and therefore no analysis of the data in this regard

was possible. Given that this sub-group, commonly referred to as ‘rejoiners’ or

‘retreads’, has that additional demographic identifier, it might be valuable to consider

how their employment experience has impacted upon their retirement intentions.

It might also be valuable to study if, and the extent to which, a police organisations’

inaction to prevent voluntary retirement could somehow ‘offend’ the sense of worth

and value of individual officers. Additionally, the issue of promotional opportunities

for younger officers being delayed pending the retirement of colleagues may well

exacerbate this. The present study has identified that camaraderie and a sense of

affiliation are important to the retirement decision. Perhaps then the inaction by the

organisation to prevent voluntary attrition is actually compounding it and this, in

itself, is potentially deserving of further study.

The present study did not include all sworn officers in that those of the rank of Chief

Superintendent and above were not involved in the data collection. These members

were the senior executive of the organisation and involved in setting and controlling

174
its strategic direction. It was considered that their views would not be representative

of the bulk of the organisation and they were excluded from the study. However, it

might be valuable to specifically study the senior executive members as a separate

and discreet group.

Since the data collection for the present study closed in 2005, a range of

superannuation reforms have been proposed (Commonwealth Treasury 2006). Most

notably, the preservation age rules have been amended so that officers who remain

employed until age 60 after 30 June 2007 will experience significant taxation

benefits over what they would be entitled to at any lesser age. The extent of this

financial ‘windfall’ of remaining until age 60 is considerable to the point of

superannuation funds tax-free after that time. This may well have a significant

impact on the extent to which the financial factor identified in this study impacts

upon the individuals’ retirement decision, as its current impact is moderated by only

minor taxation implications. It might be valuable therefore to revisit this study in

light of this legislative change in the period 2008 – 2010.

175
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APPENDIXES
Appendix A – The history of police retirement and superannuation in

Queensland

The age of retirement for members of the Queensland Police Force, now known as

the Queensland Police Service (Service) has remained constant at sixty years of age

since first legislated in the Police Act of 1863. This Act granted retirement at age

sixty years with a superannuation benefit of full pay after thirty years of service and

half pay after fifteen years from a deducted payroll sum of two percent. This was a

generous and simple scheme and doomed to failure by its very nature. Johnson

(1992) observed that by 1888/89 the Police Superannuation Fund had become

insolvent and subsequent legislation reduced benefits to a maximum of two thirds of

exit income while doubling member contributions. What is clear is the sheer volume

of complex changes to this legislation as successive governments have reacted to

changes and stimulus from within policing and society generally. The frequency and

complexity of the nature of retirement changes and its associated superannuation

give rise to the probability of further legislative and policy changes as future

governments react and respond to the greater changes in policing and society.

The original retirement age of sixty was enforceable. While Section 4 of The Police

Act of 1863 Amendment Act of 1891 (Queensland Statutes) states, in part, ‘…any

member of the Police Force who has attained the age of sixty years may retire from

the Force’ this was immediately enforced by Section 5 of the same Act by ‘The

Governor in Council may require and member of the Police Force who has attained

the age of sixty years to retire from the Force.’ This effectively ended any officers’

desire to remain as such after the age of sixty. It is presumed that the government of

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the day and therein society did not want a police force of sixty-something officers. It

is likely that this was based in the historical precedence of the colonial justice

system, social perception and acceptability of aged police officers, moves by the

officers themselves and the degenerative realities of physical ageing and its effect on

the requirements of operational policing.

Police superannuation rules and conditions have been in a constant state of flux and

were, initially, provided and administered by the Police Force. Section 9 of the

Police Act of 1863 detailed the superannuation allowance terms payable to members

based on years of service. In short, a member who had served fifteen years was

entitled to one-fourth of his annual salary with an additional one-sixtieth part of pay

for each additional year of service to a maximum of two-thirds of such annual pay.

This inclusion of police officers widows in the fund was due to police being unable

to be covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act of the day and the benefits

payable to the widow of an officer killed or dying from an incident whilst on duty

were benchmarked to that of the Workers’ Compensation Acts. The provision of

such pensions and allowances detailed in the various Police Acts of the day is a

significant deviation from the current situation of government-wide superannuation

programs that are administered by external bodies and the eligibility to workers’

compensation, voluntary ‘top up’ style contributions and salary sacrificing into

superannuation.

As established earlier, it is the ability to discontinue employment and therefore stop

working but still retain an income that determines retirement. It is the age at which

this can occur that has been, and continues to be, the subject of frustration, debate,

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conjecture and published opinion from as far back as the 1800s. The Queensland

Police Union Journal of April 30, 1934 carried an article ‘Compulsory Retirement on

Superannuation at 60 Years of Age’ which is reproduced, in part, below.

‘At a previous meeting a motion was passed in effect that the

Executive make every endeavour to make members of the Police
Force retired on superannuation at the age of sixty years instead of
being allowed to remain on active duty until they reach the age of
sixty years and then draw full salary for the following six months. It
was decided that a case should be made out and brought up at a
meeting, and I therefore wish to point out that it will be of monetary
benefit to the Department to have all members retired on
superannuation on reaching sixty years of age, and it will also benefit
the rank and file in allowing promotions to be made.’

The position of the Queensland Police Union, in this case, was motivated as much by

a desire to free the upper rank structure as to assist the ‘Department’ with its

finances. The Union had attempted to prevent the practice of officers remaining on

active duty to their final day prior to enforceable retirement before accessing their

accumulated Long Service and Recreational Leave entitlements, thus effectively

adding six months to their retirement date. It appears that the Unions position has

essentially always been focused more on an early, rather than late, exit from

employment for its members. What is clear is that the retirement age of police

officers has been, and is still being, influenced by the fiscal considerations of the

pending retirees, the prevailing social conditions and the pressures of police

management and unions.

When examining the history of retirement and superannuation in the Queensland

Police it is necessary to appreciate the historically gender specific nature of policing.

Indeed it wasn’t until 1965 that policewomen were inducted into the then Police

Force in a manner resembling traditional policing, that is, with an arrest power, and

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not until 1984 that they were treated in the same manner as their male counterparts

regarding superannuation when women finally received the same treatment, benefits

and ability to make the same contributions as their male counterparts. While this

anomaly was eventually corrected through legislation and policy, it is indicative of

the reactive approach to superannuation changes that have historically been

significantly slower than the actual workforce composition changes that prompted

them. The question at hand is how will policy be used to respond to the anticipated

changes to our society in terms of its ageing population.

Appendix B – Discussion on age discrimination

Age discrimination, particularly in employment matters, is beginning to display

significant impetus in courts and arbitration commissions worldwide. The basic

tenants of human rights are, by necessity, being legislated and that legislation is

being enacted, tested and ignored, to varying degrees in the developed world. Chris

Sidoti, Human Rights Commissioner, in his address to the Council on the Ageing

(Melbourne) on 18 July 2000 commented, ‘Unlike race, sex and disability

discrimination, there is no age discrimination act at the federal level which makes

age discrimination unlawful’ (Sidoti 2000 p.1). This is evidently not the case in the

United States of America. In commenting on the Unites States of America Federal

employment law, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Neal (2004 p.1)

makes the observation, “Recent statistics from the Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission (U.S.) show that age discrimination charges rose a hefty 14.4 percent

from 2001 to 2002. And most experts agree: As Baby Boomers enter their fifties and

sixties, age discrimination charges will likely spike upwards.” Scheider (1996), in

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her work ‘Mandatory Retirement for Public Safety Officers?’ asks the obvious

question; “Can we tell simply by knowing someone’s age whether that person will

perform well or poorly on the job?”

An example of the cost to employers of age discrimination litigation was the 2003

California Public Employees’ Retirement Scheme (CalPERS). Spokesperson, Pat

Macht (2003) ultimately described the outcome as a ‘fair resolution’ despite

CalPERS assertion that ‘We didn’t necessarily come to the same conclusion that

there was age discrimination, but there was an inequity in benefits’ ( p.7). Under the

scheme which was based on a 1980 state law which gave fewer benefits to

employees who were hired after the age of thirty than their younger (at hiring)

counterparts, a former police officer, Ron Arnett, led a class action suit against

CalPERS resulting in a settlement of two hundred and fifty million dollars (U.S.) to

correct the imbalance. What is clear from this case is the propensity of older workers

to litigate, and often win, when they perceive an inequity in their employment

benefits.

Another significant precedent, in an emergency services context, is the ‘Policy on

Discrimination Against Older Persons because of Age’ issued by the Ontario Human

Rights Commission. Harnden (2002) cites this policy as stressing the need for

‘individualised assessment and decisions rather than actions based on the presumed

group characteristics of older workers’ ( p.1). The case described above is the

Tawney Meiorin case which concerns aerobic fitness. Meiorin was a firefighter with

the Initial Attack Forest Firefighting Crew of the British Columbia Forest Service.

That service, in response to 1991 Coroner’s Inquest Report, introduced a mandatory

186
set of four tests to ensure that only physically fit employees could be used in front

line firefighting duties. Meiorin passed three of the four tests but failed to complete a

two and a half kilometre run in the requisite eleven minutes, failing this by 49.4

seconds. Meiorin was subsequently laid off and her union brought the matter to

arbitration. The ultimate outcome from British Columbia (Public Service Employee

Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU (September 9, 1999) a unanimous Court ruled in

favour of Meiorin. While this case centred on differing gender based physical

requirements, the Court made this observation about employers’ obligations:

Employers designing workplace standards owe an obligation to

be aware of both the differences between individuals, and
differences that characterise groups of individuals. They must
build conceptions of equality into workplace standards. By
enacting human rights statutes…, the legislatures have
determined that the standards governing the performance of
work should be designed to reflect all members of society, in so
far as that is reasonably possible. (British Columbia (Public
Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU
(September 9, 1999) in Harnden (2002))

The interpretation of public policy and case law

Since all public policy centres on governmental decision making it is important to

consider the social commitment that the current government articulates towards older

workers. On 19 February 1999 the Honourable John Howard, Prime Minister of

Australia, gave an address at the launch of the ‘Active Australia International Year of

Older Persons Project’ in Canberra that set the governments commitment to

encouraging older workers in Australia.

Twenty years from now there will be almost twice as many

people over the age of 65 as there are now. And this fact
presents particular challenges and for this reason I’ve
established a Ministerial Reference Group chaired by the

187
 Minister for Aged Care, Mrs Bishop, to develop a national
strategy for an ageing Australia. And it will provide the vehicle
for consulting the community about the type of policies and
programmes needed in the years ahead to meet the demands of
older people. The Mature Age Workers Project will involve
developing promotional material for job network members and
employer associations to encourage them to assist older job
seekers into employment.

The Australian government can do more than simply announce policy proposals to

generate an increase in older workers. It can legislate specific incentives,

disincentives and even barriers to employment with the principle means of ensuring

interest being ones personal finance.

From the outset it must be asserted that the opinions in this section are those of the

author alone. While they are based in statutory and case law they are, as with all

legal matters, opinions based on interpretation. What is clear is that this research,

which started with the hypothesis of ‘The passage of time alone (ageing) does not

make a police officer unemployable’, has been redirected to its current study of the

workforce participation rates of ageing police officers lawfully entitled to remain in

employment. The reason for this change in study is simple. Police officers in this

State, as with their national and international counterparts, are essentially not

permitted to remain as sworn police officers beyond a certain age. This section deals

with the application and interpretation of legislation and case law precedents from

the probable perspective of the Queensland Police Service, as an employer, to an

officer seeking to have their employment status extended beyond the current

mandatory retirement age of sixty years. Finally, it is stressed that this interpretation

remains as the author’s opinion until such time as it is formally tested by a court by a

member seeking to do just that.

188
The central issue of age retirement for sworn members of the Queensland Police

Service is the interpretation of Section 8.2(c) of the Police Service Administration

Act:

8.2 An officer, other than one who holds a position on a contract basis- (c) is to

retire from employment in the service upon attaining the age of 60 years.

The position of the Queensland Police Service has always been that this is a

compulsory restriction on members and that all police officers, not on contract, will

retire upon achieving age sixty years. A challenge to this notion is that this section

‘invites’ members to retire at age sixty with the Chief Executive Officer

(Commissioner) of the Queensland Police Service holding a discretionary ability to

extend their employment beyond this time. This contention relies upon the broad

responsibilities of the Commissioner of Police found in Section 4.8 and particularly

4.8 (2)(a), (d), and (q) of the same Act:

4.8 Commissioner's responsibility

(1) The commissioner is responsible for the efficient and proper administration,
management and functioning of the police service in accordance with law.
(2) Without limiting the extent of the prescribed responsibility, that responsibility
includes responsibility for the following matters--
(a) determination of priorities;
(d) control of the human, financial and other resources of the department; and
(q) termination of employment of members of the service;

189
The legislation supports the notion that the Commissioner must require sworn

members to retire at age sixty, but also supports the notion that the Commissioner

may have a level of residual discretion in imposing this.

Section 106A of the Anti-discrimination Act 1991 also deals with age based

employment practices and it is important to view this issue in terms of an attempt to

have a judicial decision made by an applicant seeking to have a mandatory age

retirement imposition overturned. A person may have such a decision reviewed on

the basis that the purpose of a piece of legislation conflicts with another. When two

items of legislation conflict they must be examined and interpreted through case law

to establish which legislation applies in that instance. To this end one must examine

case law dealing with consideration of anti-discrimination issues and case law

dealing with general statutory interpretation principles for assistance in interpreting

the Police Service Administration Act 1990. The basic legal principle is that any

statutory provision can be interpreted in any number of different ways. Any such

conflicting interpretations should be viewed in consort with the Acts Interpretations

Act 1954. Section 32 CA of the Acts Interpretations Act 1954 deals with the

interpretation of the words ‘may’ and ‘must’ when used to exercise a legislative

power.

32CA Meaning of ‘may’ and ‘must’ etc.

(1) In an Act, the word ‘may’, or a similar word or expression, used in relation
to a power indicates that the power may be exercised or not exercised, at
discretion.
(2) In an Act, the word ‘must’, or a similar word or expression, used in relation
to a power indicates that the power is required to be exercised.
(3) To remove any doubt, it is declared that this section applies to an Act passed
after 1 January 1992 despite any presumption or rule of interpretation.

190
This legislation itself is open to interpretation as it deals with the specific words may

and must ‘or a similar words or expression’. The actual wording subject to the

interpretation is ‘is to’ retire. It could be argued that the omission of the word ‘must’

retire at age sixty is significant and is, in itself, supportive of the notion that

retirement at that age is discretionary. The counter to this contention is that

parliament intends harmony between its Acts and when viewing the omission of the

word ‘must’ it is supported by the predecessor to the relevant Section 8.2. This

section was Section 36 of the Police Act 1937-1989. This expressly empowered the

Commissioner to consider extending the service beyond age sixty on a case-by-case

basis on the balance of the public interest. What is significant is that this section was

specifically altered when reconstructed into the Police Service Administration Act

1990. Therefore, in essence, there is no clear determination of the words ‘is to’

(retire) in Section 8.2. One argument supports the notion that ‘is to’ means ‘may’

and the other supports the notion that it means ‘must’.

When interpreting legislation one must also consider any extrinsic materials and any

relevant case law. The leading case authority on statutory interpretation, specifically

dealing with issue of directory versus mandatory language useage, can be found in

Project Blue Sky v. Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) HCA 20A. This High

Court judgement by Justices McHugh, Gummow, Kirby and Hayne establishes tests

for the interpretation of a statute. (Paragraph 69)

The primary objective of statutory construction is to construe

the relevant position so that it is consistent with the language
and purpose of all the provisions of the statute. The meaning
of the provision must be determined by reference to the
language of the instrument as a whole. The context, the
general purpose and policy of the provision and its

191
 consistency and fairness are surer guides to its meaning than
the logic with which it is constructed. Thus the process of
construction must always begin by examining the context of
the provision that is being construed.

The essence of the High Court majority judgement can be found at paragraph 93 of

the decision:-

“In our opinion, the Court of Appeal of New South Wales was
correct in Tasker v. Fullwood in criticising the continued use of
the ‘elusive’ distinction between directory and mandatory
requirements and the division of directory acts into those who
have substantially complied with the statutory command and
those which have not. They are classifications that have
outlived their usefulness because they deflect attention from the
real issue which is whether an act done in breach of the
legislative provision is invalid. The classification of statutory
provision as mandatory or directory records a result which has
been reached on other grounds. The classification is at the end
of the enquiry not the beginning. That being so, a court,
determining the validity of an act done in breach of a statutory
provision, may easily focus on the wrong factors if it asks itself
whether compliance with a provision is mandatory or directory
and, if directory, whether there has been substantial compliance
with the provision. A better test for determining the issue of
validity is to ask whether it was the purpose of the legislation
that an act done in breach of the provision should be invalid.
This has been the preferred approach of courts in this country
in recent years, particularly New South Wales. In determining
the question of purpose, regard must be had to ‘the language of
the relevant provision and the scope and object of the whole
statute”.

This was in subsequent Queensland Supreme Court cases, in particularly Wright and

Anor v. Queensland Police Service & Ors (2002) QSC 46, where there was

discussion of the decision of Project Blue Sky and an adoption of its principles. Her

Honour Justice Holmes states: (paragraph 36)

“In determining whether a provision is mandatory or directory,

the question is not: what did the legislature intend?; it intended

192
 that the provision be observed. The relevant question is: what is
the consequence if it is not observed: Chadwick v.
Commissioner of Stamp Duty. That question is to be answered
by looking at the subject matter, the legislation and the
relationship of the particular provision to the general object to
be secured by the act. In assessing the significance of the
particular provision to the attainment of a general object of the
legislation, it is, in my opinion, important to bear in mind the
effect of determining that the provision is mandatory. This, in
general, will be that non-compliance with a provision will result
in a total failure of anything sought to be done under the
legislation and of any rights which otherwise would flow from
it. And this will be so, whatever the circumstances of the non-
compliance and whatever, in the particular case, be the
injustice to flow from it. There will, no doubt, be cases in which
such a severe sanction will be necessary or appropriate to the
attaining of the general object to be secured by the act, and I am
conscious of the authority which exists for the view that, in the
context of judicial proceedings, statutory provisions are
generally construed as mandatory. But the rigidity of the
operation of the provision as mandatory, and the fact that its
consequences will flow regardless of the merits of the individual
case, must, in my opinion be carefully weighed. Before a
provision is held mandatory, a court should be clearly satisfied
that the part played by the particular provision in the attainment
of the general object intended to be secured by the legislation is
such that it is necessary or appropriate to visit non-compliance
with consequences of the kind”.

Further to this, Section 8.2 of the Police Service Administration Act 1991 articulates

a series of options for officers to retire. Section 8.2(a) gives officers a discretion as

to whether they choose to retire after obtaining the age of fifty-five. This further

supported in the Police Service Administration (Regulations) and in Service policy

via the Human Resource Management Manual.

Equally, Section.8.2(b) does not stand on its own and appears to allow an officer the

discretion to retire when called upon to do so under Section.8.3 and reinforces the

power of the Commissioner with the power to dismiss an officer who chooses not to

retire or may alter their status of employment to that of staff member if the person

appears to have suitable fitness to perform that role. There are no other regulations or

193
provisions of the Act itself that specifically dictate how Section 8.2(c) is to apply.

There appears to be no other specific section that authorises the Commissioner to

take any other action in respect of subsection (c).

What is the pivotal is the change in the legislation. What needs to be considered is

reasons for the legislature specifically changing their approach and omitting the

option for the Commission to prolong sworn service beyond the age of 60 years.

Immediately prior to the enactment of the PSA Act in 1990, the Police Act 1937-

1989 contained s.36 entitled “Age of Retirement”.

1. (a) The age of retirement from the Police Force shall be –

(b) in the case of the Deputy Commissioner, 62 years; and
(c) in the case of every other member of the Police Force, 60
years, and, subject to this section, every member of the Police Force shall retire from
the Police Force upon attaining the age of retirement prescribed in this case (other
than the Commissioner);

2. Notwithstanding that a member of the Police Force other than the Commissioner
attains the age of retirement prescribed in this case, where the public interests render
it expedient to continue the service of such member and such member is willing to
continue his service, the Minister, after the prescribed investigation, may authorise
such member to continue in the Police Force during the pleasure of the Crown but
not beyond the age of 65 years.

3. In relation to a person continued as a member of the Police Force beyond the age
of retirement pursuant to subsection (2), the expression “age of retirement”, wherever
occurring in this Part other than in section 4, means-
(a) where that person is the Deputy Commissioner, the age of 62 years;
(b) where that person is any other member, the age of 60 years,
notwithstanding that such person is so continued;
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) any member of the Police Force
may retire therefore at any time within the period of 5 years immediately proceeding
the day on which he would attain the age of retirement by – “(b) in the case of a
member other than the Commissioner, giving in writing 6 months notice or notice of
such lessor period as the Commissioner shall from time to time, either generally or in
the particular case, determine of his intentions so to retire to the Commissioner.

The provisions of this subsection do not apply to a member of the Police Force who
desires to be or is retired there from under s.37 of this Act.

194
Clearly, under the pre-existing Act, there existed a clear discretion for the

Commissioner to determine that the public interests rendered it expedient for an

officer to continue their service after the age of 60 until 65 years. It is interesting to

note that the new enactment in 1990 specifically omitted that discretion.

Unfortunately, there is no comment in the explanatory notes or the Hansard second

reading speech regarding the reason for its omission and they may be a contention

that this legislation made preparations for coming issue of employment on a

contractual basis that was adopted, and later abandoned to a large extent, in the early

1990’s.

Previous reference to Section 106A(1)(k) Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (unlawful

discrimination on the basis of age) needs to be viewed in this context and with the

knowledge that it was accented only one year after the enactment of the Police

Service Administration Act 1990. It would be possible to conclude that Parliament

would have intended harmonious goals in relation to these two items of legislation

and this further reinforces the assertion that, where specifically legislated in the

Police Service Administration Act 1990, it essentially overrides the generic

provisions (regarding police mandatory retirement) from the Anti-discrimination Act

1991.

195
Appendix C – Triggers sourced from the literature

Hong and Xu Yu (1995).

The study considered the following factors to determine their contribution levels to

the retirement age decision-making process.

• Marital status
• Health (self reported)
• Disability
• Gender
• Government pension (social security)
• Age
• Private pension (independent financial security)
• Earnings and wealth
• Mandatory retirement
• Dependant children
• Care giving responsibilities (children or ill relatives)
• Work experiences (number of times laid-off)
• Work satisfaction (self reported)

Myers (1992)

This attitudinal/behavioural approach sought to identify themes and commonalities to

examine the quality of retirement transition achieved by academic couples including;

• How they devised a satisfactory retirement and prepared for it,

• What internal supports helped them face future changes,
• How they dealt with gradual change and hurtful disruptions,
• How social and institutional connections contributed, and
• How they viewed themselves and their retirement transition.

Whipple (2001)

Researched the early retirement decisions of baby boomer scientists and engineers in

America. Whipple used a sample of 535 scientists and engineers out of a possible 5

million born between 1946 and 1964 from the private, government and educational

196
sectors. Through a set of 69 Likert scale questions, Whipple looked at affective and

normative needs to retire through eight retirement decision antecedents:

1. Relationships with management and co-workers

2. Work schedule flexibility
3. Education
4. Salary
5. Pensions
6. Savings
7. Bridge employment opportunities
8. Family expectations

Ultimately the study found significant associations between the planned retirement

age of individuals and the following factors.

• Inducements to participate in the career work environment

• Acceptance in the workplace
• Value of employment roles
• Costs of continued employment
• Obligation to stay with the current employer
• Ease of movement from career employment to retirement
• Costs of retirement

Kolodinsky et al developed a model and tested the same set of influential factors

against seven different retirement categories.

2. Planned retirement timing

3. Self reported retirement
4. Work fewer than 1,000 hours per year
5. Work fewer than 500 hours per year
6. Receipt of social security or pension
7. Receipt of social security or pension and work fewer than 500 hours per year
8. Receipt of social security or pension and work fewer than 1000 hours per
year

The factors, or variables, applied to the model are listed below. These factors can be

broken into two broad categories of economic and social.

• Salary
• Social security income
• Transfer payments (welfare/food stamps)
• Non-wage income

197
 • Age
• Years of education
• Health
• Health of spouse
• Marital status
• Job satisfaction
• Union participation
• Regional unemployment rate
• Non-hazardous employment
• Self-employment status
• Work rate (fewer than 26 weeks in the year before retirement)
• After retirement plans.

The W.A. work looked at what it described as ‘Retirement Triggers’ (p. 23). These

were described as:

• Financial status
• Psychological factors
• Reaching a certain age
• Family and friends
• Health considerations.

The issue of financial security, as a retirement trigger, is crucial. Clearly, employees

facing financial difficulty are more likely to remain in, or seek a return to, paid

employment, than those without such pressures (Hansson et al 1997). But finance is

only one of the more compelling triggers that lead to the ultimate decision to retire.

The W.A. work found that the decision to retire was complex and included such

factors as:

• the number of dependants at home,

• reaching the eligible retirement age,
• reaching mandatory retirement age,
• coinciding with their partners retirement,
• a lack of interesting work,
• job related stress, health,
• the pursuit of leisure activities, and,
• the seeking of an alternative lifestyle.

198
Further, the W.A. work found that these factors were not constant and tended to

either increase or decrease with age depending on the individual and their changing

circumstances.

The following factors were specifically identified as contributing to the ‘Pathways to

Workforce Exit’ (FACS 2003 p. 6):

• Variation between male and female population

• Education levels
• Disability / Health status
• Household income

The RRI reported some interesting findings including.

Women aged over 45 who retired from full time work before 45 (reasons for
retirement)

• To get married (19%)

• Pregnancy/to have children (18%)
• To look after family, house, someone else (12%), and
• Due to own ill health or injury (12%)

This contrasts greatly with the reported experiences of men.

Men (reasons for retirement)

• Due to own ill health or injury (33%)

• Reaching compulsory retirement age (20%)
• Reaching appropriate retirement age (17%), and
• They were retrenched (12%)

While there are differences in the sample (men at retirement age and women post 45

years of age) the reasons for retirement give some guidance to the gender based

influences and experiences, particularly for health and care giving. This difference

between genders extends to post-retirement income.

199
Main source of retirement income at retirement (Men)

Age or service pension (23%)

Disability support, war disability or sickness allowance (16%)
Pension/annuity purchased with superannuation payment (16%), and,
Business, property, investments (14%)

Main source of retirement income at retirement (Women)

Someone else’s income (38%)

Age, service, widow’s or war widow’s pension (20%)
Business, property, investments (8%), and
Part-time work (7%)

It was also found that the intention to retire differed for men and women for those

aged 45 and over. Of those intending to retire between the ages 55 and 64, 30% were

male and 44% were female. For those intending to retire at 65 and over, 34% of

male reported this intention compared to just 14% of females. The percentage of

people unsure about their retirement ages remained fairly constant with 34% of

males and 38% of females. This illustrates some clear differences between the

experiences, influences, and ultimate decision-making processes between men and

women.

Knox examined what he termed ‘Factors affecting retirement age’ (Knox 2003 p.7)

as;

• Gender and martial status

• Children
• Occupation and type of work
• Education
• Home ownership
• Retirement income
• Current income
• Immigrants (immigration status)
• Employment conditions
• Retirement intentions of partner

200
Knox also showed a significant difference in the gap between the actual and intended

retirement ages of men and women, with women being show as retiring significantly

earlier than they intended. Knox concluded that gender, home ownership and the

retirement intentions of a partner were the major factors influencing the retirement

age decision. Also, he concluded that workforce attachment for women was

increasing (Knox 2003).

Barnes (2003) used the same raw data as Knox to examine retirement intentions of

the 55 to 64 year old age group. This study was also conducted for the Department

of Families and Community Services. She divided her sample into five distinct

groups based on their employment status.

1. Involuntarily out of the workforce who lost or left a job within the last 9 years
2. Voluntarily out of the workforces who lost or left a job within the 9 nine
years
3. Out of the workforce for more than 9 years
4. In the workforce but have lost or left a job in the last 9 years
5. In the workforce and have held a job for the last 9 years

This allowed Barnes to examine, more closely, the factors that ‘path’ people to

retirement in terms of both voluntary and involuntary directions. Barnes identifies

clear links to occupational longevity through levels of education, long-term health

(particularly for men), income, and marital status.

• Those who did not complete high school to year twelve are far more likely to
exit the workforce before the age of 64
• Long term health conditions and disability is strongly associated with
involuntary and early employment exit, especially for men
• Low income is strongly associated with involuntary and early employment
exit, particularly for single people
• People for exit voluntarily have relatively low rates of disability or health
concerns and many have moderate incomes
• People who exit voluntarily appear to have an educational profile that is very
similar to the whole population

201
 • People, especially women, with university or higher education are much more
likely to remain in the workforce even where they have experienced a job
loss.
• People who are in the workforce have the lowest prevalence of long term
health conditions or disability, particularly those who have not experienced
job loss.

Barnes found that the mode of exit from the workforce reflects the characteristics

possessed of the individual in a pre-retirement context and that any policy changes

proposed to encourage longer working lives will need to consider these factors if it is

to be successful.

Lynch and Tuckey used the turnover data from the preceding four financial years

from all Australia and New Zealand police jurisdictions

Firstly, police organisation need to reassess the way in which resignations are

handled and viewed. Secondly, there are five recurring critical issues that lead to

preventable turnover.

1. Quality of life and satisfaction

2. Flexibility issues and flexible solutions
3. Management and leadership
4. Promotions and other career issues, and,
5. Resources.

Drew conducted three studies:

• Study One examined gender as a predictor of ‘turnover’ differences between

men and women in the recruitment phase. While she found that members for

withdraw from the recruiting process are more affected by feelings than are

emotionally stable, she found no marked differences between men and

women.

• Study Two looked at recruits in their first year of police employment and

found that socialisation and gender began to play a role in turnover by

202
 gender. This study identified two variables that she considered as particularly

relevant to police organisations, that is, person-organisation fit, and person-

job fit, and how they played a role in turnover intention.

• Study three examined turnover intention process across career span. Drew

found that career stage impacted on the relevance of turnover predictors and

that, in some instances, gender affects the strength of those predictors. She

concluded that two models for turnover prediction were needed with one

catering for the majority of officers and a slightly modified model being

applicable for officers in the late career stage.

Drew concluded that while gender was not sufficiently differential to warrant

separate turnover models the strength of predictive relations by gender needed to be

considered.

Violanti grouped the respondents into the following areas for reasons of retirement;

• Ready for change,

• tired of work,
• disability,
• job opportunity,
• own business,
• internal pressure,
• age, and,
• unspecified.

He found a ‘turning point’ in police careers with a period when officers either decide

to exit policing and seek an alternative vocation or remain beyond that which is

normally experienced. He found that police attitudes towards retirement were guided

by peer group perceptions and found difficulties in the retirement decision-making

203
process for many members. He concluded that there is a significant link between

work involvement and satisfaction, and therefore likelihood to remain in the role and

subsequent employment status. Violanti reported a sense of loss of power and

cohesiveness coupled with a feeling of no longer being a member of the police

fraternity.

Appendix D – Focus Group triggers

promotional advancement

operational status and related shift work

the mode of admission to the organisation

organisational commitment and support

a lack of confidence in management

a lack of enthusiasm

a lack of confidence in the ability to do their job at a high enough level.

204
Appendix E – Data collection questionnaire

Retirement timing questionnaire

This questionnaire has been produced to gain an insight into the

current opinions of sworn members of the Queensland Police Service

(Service) about their retirement age decision. To this end, the term ‘retire’

means to cease employment with the Service as a result of you reaching an

appropriate age. As a person who was born before 1 July 1960, and a

police officer, your views are vital to the success of this project. This

project is a partnership with the Queensland University of Technology and

the Service.

Participation is voluntary and its results will be offered for use in

reviewing the practices of the Service. An overview of the outcomes of

this project will be published as a thesis and also offered for publication in

the Police Bulletin. Your name will not be sought and all responses are

confidential. Basic demographic details (age etc) are required to aid in

interpreting the data. There are no right or wrong answers.

It should take about fifteen minutes to fully complete. At the

conclusion, please click on the ‘Submit’ icon. No further
action is required. Thank you for your time and benefit of
your experience.

What is your current age?

Under 50 50-55 Over 55

205
Are you? –

Male Female

What is your current rank?

Const/Sen.Const Sergeant Senior Sergeant Commissioned

How many years have you been a Queensland police officer?

Less than 15 16-25 26-35 More than 35

Are you?

Operational Non-operational

Are you?

Shift worker Non-shift worker

What was your highest level of education or training?

Sub-Junior/Junior Senior Trade/TAFE University

Are you qualified for promotion in terms of MDP or an Assessment Centre?

Yes No N/A

How did you join the Service?

Cadet Probationary Recruit

As things are for you at the moment, would you be more inclined to want to retire?

At or near 55 At or near 60 I don’t know

yet

It has been identified that there is often more than one trigger for an

individual to retire. We each place different levels of importance on those

triggers when forming the final decision to retire at a particular age. Please

read the following statements and then respond by rating them as being

from: I strongly agree with the statement to strongly disagree.

206
Please mark one box for each question. Strongly Agree No Disagree Strongly
agree opinion disagree

I am almost old enough to retire and I can’t wait –

Because of my age I will be forced to retire –
I will retire when my spouse does –
My health is poor and I feel that I can’t keep
working –
I can’t get promoted so there is no point staying
on –
There should be an age limit for operational
policing -
People age at different rates and some people
remain able for much longer –
I have plans for a new career or job –
I have plans for travelling or a hobby that require
me to retire to free up the time –
I don’t want to work anymore–
Police should be forced to retire earlier than the
other workers -

Please mark one box for each question. Strongly Agree No Disagree Strongly
agree opinion disagree

I’ll retire at around 55 because it is what everyone

does –
The most important aspect of my decision to retire
is job satisfaction -
I will really miss being in the ‘job’ -
If legally possible I would want to keep policing
past 60 -
55 is no longer ‘old’ -
I am sick of shift work –
I have been looking forward to retirement from
the day I started working –
I would stay on if I could do something different -
I am too old to be a police officer now –
I no longer want to work full time –
I feel that I am fit enough to keep working –
I will really miss my mates and the camaraderie -
I can’t stand the way that everything keeps
changing –
I feel that, at best, I am just being tolerated by my
colleagues –
Money is the most important reason why I will
keep working -
It is wasteful to force people to retire –
I have earned the right to retire – make someone
else do the work -
I intend to live for a long time and I want as much

207
superannuation as possible -
There isn’t enough flexibility in my work schedule
I really enjoy going to work -
Getting promoted is very important to me -
I have paid tax all my life and I want the
government to start paying me –
Policing is too dangerous these days –
There is an expectation by my spouse/family that I
will retire soon –
I have enormous experience and this will be lost
when I retire –
It would be good if the Service did more to
encourage me to stay on -

Please mark one box for each question. Strongly Agree No Disagree Strongly
agree opinion disagree

I have too many financial commitments to retire

now -
I would keep working if I had better conditions -
I am getting pressured by my colleagues to retire
–
I will be bored when I retire -
I have carefully planned how I will spend my
retirement -
I am no longer happy to be doing this job –
I would keep working if I had better pay -
60 is too old to be in the police -
I no longer enjoy the relationships that I have with
my colleagues –
I am being ‘head-hunted’ by another employer –
It is time to let a younger person have my role –
I have waited for my retirement age as an
honourable way to leave -
I have no debts anymore so there’s no point in
keeping working –
You can’t take it with you so I’d better starting
spending it now –
My role, as a police officer, is very important and
I will be hard to replace –
A family member will support my retirement
financially –
I would love to know what my options are to
working full time -
I would stay on if I could stop doing shift work –
I would stay on if I could work just a few days a
week -
I would stay on if I could get a non-operational
role –

208
Appendix F – Frequency tables for categorical variables

Statistics

Ag Gende Ran Servic Operat’a Shif Educatio Prom Admissi Retire

e r k e l t Wk n Qual on Age
N Valid 643 643 641 635 642 641 639 643 642 638
Missin
g 0 0 2 8 1 2 4 0 1 5

Age

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid under
304 47.3 47.3 47.3
50
50-55 261 40.6 40.6 87.9
over 55 78 12.1 12.1 100.0
Total 643 100.0 100.0

Gender

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Male 598 93.0 93.0 93.0
Female 45 7.0 7.0 100.0
Total 643 100.0 100.0

Rank

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Constable/Sen
ior Constable 143 22.2 22.3 22.3
Sergeant 258 40.1 40.2 62.6
Senior
135 21.0 21.1 83.6
Sergeant
Commissioned 105 16.3 16.4 100.0
Total 641 99.7 100.0
Missing System 2 .3
Total 643 100.0

Service

209
 Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid less than
104 16.2 16.4 16.4
15
16-25 174 27.1 27.4 43.8
26-35 301 46.8 47.4 91.2
More than
56 8.7 8.8 100.0
35
Total 635 98.8 100.0
Missing System 8 1.2
Total 643 100.0

Operational

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Operational
395 61.4 61.5 61.5
Appointment
Non-Operational
Appointment 247 38.4 38.5 100.0
Total 642 99.8 100.0
Missing System 1 .2
Total 643 100.0

Shift Worker

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Shiftwork 348 54.1 54.3 54.3
Non-
293 45.6 45.7 100.0
Shiftwork
Total 641 99.7 100.0
Missing System 2 .3
Total 643 100.0

Education

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Sub-
135 21.0 21.1 21.1
junior/Junior
Senior 149 23.2 23.3 44.4
Trade/TAFE 194 30.2 30.4 74.8
University 161 25.0 25.2 100.0
Total 639 99.4 100.0
Missing System 4 .6
Total 643 100.0

Qualified for promotion

210
 Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Promotion
253 39.3 39.3 39.3
Qualified
Not Promotion
294 45.7 45.7 85.1
Qualified
Not Applicable 96 14.9 14.9 100.0
Total 643 100.0 100.0

Admission

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Cadet 119 18.5 18.5 18.5
Probationary 390 60.7 60.7 79.3
Recruit 133 20.7 20.7 100.0
Total 642 99.8 100.0
Missing System 1 .2
Total 643 100.0

Retire Age

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid At or Near
266 41.4 41.7 41.7
55
At or Near
268 41.7 42.0 83.7
60
Undecided 104 16.2 16.3 100.0
Total 638 99.2 100.0
Missing System 5 .8
Total 643 100.0

211
Appendix G – Means and standard deviations for continuous variables

Descriptive Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation

Q1 639 2.82 1.316
Q2 641 2.51 1.291
Q3 636 2.24 .971
Q4 640 1.73 .970
Q5 639 2.28 1.157
Q6 640 3.17 1.332
Q7 640 4.09 .846
Q8 639 2.56 1.087
Q9 638 3.00 1.106
Q 10 635 2.20 1.094
Q 11 639 2.28 1.162
Q 12 638 1.86 .717
Q 13 635 3.37 1.218
Q 14 635 3.11 1.212
Q 15 638 2.66 1.396
Q 16 639 4.06 .863
Q 17 637 3.21 1.134
Q 18 636 1.72 .908
Q 19 637 2.83 1.134
Q 20 638 1.92 .915
Q 21 638 2.52 1.138
Q 22 637 4.15 .784
Q 23 636 3.73 .981
Q 24 638 2.93 1.168
Q 25 638 2.05 .898
Q 26 639 3.35 1.207
Q 27 638 3.71 1.056
Q 28 638 2.52 .997
Q 29 637 3.83 1.008
Q 30 638 2.85 1.088
Q 31 638 3.64 1.040
Q 32 639 2.89 1.176
Q 33 638 2.58 1.027
Q 34 638 2.56 .965
Q 35 638 2.50 .977
Q 36 639 3.84 .918
Q 37 638 3.57 1.018
Q 38 639 3.16 1.184
Q 39 638 2.89 1.045
Q 40 635 1.84 .744
Q 41 639 2.11 .999
Q 42 635 3.13 1.065
Q 43 639 2.39 1.076
Q 44 637 2.86 1.060

212
Q 45 639 2.82 1.201
Q 46 640 2.01 .799
Q 47 639 2.04 .868
Q 48 638 2.25 .963
Q 49 638 2.67 1.096
Q 50 639 2.04 .757
Q 51 637 2.47 .991
Q 52 637 2.80 1.103
Q 53 637 1.70 .692
Q 54 638 3.56 1.033
Q 55 637 2.81 1.075
Q 56 637 3.36 1.157
Q 57 634 3.01 1.126
Valid N (listwise) 565

213
Appendix H – Chi square calculations for demographic variables

Crosstabs
Case Processing Summary

Cases
Valid Missing Total
N Percent N Percent N Percent
Retire Age * Age 534 100.0% 0 .0% 534 100.0%
Retire Age * Gender 534 100.0% 0 .0% 534 100.0%
Retire Age * Rank 532 99.6% 2 .4% 534 100.0%
Retire Age * Service 527 98.7% 7 1.3% 534 100.0%
Retire Age * Oper W 533 99.8% 1 .2% 534 100.0%
Retire Age * Shift W 532 99.6% 2 .4% 534 100.0%
Retire Age * Education 530 99.3% 4 .7% 534 100.0%
Retire Age * Prom Q 534 100.0% 0 .0% 534 100.0%
Retire Age * Admission 533 99.8% 1 .2% 534 100.0%

Retire Age * Age

Crosstab

Age Total
under 50 50-55 over 55
Retire At or Count
137 122 7 266
Age Near 55
Expected Count 125.5 105.6 34.9 266.0
% within Retire Age 51.5% 45.9% 2.6% 100.0%
% within Age 54.4% 57.5% 10.0% 49.8%
% of Total 25.7% 22.8% 1.3% 49.8%
At or Count
115 90 63 268
Near 60
Expected Count 126.5 106.4 35.1 268.0
% within Retire Age 42.9% 33.6% 23.5% 100.0%
% within Age 45.6% 42.5% 90.0% 50.2%
% of Total 21.5% 16.9% 11.8% 50.2%
Total Count 252 212 70 534
Expected Count 252.0 212.0 70.0 534.0
% within Retire Age 47.2% 39.7% 13.1% 100.0%
% within Age 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% of Total 47.2% 39.7% 13.1% 100.0%

214
 Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig.
Value df (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 51.544(a) 2 .000
Likelihood Ratio 58.293 2 .000
Linear-by-Linear
23.769 1 .000
Association
N of Valid Cases
534
a 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 34.87.

Retire Age * Gender

Crosstab

Gender
Male Female Total
Retire Age At or Near 55 Count 242 24 266
Expected
247.6 18.4 266.0
Count
% within
91.0% 9.0% 100.0%
Retire Age
% within
48.7% 64.9% 49.8%
Gender
% of Total 45.3% 4.5% 49.8%
At or Near 60 Count 255 13 268
Expected
249.4 18.6 268.0
Count
% within
95.1% 4.9% 100.0%
Retire Age
% within
51.3% 35.1% 50.2%
Gender
% of Total 47.8% 2.4% 50.2%
Total Count 497 37 534
Expected
497.0 37.0 534.0
Count
% within
93.1% 6.9% 100.0%
Retire Age
% within
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Gender
% of Total 93.1% 6.9% 100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig. Exact Sig. Exact Sig.

Value df (2-sided) (2-sided) (1-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 3.603(b) 1 .058
Continuity
2.985 1 .084
Correction(a)
Likelihood Ratio 3.653 1 .056
Fisher's Exact Test .062 .041
Linear-by-Linear
Association 3.596 1 .058
N of Valid Cases 534
a Computed only for a 2x2 table
b 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 18.43.

215
Retire Age * Rank
Crosstab

Rank Total
Constabl
e/Senior
Constabl Senior Commission
e Sergeant Sergeant ed
Retire At or Count
57 109 58 41 265
Age Near 55
Expected Count 58.8 108.1 56.3 41.8 265.0
% within Retire Age 21.5% 41.1% 21.9% 15.5% 100.0%
% within Rank 48.3% 50.2% 51.3% 48.8% 49.8%
% of Total 10.7% 20.5% 10.9% 7.7% 49.8%
At or Count
61 108 55 43 267
Near 60
Expected Count 59.2 108.9 56.7 42.2 267.0
% within Retire Age 22.8% 40.4% 20.6% 16.1% 100.0%
% within Rank 51.7% 49.8% 48.7% 51.2% 50.2%
% of Total 11.5% 20.3% 10.3% 8.1% 50.2%
Total Count 118 217 113 84 532
Expected Count 118.0 217.0 113.0 84.0 532.0
% within Retire Age 22.2% 40.8% 21.2% 15.8% 100.0%
% within Rank 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% of Total 22.2% 40.8% 21.2% 15.8% 100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig.
Value df (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square .260(a) 3 .967
Likelihood Ratio .260 3 .967
Linear-by-Linear
.025 1 .874
Association
N of Valid Cases
532
a 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 41.84.

216
Retire Age * Length of service
Crosstab

Service Total
less than More than
15 16-25 26-35 35
Retire At or Count
Age Near 35 75 140 14 264
55
Expected
43.1 72.1 125.2 23.5 264.0
Count
% within Retire
13.3% 28.4% 53.0% 5.3% 100.0%
Age
% within
40.7% 52.1% 56.0% 29.8% 50.1%
Service
% of Total 6.6% 14.2% 26.6% 2.7% 50.1%
At or Count
Near 51 69 110 33 263
60
Expected
42.9 71.9 124.8 23.5 263.0
Count
% within Retire
19.4% 26.2% 41.8% 12.5% 100.0%
Age
% within
59.3% 47.9% 44.0% 70.2% 49.9%
Service
% of Total 9.7% 13.1% 20.9% 6.3% 49.9%
Total Count 86 144 250 47 527
Expected
86.0 144.0 250.0 47.0 527.0
Count
% within Retire
16.3% 27.3% 47.4% 8.9% 100.0%
Age
% within
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Service
% of Total 16.3% 27.3% 47.4% 8.9% 100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig.
Value df (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 14.506(a) 3 .002
Likelihood Ratio 14.756 3 .002
Linear-by-Linear
.142 1 .707
Association
N of Valid Cases
527
a 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 23.46.

217
Retire Age * Operational status
Crosstab

Oper W Total
Non-
Operational Operational
Appointment Appointment
Retire At or Count
Age Near 163 102 265
55
Expected Count 163.6 101.4 265.0
% within Retire
61.5% 38.5% 100.0%
Age
% within Oper W 49.5% 50.0% 49.7%
% of Total 30.6% 19.1% 49.7%
At or Count
Near 166 102 268
60
Expected Count 165.4 102.6 268.0
% within Retire
61.9% 38.1% 100.0%
Age
% within Oper W 50.5% 50.0% 50.3%
% of Total 31.1% 19.1% 50.3%
Total Count 329 204 533
Expected Count 329.0 204.0 533.0
% within Retire
61.7% 38.3% 100.0%
Age
% within Oper W 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% of Total 61.7% 38.3% 100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig. Exact Sig. Exact Sig.

Value df (2-sided) (2-sided) (1-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square .010(b) 1 .918
Continuity
.000 1 .989
Correction(a)
Likelihood Ratio .010 1 .918
Fisher's Exact Test .929 .495
Linear-by-Linear
Association .010 1 .919
N of Valid Cases 533
a Computed only for a 2x2 table
b 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 101.43.

218
Retire Age * Shift worker status
Crosstab

Shift W
Shiftwork Non-Shiftwork Total
Retire Age At or Near 55 Count 145 121 266
Expected
146.5 119.5 266.0
Count
% within
54.5% 45.5% 100.0%
Retire Age
% within Shift
49.5% 50.6% 50.0%
W
% of Total 27.3% 22.7% 50.0%
At or Near 60 Count 148 118 266
Expected
146.5 119.5 266.0
Count
% within
55.6% 44.4% 100.0%
Retire Age
% within Shift
50.5% 49.4% 50.0%
W
% of Total 27.8% 22.2% 50.0%
Total Count 293 239 532
Expected
293.0 239.0 532.0
Count
% within
55.1% 44.9% 100.0%
Retire Age
% within Shift
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
W
% of Total 55.1% 44.9% 100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig. Exact Sig. Exact Sig.

Value df (2-sided) (2-sided) (1-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square .068(b) 1 .794
Continuity
.030 1 .862
Correction(a)
Likelihood Ratio .068 1 .794
Fisher's Exact Test .862 .431
Linear-by-Linear
Association .068 1 .794
N of Valid Cases 532
a Computed only for a 2x2 table
b 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 119.50.

219
Retire Age * Education
Crosstab

Education Total
Sub-
junior/ Trade /
Junior Senior TAFE University
Retire At or Count
Age Near 66 62 77 57 262
55
Expected Count 56.8 57.3 85.5 62.3 262.0
% within Retire Age 25.2% 23.7% 29.4% 21.8% 100.0%
% within Education 57.4% 53.4% 44.5% 45.2% 49.4%
% of Total 12.5% 11.7% 14.5% 10.8% 49.4%
At or Count
Near 49 54 96 69 268
60
Expected Count 58.2 58.7 87.5 63.7 268.0
% within Retire Age 18.3% 20.1% 35.8% 25.7% 100.0%
% within Education 42.6% 46.6% 55.5% 54.8% 50.6%
% of Total 9.2% 10.2% 18.1% 13.0% 50.6%
Total Count 115 116 173 126 530
Expected Count 115.0 116.0 173.0 126.0 530.0
% within Retire Age 21.7% 21.9% 32.6% 23.8% 100.0%
% within Education 100.0
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
%
% of Total 21.7% 21.9% 32.6% 23.8% 100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig.
Value df (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 6.227(a) 3 .101
Likelihood Ratio 6.242 3 .100
Linear-by-Linear
5.216 1 .022
Association
N of Valid Cases
530
a 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 56.85.

220
Retire Age * Qualification for promotion
Crosstab

Prom Q Total
Not
Promotion Promotion Not
Qualified Qualified Applicable
Retire At or Count
Age Near 100 126 40 266
55
Expected Count 107.6 120.0 38.4 266.0
% within Retire Age 37.6% 47.4% 15.0% 100.0%
% within Prom Q 46.3% 52.3% 51.9% 49.8%
% of Total 18.7% 23.6% 7.5% 49.8%
At or Count
Near 116 115 37 268
60
Expected Count 108.4 121.0 38.6 268.0
% within Retire Age 43.3% 42.9% 13.8% 100.0%
% within Prom Q 53.7% 47.7% 48.1% 50.2%
% of Total 21.7% 21.5% 6.9% 50.2%
Total Count 216 241 77 534
Expected Count 216.0 241.0 77.0 534.0
% within Retire Age 40.4% 45.1% 14.4% 100.0%
% within Prom Q 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% of Total 40.4% 45.1% 14.4% 100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig.
Value df (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 1.797(a) 2 .407
Likelihood Ratio 1.798 2 .407
Linear-by-Linear
1.327 1 .249
Association
N of Valid Cases
534
a 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 38.36.

221
Retire Age * Admission method
Crosstab

Admission Total
Cadet Probationary Recruit
Retire At or Count
Age Near 59 163 43 265
55
Expected Count 47.2 163.6 54.2 265.0
% within Retire Age 22.3% 61.5% 16.2% 100.0%
% within Admission 62.1% 49.5% 39.4% 49.7%
% of Total 11.1% 30.6% 8.1% 49.7%
At or Count
Near 36 166 66 268
60
Expected Count 47.8 165.4 54.8 268.0
% within Retire Age 13.4% 61.9% 24.6% 100.0%
% within Admission 37.9% 50.5% 60.6% 50.3%
% of Total 6.8% 31.1% 12.4% 50.3%
Total Count 95 329 109 533
Expected Count 95.0 329.0 109.0 533.0
% within Retire Age 17.8% 61.7% 20.5% 100.0%
% within Admission 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
% of Total 17.8% 61.7% 20.5% 100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Asymp. Sig.
Value df (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 10.432(a) 2 .005
Likelihood Ratio 10.524 2 .005
Linear-by-Linear
10.337 1 .001
Association
N of Valid Cases
533
a 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 47.23.

222
Appendix I – Independent sample T-test for continuous variables for early and

late retirees

Group Statistics

Std. Error
Retire Age N Mean Std. Deviation Mean
Q1 At or Near
264 3.63 1.179 .073
55
At or Near
267 2.12 1.036 .063
60
Q2 At or Near
265 1.87 .827 .051
55
At or Near
268 3.19 1.366 .083
60
Q3 At or Near
264 2.31 1.017 .063
55
At or Near
265 2.16 .920 .057
60
Q4 At or Near
264 1.81 .990 .061
55
At or Near
268 1.57 .886 .054
60
Q5 At or Near
265 2.57 1.272 .078
55
At or Near
266 2.00 .973 .060
60
Q6 At or Near
265 3.49 1.283 .079
55
At or Near
267 2.86 1.281 .078
60
Q7 At or Near
265 4.00 .877 .054
55
At or Near
267 4.15 .824 .050
60
Q8 At or Near
264 2.66 1.152 .071
55
At or Near
267 2.42 1.061 .065
60
Q9 At or Near
265 3.43 1.068 .066
55
At or Near
266 2.61 1.031 .063
60
Q 10 At or Near
262 2.64 1.175 .073
55
At or Near
266 1.82 .862 .053
60
Q 11 At or Near
265 2.70 1.190 .073
55
At or Near
267 1.84 .954 .058
60
Q 12 At or Near
264 2.01 .735 .045
55
At or Near
267 1.66 .636 .039
60
Q 13 At or Near
263 3.36 1.212 .075
55
At or Near
265 3.23 1.239 .076
60
Q 14 At or Near
265 2.80 1.244 .076
55

223
 At or Near
264 3.39 1.155 .071
60
Q 15 At or Near
265 1.88 1.057 .065
55
At or Near
266 3.45 1.294 .079
60
Q 16 At or Near
265 3.88 .872 .054
55
At or Near
267 4.29 .749 .046
60
Q 17 At or Near
265 3.46 1.128 .069
55
At or Near
266 3.01 1.078 .066
60
Q 18 At or Near
265 1.89 .963 .059
55
At or Near
266 1.57 .818 .050
60
Q 19 At or Near
265 2.63 1.141 .070
55
At or Near
266 2.94 1.106 .068
60
Q 20 At or Near
265 2.12 .958 .059
55
At or Near
266 1.75 .898 .055
60
Q 21 At or Near
264 2.90 1.190 .073
55
At or Near
267 2.21 1.002 .061
60
Q 22 At or Near
263 4.00 .863 .053
55
At or Near
267 4.29 .681 .042
60
Q 23 At or Near
264 3.63 1.063 .065
55
At or Near
265 3.83 .886 .054
60
Q 24 At or Near
266 3.18 1.187 .073
55
At or Near
266 2.71 1.110 .068
60
Q 25 At or Near
265 2.11 .926 .057
55
At or Near
266 1.95 .868 .053
60
Q 26 At or Near
266 3.34 1.241 .076
55
At or Near
267 3.28 1.182 .072
60
Q 27 At or Near
265 3.33 1.099 .068
55
At or Near
266 4.09 .855 .052
60
Q 28 At or Near
265 2.78 .992 .061
55
At or Near
266 2.25 .936 .057
60
Q 29 At or Near
264 3.66 1.085 .067
55
At or Near
266 3.97 .909 .056
60
Q 30 At or Near
266 3.06 1.116 .068
55
At or Near
266 2.62 1.011 .062
60
Q 31 At or Near
264 3.27 1.154 .071

224
 55
At or Near
267 3.98 .836 .051
60
Q 32 At or Near
265 2.71 1.182 .073
55
At or Near
267 3.01 1.160 .071
60
Q 33 At or Near
265 2.56 .991 .061
55
At or Near
267 2.54 1.048 .064
60
Q 34 At or Near
264 2.66 .974 .060
55
At or Near
267 2.45 .938 .057
60
Q 35 At or Near
265 2.72 1.005 .062
55
At or Near
266 2.31 .905 .055
60
Q 36 At or Near
265 3.72 .925 .057
55
At or Near
267 3.91 .884 .054
60
Q 37 At or Near
264 3.19 1.059 .065
55
At or Near
267 3.81 .897 .055
60
Q 38 At or Near
265 2.95 1.170 .072
55
At or Near
267 3.28 1.191 .073
60
Q 39 At or Near
265 2.84 1.086 .067
55
At or Near
266 2.83 .991 .061
60
Q 40 At or Near
264 1.77 .677 .042
55
At or Near
266 1.84 .762 .047
60
Q 41 At or Near
266 1.76 .862 .053
55
At or Near
266 2.39 1.004 .062
60
Q 42 At or Near
261 3.49 1.033 .064
55
At or Near
267 2.89 1.034 .063
60
Q 43 At or Near
265 2.77 1.188 .073
55
At or Near
267 2.05 .842 .051
60
Q 44 At or Near
265 2.74 1.054 .065
55
At or Near
266 2.86 1.015 .062
60
Q 45 At or Near
265 3.34 1.157 .071
55
At or Near
267 2.31 1.032 .063
60
Q 46 At or Near
266 2.14 .881 .054
55
At or Near
267 1.92 .697 .043
60
Q 47 At or Near
265 2.05 .888 .055
55
At or Near
267 1.98 .831 .051
60

225
Q 48 At or Near
265 2.52 1.023 .063
55
At or Near
266 2.04 .877 .054
60
Q 49 At or Near
264 2.92 1.107 .068
55
At or Near
267 2.50 1.070 .066
60
Q 50 At or Near
265 2.18 .856 .053
55
At or Near
267 1.96 .703 .043
60
Q 51 At or Near
263 2.62 1.030 .064
55
At or Near
267 2.35 .956 .058
60
Q 52 At or Near
264 2.64 1.114 .069
55
At or Near
267 2.94 1.099 .067
60
Q 53 At or Near
263 1.73 .716 .044
55
At or Near
267 1.69 .728 .045
60
Q 54 At or Near
264 3.45 1.056 .065
55
At or Near
267 3.62 1.024 .063
60
Q 55 At or Near
264 2.72 1.066 .066
55
At or Near
266 2.85 1.055 .065
60
Q 56 At or Near
263 3.29 1.162 .072
55
At or Near
267 3.39 1.152 .071
60
Q 57 At or Near
262 2.80 1.064 .066
55
At or Near
266 3.15 1.148 .070
60

226
 Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for Equality of

Variances t-test for Equality of Means
Std.
Erro
r 95%
Sig. Mean Diff Confidence
(2- Differe ere Interval of the
F Sig. t df tailed) nce nce Difference

Lower Upper
Q1 Equal
variances 26.280 .000 15.668 529 .000 1.509 .096 1.320 1.698
assumed
Equal
variances
15.657 518.778 .000 1.509 .096 1.320 1.698
not
assumed
Q2 Equal
variances 139.219 .000 -13.544 531 .000 -1.326 .098 -1.518 -1.134
assumed
Equal
variances
-13.579 440.374 .000 -1.326 .098 -1.518 -1.134
not
assumed
Q3 Equal
variances 4.556 .033 1.759 527 .079 .148 .084 -.017 .314
assumed
Equal
variances
1.759 521.345 .079 .148 .084 -.017 .314
not
assumed
Q4 Equal
variances 1.153 .283 2.944 530 .003 .240 .081 .080 .400
assumed
Equal
variances
2.942 521.720 .003 .240 .082 .080 .400
not
assumed
Q5 Equal
variances 51.802 .000 5.799 529 .000 .570 .098 .377 .763
assumed
Equal
variances
5.796 494.263 .000 .570 .098 .377 .763
not
assumed
Q6 Equal
variances .581 .446 5.728 530 .000 .637 .111 .418 .855
assumed
Equal
variances
5.728 529.961 .000 .637 .111 .418 .855
not
assumed
Q7 Equal
variances 1.416 .235 -2.132 530 .033 -.157 .074 -.302 -.012
assumed
Equal
variances
-2.132 527.461 .033 -.157 .074 -.302 -.012
not
assumed
Q8 Equal
variances 3.586 .059 2.495 529 .013 .240 .096 .051 .428
assumed
Equal
variances 2.493 524.388 .013 .240 .096 .051 .428

227
 not
assumed
Q9 Equal
variances .346 .556 9.098 529 .000 .829 .091 .650 1.008
assumed
Equal
variances
9.097 528.188 .000 .829 .091 .650 1.008
not
assumed
Q Equal
10 variances 54.626 .000 9.132 526 .000 .818 .090 .642 .994
assumed
Equal
variances
9.111 478.487 .000 .818 .090 .642 .994
not
assumed
Q Equal
11 variances 39.777 .000 9.191 530 .000 .859 .093 .676 1.043
assumed
Equal
variances
9.184 504.484 .000 .859 .094 .675 1.043
not
assumed
Q Equal
12 variances 8.697 .003 5.780 529 .000 .345 .060 .228 .462
assumed
Equal
variances
5.776 516.707 .000 .345 .060 .227 .462
not
assumed
Q Equal
13 variances .064 .800 1.193 526 .233 .127 .107 -.082 .337
assumed
Equal
variances
1.193 525.883 .233 .127 .107 -.082 .337
not
assumed
Q Equal
14 variances 5.747 .017 -5.619 527 .000 -.586 .104 -.791 -.381
assumed
Equal
variances
-5.620 524.394 .000 -.586 .104 -.791 -.381
not
assumed
Q Equal
15 variances 46.016 .000 -15.327 529 .000 -1.572 .103 -1.773 -1.370
assumed
Equal
variances
-15.332 509.423 .000 -1.572 .103 -1.773 -1.370
not
assumed
Q Equal
16 variances .006 .939 -5.912 530 .000 -.417 .070 -.555 -.278
assumed
Equal
variances
-5.909 516.973 .000 -.417 .071 -.555 -.278
not
assumed
Q Equal
17 variances 5.722 .017 4.730 529 .000 .453 .096 .265 .641
assumed
Equal
variances
4.729 527.737 .000 .453 .096 .265 .641
not
assumed

228
Q Equal
18 variances .141 .708 4.069 529 .000 .315 .077 .163 .468
assumed
Equal
variances
4.068 514.893 .000 .315 .078 .163 .468
not
assumed
Q Equal
19 variances 1.590 .208 -3.137 529 .002 -.306 .098 -.497 -.114
assumed
Equal
variances
-3.137 528.339 .002 -.306 .098 -.497 -.114
not
assumed
Q Equal
20 variances .016 .899 4.579 529 .000 .369 .081 .211 .527
assumed
Equal
variances
4.578 526.550 .000 .369 .081 .211 .527
not
assumed
Q Equal
21 variances 37.883 .000 7.173 529 .000 .684 .095 .497 .872
assumed
Equal
variances
7.166 512.111 .000 .684 .095 .497 .872
not
assumed
Q Equal
22 variances 1.071 .301 -4.275 528 .000 -.288 .067 -.421 -.156
assumed
Equal
variances
-4.268 497.531 .000 -.288 .068 -.421 -.156
not
assumed
Q Equal
23 variances 17.224 .000 -2.322 527 .021 -.198 .085 -.365 -.030
assumed
Equal
variances
-2.321 509.763 .021 -.198 .085 -.365 -.030
not
assumed
Q Equal
24 variances 2.827 .093 4.716 530 .000 .470 .100 .274 .666
assumed
Equal
variances
4.716 527.659 .000 .470 .100 .274 .666
not
assumed
Q Equal
25 variances .759 .384 2.033 529 .043 .158 .078 .005 .311
assumed
Equal
variances
2.032 526.467 .043 .158 .078 .005 .311
not
assumed
Q Equal
26 variances 1.361 .244 .583 531 .560 .061 .105 -.145 .267
assumed
Equal
variances
.583 529.584 .560 .061 .105 -.145 .267
not
assumed
Q Equal
27 variances 58.697 .000 -8.874 529 .000 -.758 .085 -.926 -.590
assumed

229
 Equal
variances
-8.870 498.076 .000 -.758 .085 -.926 -.590
not
assumed
Q Equal
28 variances 5.562 .019 6.278 529 .000 .525 .084 .361 .690
assumed
Equal
variances
6.277 526.972 .000 .525 .084 .361 .690
not
assumed
Q Equal
29 variances 23.942 .000 -3.663 528 .000 -.318 .087 -.489 -.148
assumed
Equal
variances
-3.661 510.896 .000 -.318 .087 -.489 -.148
not
assumed
Q Equal
30 variances 4.241 .040 4.724 530 .000 .436 .092 .255 .617
assumed
Equal
variances
4.724 524.852 .000 .436 .092 .255 .617
not
assumed
Q Equal
31 variances 97.949 .000 -8.065 529 .000 -.705 .087 -.876 -.533
assumed
Equal
variances
-8.051 479.118 .000 -.705 .088 -.877 -.533
not
assumed
Q Equal
32 variances .619 .432 -2.936 530 .003 -.298 .102 -.498 -.099
assumed
Equal
variances
-2.935 529.643 .003 -.298 .102 -.498 -.099
not
assumed
Q Equal
33 variances 1.281 .258 .174 530 .862 .015 .088 -.158 .189
assumed
Equal
variances
.174 528.762 .862 .015 .088 -.158 .189
not
assumed
Q Equal
34 variances 3.252 .072 2.482 529 .013 .206 .083 .043 .369
assumed
Equal
variances
2.481 527.768 .013 .206 .083 .043 .369
not
assumed
Q Equal
35 variances 13.227 .000 4.969 529 .000 .412 .083 .249 .576
assumed
Equal
variances
4.968 522.846 .000 .412 .083 .249 .576
not
assumed
Q Equal
36 variances 6.264 .013 -2.462 530 .014 -.193 .078 -.347 -.039
assumed
Equal
variances
-2.462 528.535 .014 -.193 .078 -.347 -.039
not
assumed

230
Q Equal
37 variances 18.965 .000 -7.189 529 .000 -.612 .085 -.779 -.445
assumed
Equal
variances
-7.182 513.044 .000 -.612 .085 -.779 -.445
not
assumed
Q Equal
38 variances .000 .983 -3.223 530 .001 -.330 .102 -.531 -.129
assumed
Equal
variances
-3.224 529.940 .001 -.330 .102 -.531 -.129
not
assumed
Q Equal
39 variances 10.021 .002 .160 529 .873 .014 .090 -.163 .192
assumed
Equal
variances
.160 524.228 .873 .014 .090 -.163 .192
not
assumed
Q Equal
40 variances .940 .333 -1.048 528 .295 -.066 .063 -.189 .057
assumed
Equal
variances
-1.048 521.515 .295 -.066 .063 -.189 .057
not
assumed
Q Equal
41 variances 12.949 .000 -7.783 530 .000 -.632 .081 -.791 -.472
assumed
Equal
variances
-7.783 518.218 .000 -.632 .081 -.791 -.472
not
assumed
Q Equal
42 variances .000 .996 6.658 526 .000 .599 .090 .422 .776
assumed
Equal
variances
6.658 525.769 .000 .599 .090 .422 .776
not
assumed
Q Equal
43 variances 95.066 .000 8.127 530 .000 .725 .089 .550 .900
assumed
Equal
variances
8.117 475.463 .000 .725 .089 .549 .900
not
assumed
Q Equal
44 variances 1.336 .248 -1.393 529 .164 -.125 .090 -.301 .051
assumed
Equal
variances
-1.392 528.120 .164 -.125 .090 -.301 .051
not
assumed
Q Equal
45 variances 18.016 .000 10.825 530 .000 1.029 .095 .842 1.215
assumed
Equal
variances
10.820 522.286 .000 1.029 .095 .842 1.216
not
assumed
Q Equal
46 variances 8.889 .003 3.164 531 .002 .218 .069 .083 .353
assumed

231
 Equal
variances
3.162 503.505 .002 .218 .069 .082 .353
not
assumed
Q Equal
47 variances 1.596 .207 .959 530 .338 .072 .075 -.075 .218
assumed
Equal
variances
.959 527.134 .338 .072 .075 -.075 .218
not
assumed
Q Equal
48 variances 29.503 .000 5.800 529 .000 .479 .083 .317 .642
assumed
Equal
variances
5.798 516.308 .000 .479 .083 .317 .642
not
assumed
Q Equal
49 variances .544 .461 4.509 529 .000 .426 .095 .240 .612
assumed
Equal
variances
4.508 527.919 .000 .426 .095 .240 .612
not
assumed
Q Equal
50 variances 13.889 .000 3.219 530 .001 .219 .068 .085 .352
assumed
Equal
variances
3.217 509.448 .001 .219 .068 .085 .352
not
assumed
Q Equal
51 variances 6.704 .010 3.102 528 .002 .268 .086 .098 .437
assumed
Equal
variances
3.101 523.763 .002 .268 .086 .098 .437
not
assumed
Q Equal
52 variances 1.021 .313 -3.084 529 .002 -.296 .096 -.485 -.107
assumed
Equal
variances
-3.084 528.657 .002 -.296 .096 -.485 -.107
not
assumed
Q Equal
53 variances .030 .862 .532 528 .595 .033 .063 -.090 .157
assumed
Equal
variances
.532 527.999 .595 .033 .063 -.090 .157
not
assumed
Q Equal
54 variances 1.090 .297 -1.852 529 .065 -.167 .090 -.345 .010
assumed
Equal
variances
-1.852 528.042 .065 -.167 .090 -.345 .010
not
assumed
Q Equal
55 variances .842 .359 -1.329 528 .185 -.122 .092 -.303 .059
assumed
Equal
variances
-1.329 527.823 .185 -.122 .092 -.303 .059
not
assumed

232
Q Equal
56 variances .182 .670 -.963 528 .336 -.097 .101 -.294 .101
assumed
Equal
variances
-.963 527.701 .336 -.097 .101 -.294 .101
not
assumed
Q Equal
57 variances 1.357 .245 -3.580 526 .000 -.345 .096 -.534 -.156
assumed
Equal
variances
-3.582 524.087 .000 -.345 .096 -.534 -.156
not
assumed

233
Appendix J – Initial factor analysis

Factor Analysis
KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling

Adequacy. .880

Bartlett's Test of Approx. Chi-Square 11842.359

Sphericity df 1596
Sig. .000

Communalities

Initial Extraction
Q1 1.000 .611
Q2 1.000 .616
Q3 1.000 .601
Q4 1.000 .580
Q5 1.000 .532
Q6 1.000 .584
Q7 1.000 .561
Q8 1.000 .670
Q9 1.000 .626
Q 10 1.000 .656
Q 11 1.000 .583
Q 12 1.000 .430
Q 13 1.000 .599
Q 14 1.000 .633
Q 15 1.000 .658
Q 16 1.000 .612
Q 17 1.000 .396
Q 18 1.000 .547
Q 19 1.000 .590
Q 20 1.000 .562
Q 21 1.000 .627
Q 22 1.000 .544
Q 23 1.000 .618
Q 24 1.000 .629
Q 25 1.000 .576
Q 26 1.000 .605
Q 27 1.000 .557
Q 28 1.000 .526
Q 29 1.000 .548
Q 30 1.000 .476
Q 31 1.000 .677
Q 32 1.000 .606
Q 33 1.000 .576

234
 Q 34 1.000 .491
Q 35 1.000 .457
Q 36 1.000 .597
Q 37 1.000 .638
Q 38 1.000 .641
Q 39 1.000 .582
Q 40 1.000 .604
Q 41 1.000 .500
Q 42 1.000 .561
Q 43 1.000 .687
Q 44 1.000 .515
Q 45 1.000 .628
Q 46 1.000 .571
Q 47 1.000 .539
Q 48 1.000 .507
Q 49 1.000 .492
Q 50 1.000 .629
Q 51 1.000 .377
Q 52 1.000 .502
Q 53 1.000 .450
Q 54 1.000 .531
Q 55 1.000 .683
Q 56 1.000 .745
Q 57 1.000 .751
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Total Variance Explained

Compon
ent Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings
% of Cumulative % of
Total Variance % Total Variance Cumulative %
1 9.506 16.678 16.678 9.506 16.678 16.678
2 4.720 8.281 24.959 4.720 8.281 24.959
3 2.530 4.438 29.397 2.530 4.438 29.397
4 2.184 3.832 33.229 2.184 3.832 33.229
5 2.123 3.724 36.954 2.123 3.724 36.954
6 1.806 3.168 40.122 1.806 3.168 40.122
7 1.627 2.855 42.977 1.627 2.855 42.977
8 1.432 2.513 45.489 1.432 2.513 45.489
9 1.362 2.389 47.878 1.362 2.389 47.878
10 1.246 2.187 50.065 1.246 2.187 50.065
11 1.147 2.012 52.077 1.147 2.012 52.077
12 1.119 1.963 54.040 1.119 1.963 54.040
13 1.056 1.852 55.892 1.056 1.852 55.892
14 1.035 1.815 57.707 1.035 1.815 57.707
15 .994 1.743 59.450
16 .958 1.681 61.131
17 .935 1.640 62.771
18 .902 1.583 64.355
19 .872 1.530 65.885
20 .856 1.502 67.387

235
 21 .817 1.433 68.820
22 .799 1.402 70.222
23 .777 1.363 71.585
24 .741 1.300 72.885
25 .721 1.265 74.149
26 .710 1.246 75.395
27 .670 1.176 76.571
28 .647 1.136 77.707
29 .643 1.127 78.835
30 .623 1.093 79.928
31 .615 1.078 81.006
32 .599 1.051 82.057
33 .573 1.005 83.062
34 .563 .988 84.050
35 .548 .962 85.012
36 .535 .938 85.950
37 .517 .906 86.857
38 .502 .881 87.738
39 .492 .864 88.602
40 .473 .830 89.432
41 .467 .820 90.251
42 .447 .784 91.036
43 .426 .748 91.784
44 .416 .731 92.514
45 .407 .715 93.229
46 .400 .701 93.930
47 .395 .694 94.624
48 .376 .659 95.283
49 .355 .622 95.905
50 .350 .615 96.520
51 .324 .569 97.089
52 .307 .539 97.628
53 .303 .531 98.160
54 .284 .499 98.658
55 .282 .494 99.152
56 .250 .439 99.591
57 .233 .409 100.000
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

236
 Scree Plot

10

8
Eigenvalue

0
41
43
45
47
49
21
23
25
27
29
3
5

31
33
35
37
39

51
53
55
57
7
1

11
13
15
17
19

Component Number

Component Matrix(a)

Component
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Q 43 .720
Q1 .695
Q 31 -
.659
Q 10 .655
Q 20 .653
Q 15 -
.344
.625
Q 45 .613
Q 11 .610
Q 21 .610
Q 48 .591
Q 28 .562
Q5 -
.535
.332
Q 14 -
.390
.517
Q 24 .511
Q 27 -
.329
.506

237
Q 25 .473 .332
Q 16 -
.467
Q 50 -
.461
.309
Q 49 .461
Q 46 -
.457
.316
Q 18 -
.456
.330
Q 22 - -
.455 .328
Q9 .446
Q6 -
.441 .315
.324
Q 35 .431
Q 17 -
.416
.314
Q 12 .415 .305
Q 30 .376 .369
Q 34 -
.358
.339
Q 51 .347
Q 55 .678
Q 39 .646
Q 57 -
.641 .303
.344
Q 56 .607 .337
Q 54 .591
Q 37 -
.589
.370
Q 19 -
.554
.360
Q 44 -
.516
.308
Q 52 .388
Q 40 .533
Q 47 .503 .348
Q 53 .440
Q2 -
.413 .312
.341
Q 26 -
.555
Q 38 -
.542
Q 42 -
.423
.351
Q 36 -
.321 .359
.332
Q 29 -
.332 .432
.309
Q 23 -
.394 .380
.333
Q 33 .368
Q 41 .314 .333
Q4 -
.400 .319
.426
Q3 -
.349 .334
.326
Q 13 -
.314 .441
.393

238
Q 32 -
.404
.349
Q8 -
.369
Q7 -
.340 .385
.343
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
a 14 components extracted.

239
Appendix K – Monte Carlo for factor analysis

Number of subjects: 643

Number of replications: 100

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Eigenvalue # Random Eigenvalue Standard Dev
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 1.6334 .0316
2 1.5803 .0254
3 1.5374 .0209
4 1.4992 .0191
5 1.4672 .0161
6 1.4358 .0158
7 1.4091 .0157
8 1.3795 .0154
9 1.3538 .0135
10 1.3295 .0147
11 1.3071 .0121
12 1.2844 .0118
13 1.2622 .0129
14 1.2410 .0119
15 1.2210 .0123
16 1.2020 .0126
17 1.1832 .0124
18 1.1634 .0119
19 1.1450 .0110
20 1.1263 .0104
21 1.1082 .0100
22 1.0908 .0102
23 1.0730 .0106
24 1.0552 .0103
25 1.0386 .0093
26 1.0218 .0085
27 1.0049 .0103
28 0.9878 .0098
29 0.9704 .0093
30 0.9540 .0092
31 0.9384 .0083
32 0.9215 .0088
33 0.9059 .0096
34 0.8912 .0092
35 0.8769 .0087
36 0.8627 .0090
37 0.8480 .0090
38 0.8324 .0092
39 0.8182 .0081
40 0.8023 .0084
41 0.7878 .0087
42 0.7722 .0093
43 0.7574 .0098
44 0.7419 .0103
45 0.7262 .0092
46 0.7107 .0105
47 0.6966 .0090
48 0.6810 .0092
49 0.6656 .0101
50 0.6485 .0107
51 0.6329 .0095
52 0.6174 .0097
53 0.6006 .0102
54 0.5826 .0106
55 0.5626 .0113
56 0.5405 .0146
57 0.5127 .0158
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
16/10/2006 11:38:52 AM

240
Appendix L – Oblimin rotation for factor analysis

Factor Analysis
Component Matrix(a)

Component
1 2 3 4 5
Q 43 .722
Q1 .695
Q 31 -.661
Q 20 .655
Q 10 .654
Q 15 -.623 .339
Q 45 .613
Q 11 .611
Q 21 .609
Q 48 .589
Q 28 .563
Q5 .539
Q 14 -.519
Q 24 .512
Q 27 -.502 .338
Q 25 .473 .344
Q 16 -.465
Q 49 .462
Q 50 .460
Q 18 .459
Q 46 .457 .319
Q 22 -.450
Q9 .443 .319
Q6 .443 -.329
Q 35 .433
Q 17 .420 -.301
Q 12 .415
Q4 .399 .321
Q 30 .382 .360
Q 34 .362
Q 51 .348
Q 55 .696
Q 57 .666 -.318
Q 39 .636
Q 56 .623
Q 54 .593
Q 37 -.363 .590
Q 19 .553
Q 44 .509
Q 52 .390
Q 41 .321

241
 Q 40 .551
Q 47 .512
Q 53 .444
Q2 -.342 .406
Q8
Q 26 -.536
Q 38 -.529
Q 42 .456
Q 36 .317 .380
Q 29 .314 .439
Q 33 .418
Q 23 -.331 .414
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
a 5 components extracted.

Communalities

Extraction
Q1 .546
Q2 .333
Q4 .292
Q5 .352
Q6 .319
Q8 .251
Q9 .377
Q 10 .461
Q 11 .404
Q 12 .244
Q 14 .420
Q 15 .583
Q 16 .302
Q 17 .364
Q 18 .274
Q 19 .371
Q 20 .458
Q 21 .403
Q 22 .282
Q 23 .336
Q 24 .409
Q 25 .450
Q 26 .502
Q 27 .434
Q 28 .402
Q 29 .374
Q 30 .295
Q 31 .517
Q 33 .331
Q 34 .228
Q 35 .334
Q 36 .409

242
 Q 37 .508
Q 38 .387
Q 39 .433
Q 40 .433
Q 41 .283
Q 42 .361
Q 43 .568
Q 44 .287
Q 45 .464
Q 46 .399
Q 47 .335
Q 48 .368
Q 49 .345
Q 50 .319
Q 51 .227
Q 52 .397
Q 53 .236
Q 54 .453
Q 55 .633
Q 56 .565
Q 57 .631
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Total Variance Explained

Rotation
Sums of
Squared
Loadings(a
Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings )
Component Total % of Variance Cumulative % Total
1 9.422 17.777 17.777 6.811
2 4.557 8.599 26.376 4.272
3 2.487 4.693 31.069 3.163
4 2.154 4.063 35.133 3.607
5 2.068 3.902 39.035 6.558
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
a When components are correlated, sums of squared loadings cannot be added to obtain a total
variance.

243
 Pattern Matrix(a)

Component
1 2 3 4 5
Q9 .629
Q1 .597
Q 42 .578
Q 35 .556
Q 28 .470 -.309
Q 15 -.467 .441
Q 10 .451
Q 21 .427
Q 11 .425 -.330
Q 51 .418
Q 49 .417 -.301
Q 45 .412 -.394
Q 50 .393 .322
Q 48 .376 -.308
Q 12 .356
Q 41 -.353 .313
Q 18
Q 55 .801
Q 57 .801
Q 56 .766
Q 54 .644
Q 19 .541
Q 39 .488
Q 17 .449
Q 30 .394
Q 40 .639
Q 47 .562
Q 53 .475
Q 25 .439 -.344
Q 46 .434 -.406
Q4 .412
Q2 -.387 .393
Q8 .383
Q 26 -.686
Q 29 -.571
Q 38 -.416 -.510
Q 33 -.506
Q 24 -.480
Q 44 .310 -.334
Q 34 -.319
Q5
Q 36 .620
Q 52 .615
Q 14 .600
Q 23 .592
Q 31 .573

244
 Q 37 .381 .517
Q 43 -.304 -.475
Q 16 .459
Q 20 -.445
Q 27 -.372 .417
Q 22 .335
Q6 -.302
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Oblimin with Kaiser
Normalization.
a Rotation converged in 38 iterations.

Structure Matrix

Component
1 2 3 4 5
Q1 .687 -.443
Q9 .604
Q 10 .572 -.464
Q 35 .549
Q 11 .543 -.470
Q 28 .541 -.373
Q 21 .540 -.385
Q 45 .532 -.521
Q 48 .503 -.440
Q 42 .469
Q 49 .465 -.356
Q 50 .460 .376
Q 51 .420
Q 12 .410
Q2 -.397 .326
Q5 .373 .320 -.349 -.351
Q 18 .349 -.310
Q 41 -.319
Q 55 .791
Q 57 .773
Q 56 .742
Q 54 .631
Q 39 .564 -.399
Q 19 .542
Q 17 .304 .455 -.330
Q 30 .310 .439
Q 40 .646
Q 47 .560
Q 25 .486 -.364 -.391
Q 46 .469 -.436
Q 53 .466
Q4 .306 .448
Q8 .398
Q 26 -.681
Q 24 .345 -.539 -.307
Q 29 -.532

245
 Q 33 -.519
Q 38 -.349 -.460
Q 44 .383 -.383
Q 34 -.382
Q 31 -.366 .328 .642
Q 14 .619
Q 43 .470 -.408 -.592
Q 15 -.574 .579
Q 36 .556
Q 52 .555
Q 37 .408 .550
Q 20 .435 -.548
Q 23 .538
Q 27 -.469 .516
Q 16 -.319 .512
Q 22 -.342 .412
Q6 .373 -.381
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Oblimin with Kaiser
Normalization.

246
Appendix M – Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities for each of the five factors

Factor One

Reliability
Warnings

The space saver method is used. That is, the covariance matrix is not calculated or
used in the analysis.

Case Processing Summary

N %
Cases Valid 610 94.9
Excluded
33 5.1
(a)
Total 643 100.0
a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's
Alpha N of Items
.875 20

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Corrected Cronbach's

Scale Mean if Variance if Item-Total Alpha if Item
Item Deleted Item Deleted Correlation Deleted
Q1 46.30 112.853 .661 .862
Q9 46.10 121.159 .438 .871
Q 10 46.92 117.757 .599 .865
Q 28 46.60 120.372 .532 .868
Q 21 46.60 117.842 .561 .867
Q 35 46.61 122.535 .441 .871
Q 11 46.83 117.784 .549 .867
Q 45 46.29 117.306 .552 .867
Q 49 46.43 120.597 .470 .870
Q 48 46.86 120.739 .534 .868
Q 50 47.08 124.951 .441 .871
Q 51 46.63 124.173 .360 .873
Q 42 45.98 127.031 .205 .879
Q 12 47.24 125.987 .412 .872
Q5 46.83 119.996 .463 .870
Q6 45.94 119.269 .413 .873
Q 18 47.40 124.162 .409 .872
Q 34 46.55 125.233 .321 .874
Q 20 47.20 120.659 .578 .867
Q 43 46.72 117.463 .616 .865

247
Factor Two

Reliability
Warnings

The space saver method is used. That is, the covariance matrix is not calculated or
used in the analysis.

Case Processing Summary

N %
Cases Valid 623 96.9
Excluded
20 3.1
(a)
Total 643 100.0
a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's
Alpha N of Items
.793 10

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Corrected Cronbach's

Scale Mean if Variance if Item-Total Alpha if Item
Item Deleted Item Deleted Correlation Deleted
Q 15 32.57 28.181 .565 .763
Q 14 32.14 30.152 .515 .769
Q 36 31.42 33.205 .422 .780
Q 52 32.45 32.190 .405 .783
Q 31 31.62 31.664 .490 .772
Q 23 31.52 32.935 .411 .781
Q 37 31.68 31.452 .528 .768
Q 16 31.19 33.181 .460 .777
Q 22 31.08 34.484 .372 .785
Q 27 31.54 31.528 .492 .772

248
Factor Three

Reliability
Warnings

The space saver method is used. That is, the covariance matrix is not calculated or
used in the analysis.

Case Processing Summary

N %
Cases Valid 626 97.4
Excluded
17 2.6
(a)
Total 643 100.0
a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's
Alpha N of Items
.790 8

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Corrected Cronbach's

Scale Mean if Variance if Item-Total Alpha if Item
Item Deleted Item Deleted Correlation Deleted
Q 54 20.96 25.172 .500 .766
Q 55 21.71 23.193 .683 .736
Q 56 21.16 23.146 .622 .745
Q 57 21.52 23.172 .644 .741
Q 39 21.63 25.513 .456 .772
Q 19 21.69 25.519 .403 .781
Q 17 21.32 26.274 .332 .793
Q 30 21.67 26.352 .348 .789

Factor Four

Reliability
Warnings

The covariance matrix is calculated and used in the analysis.

Case Processing Summary

N %
Cases Valid 629 97.8
Excluded
14 2.2
(a)
Total 643 100.0
a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

249
 Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's
Alpha Based
on
Cronbach's Standardized
Alpha Items N of Items
.635 .646 7

Inter-Item Correlation Matrix

Q 40 Q 47 Q 53 Q 46 Q 25 Q8 Q4
Q 40 1.000 .312 .183 .313 .353 .178 .282
Q 47 .312 1.000 .211 .181 .153 .317 .117
Q 53 .183 .211 1.000 .153 .052 .080 .144
Q 46 .313 .181 .153 1.000 .439 .190 .163
Q 25 .353 .153 .052 .439 1.000 .169 .231
Q8 .178 .317 .080 .190 .169 1.000 .117
Q4 .282 .117 .144 .163 .231 .117 1.000
The covariance matrix is calculated and used in the analysis.

Summary Item Statistics

Maximum / N of
Mean Minimum Maximum Range Minimum Variance Items
Inter-Item
.207 .052 .439 .387 8.424 .009 7
Correlations
The covariance matrix is calculated and used in the analysis.

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Corrected Squared Cronbach's

Scale Mean if Variance if Item-Total Multiple Alpha if Item
Item Deleted Item Deleted Correlation Correlation Deleted
Q 40 12.07 8.988 .475 .251 .565
Q 47 11.88 9.022 .371 .190 .591
Q 53 12.21 10.196 .223 .079 .631
Q 46 11.90 9.055 .415 .241 .579
Q 25 11.86 8.754 .400 .262 .581
Q8 11.35 8.579 .298 .127 .622
Q4 12.18 9.029 .290 .111 .619

250
Factor Five

Reliability
Warnings

The covariance matrix is calculated and used in the analysis.

Case Processing Summary

N %
Cases Valid 631 98.1
Excluded
12 1.9
(a)
Total 643 100.0
a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's
Alpha Based
on
Cronbach's Standardized
Alpha Items N of Items
.582 .581 6

Inter-Item Correlation Matrix

Q 26 Q 38 Q 33 Q 29 Q 24 Q 44
Q 26 1.000 .372 .198 .302 .270 .161
Q 38 .372 1.000 .113 .209 .024 .131
Q 33 .198 .113 1.000 .228 .271 .125
Q 29 .302 .209 .228 1.000 .081 .154
Q 24 .270 .024 .271 .081 1.000 .178
Q 44 .161 .131 .125 .154 .178 1.000
The covariance matrix is calculated and used in the analysis.

Summary Item Statistics

Maximum / N of
Mean Minimum Maximum Range Minimum Variance Items
Inter-Item
.188 .024 .372 .348 15.768 .008 6
Correlations
The covariance matrix is calculated and used in the analysis.

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Corrected Squared Cronbach's

Scale Mean if Variance if Item-Total Multiple Alpha if Item
Item Deleted Item Deleted Correlation Correlation Deleted
Q 26 15.36 9.459 .466 .255 .465
Q 38 15.56 10.726 .287 .162 .552
Q 33 16.13 11.127 .314 .125 .539
Q 29 14.87 11.127 .331 .139 .533
Q 24 15.78 10.897 .273 .147 .558
Q 44 15.85 11.465 .248 .065 .566

251
Appendix N – Regression analysis involving only five factors

Logistic Regression
Case Processing Summary

Unweighted Cases(a) N Percent

Selected Cases Included in Analysis 479 89.7
Missing Cases 55 10.3
Total 534 100.0
Unselected Cases 0 .0
Total 534 100.0
a If weight is in effect, see classification table for the total number of cases.

Dependent Variable Encoding

Original Value Internal Value

At or Near 55 0
At or Near 60 1

Block 0: Beginning Block

Iteration History(a,b,c)

Coefficients
-2 Log
Iteration likelihood Constant
Step 0 1 663.933 .029
2 663.933 .029
a Constant is included in the model.
b Initial -2 Log Likelihood: 663.933
c Estimation terminated at iteration number 2 because parameter estimates changed by less than
.001.

Classification Table(a,b)

Observed Predicted
Percentage
Retire Age Correct

At or Near 55 At or Near 60
Step 0 Retire Age At or Near
0 236 .0
55
At or Near
0 243 100.0
60
Overall Percentage 50.7
a Constant is included in the model.
b The cut value is .500

Variables in the Equation

B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B)

Step 0 Constant .029 .091 .102 1 .749 1.030

252
 Variables not in the Equation

Score df Sig.
Step 0 Variables F1 124.166 1 .000
F2 95.152 1 .000
F3 .179 1 .672
F4 6.716 1 .010
F5 .265 1 .607
Overall Statistics 164.724 5 .000

Block 1: Method = Enter

Iteration History(a,b,c,d)

-2 Log
Iteration likelihood Coefficients

Constant F1 F2 F3 F4 F5
Step 1 1 476.865 -.594 -1.687 .434 .063 1.020 .320
2 455.000 -.631 -2.597 .552 .177 1.537 .461
3 453.452 -.651 -2.922 .591 .221 1.728 .509
4 453.440 -.652 -2.954 .595 .226 1.747 .513
5 453.440 -.652 -2.955 .595 .226 1.747 .513
a Method: Enter
b Constant is included in the model.
c Initial -2 Log Likelihood: 663.933
d Estimation terminated at iteration number 5 because parameter estimates changed by less than
.001.

Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients

Chi-square df Sig.
Step 1 Step 210.493 5 .000
Block 210.493 5 .000
Model 210.493 5 .000

Model Summary

-2 Log Cox & Snell Nagelkerke R

Step likelihood R Square Square
1 453.440(a) .356 .474
a Estimation terminated at iteration number 5 because parameter estimates changed by less than
.001.

Hosmer and Lemeshow Test

Step Chi-square df Sig.

1 12.186 8 .143

253
 Contingency Table for Hosmer and Lemeshow Test

Retire Age = At or Near Retire Age = At or Near

55 60

Observed Expected Observed Expected Total

Step 1 1 45 46.189 3 1.811 48
2 38 42.415 10 5.585 48
3 38 37.117 10 10.883 48
4 37 30.934 11 17.066 48
5 29 26.035 19 21.965 48
6 22 20.445 26 27.555 48
7 10 14.516 38 33.484 48
8 11 10.178 37 37.822 48
9 4 6.262 44 41.738 48
10 2 1.910 45 45.090 47

Classification Table(a)

Observed Predicted
Percentage
Retire Age Correct

At or Near 55 At or Near 60
Step 1 Retire Age At or Near
185 51 78.4
55
At or Near
53 190 78.2
60
Overall Percentage 78.3
a The cut value is .500

Variables in the Equation

95.0% C.I.for
B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B) EXP(B)
Lower Upper
Step F1
-2.955 .361 66.906 1 .000 .052 .026 .106
1(a)
F2 .595 .250 5.654 1 .017 1.813 1.110 2.960
F3 .226 .194 1.356 1 .244 1.253 .857 1.833
F4 1.747 .312 31.358 1 .000 5.738 3.113 10.576
F5 .513 .201 6.490 1 .011 1.671 1.126 2.479
Constant -.652 1.367 .227 1 .633 .521
a Variable(s) entered on step 1: F1, F2, F3, F4, F5.

254
 Step number: 1

Observed Groups and Predicted Probabilities

16 2

 2 2 22
2 
2 2 2 22 2
2 
F 1 2 2 222 2
2 
R 12 1 1 1 222 2 2

E 1 1 1 1 22 2 222 2
2 
Q 1 1 1 1 22 2 2 222 2 2
222 
U 1 12 1 1 2 11 22 2 2 2 2 222 2 2
222 
E 8 1 1211 1 1 11 22 2 1 2 2 22 222 2 22
2222
N 111111 1 1 2 11 1222 122 2 22222 222 2 222
2222 
C 111111212121 21 11 11121 122 22 22222 2222 222
22222222222
Y 1111111121112 21 11 111212122222 22222
22222222222222222222
4 11111111111112211 112111211111112
22222222222221222222222222
11111111111111111 112111211111111
21112122222121222222222222
11111111111111111
111111111111111111111121212111212222222222

111111111111111112111111111111111111111121211111111112211222
Predicted

Prob: 0 .25 .5 .75

1
Group:
111111111111111111111111111111222222222222222222222222222222

Predicted Probability is of Membership for At or Near 60

The Cut Value is .50
Symbols: 1 - At or Near 55
2 - At or Near 60
Each Symbol Represents 1 Case.

255
 Casewise List(b)

Observed Temporary Variable

Selected Predicted
Case Status(a) Retire Age Predicted Group Resid ZResid
189 S 1** .874 2 -.874 -2.630
204 S 1** .863 2 -.863 -2.506
221 S 1** .925 2 -.925 -3.518
239 S 1** .944 2 -.944 -4.087
275 S 2** .103 1 .897 2.949
304 S 2** .128 1 .872 2.607
311 S 2** .119 1 .881 2.718
337 S 2** .135 1 .865 2.533
341 S 2** .057 1 .943 4.066
346 S 2** .125 1 .875 2.640
381 S 2** .009 1 .991 10.423
401 S 2** .096 1 .904 3.077
412 S 2** .093 1 .907 3.121
438 S 2** .066 1 .934 3.758
479 S 2** .089 1 .911 3.208
a S = Selected, U = Unselected cases, and ** = Misclassified cases.
b Cases with studentized residuals greater than 2.000 are listed.

256
Appendix O – Regression analysis with five factors and demographic variables

Logistic Regression
Case Processing Summary

Unweighted Cases(a) N Percent

Selected Cases Included in Analysis 464 86.9
Missing Cases 70 13.1
Total 534 100.0
Unselected Cases 0 .0
Total 534 100.0
a If weight is in effect, see classification table for the total number of cases.

Dependent Variable Encoding

Original Value Internal Value

At or Near 55 0
At or Near 60 1

Categorical Variables Codings

Parameter coding
Frequency (1) (2) (3)
Education Sub-junior/Junior 101 .000 .000 .000
Senior 99 1.000 .000 .000
Trade/TAFE 151 .000 1.000 .000
University 113 .000 .000 1.000
Rank Constable/Senior
Constable 103 .000 .000 .000
Sergeant 193 1.000 .000 .000
Senior Sergeant 96 .000 1.000 .000
Commissioned 72 .000 .000 1.000
Service less than 15 78 .000 .000 .000
16-25 130 1.000 .000 .000
26-35 216 .000 1.000 .000
More than 35 40 .000 .000 1.000
Admission Cadet 79 .000 .000
Probationary 287 1.000 .000
Recruit 98 .000 1.000
Age under 50 226 .000 .000
50-55 183 1.000 .000
over 55 55 .000 1.000
Prom Q Promotion
186 .000 .000
Qualified
Not Promotion
210 1.000 .000
Qualified
Not Applicable 68 .000 1.000
Oper W Operational
286 .000
Appointment

257
 Non-Operational
Appointment 178 1.000
Gender Male 436 .000
Female 28 1.000
Shift W Shiftwork 257 .000
Non-Shiftwork 207 1.000

Block 0: Beginning Block

Iteration History(a,b,c)

Coefficients
-2 Log
Iteration likelihood Constant
Step 0 1 643.025 .043
2 643.025 .043
a Constant is included in the model.
b Initial -2 Log Likelihood: 643.025
c Estimation terminated at iteration number 2 because parameter estimates changed by less than
.001.

Classification Table(a,b)

Observed Predicted
Percentage
Retire Age Correct
At or
Near At or Near
55 60
Step 0 Retire Age At or Near 55 0 227 .0
At or Near 60 0 237 100.0
Overall Percentage 51.1
a Constant is included in the model.
b The cut value is .500

Variables in the Equation

B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B)

Step 0 Constant .043 .093 .215 1 .643 1.044

Variables not in the Equation

Score df Sig.
Step 0 Variables F1 119.059 1 .000
F2 93.083 1 .000
F3 .448 1 .503
F4 6.639 1 .010
F5 .469 1 .493
Admission 8.473 2 .014
Admission(1) .013 1 .910
Admission(2) 5.119 1 .024
Rank .840 3 .840
Rank(1) .236 1 .627
Rank(2) .218 1 .641

258
 Rank(3) .099 1 .754
Service 11.541 3 .009
Service(1) .007 1 .934
Service(2) 7.116 1 .008
Service(3) 4.724 1 .030
OperW(1) .000 1 .988
ShiftW(1) .019 1 .891
Education 7.560 3 .056
Education(1) 1.072 1 .301
Education(2) 3.093 1 .079
Education(3) 1.306 1 .253
PromQ 2.923 2 .232
PromQ(1) 1.836 1 .175
PromQ(2) .207 1 .649
Age 36.259 2 .000
Age(1) 4.752 1 .029
Age(2) 36.082 1 .000
Gender(1) 2.815 1 .093
Overall Statistics 200.975 23 .000

Block 1: Method = Enter

-2 Log
Iteration likelihood Coefficients

Constant F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Admission(1) Admission(2)

Step 1 -
411.804 -.847 .290 .092 .678 .519 .145 .324
1 1.790
2 -
373.986 -1.043 .364 .230 1.155 .771 .214 .425
2.974
3 -
368.498 -1.030 .397 .294 1.423 .899 .224 .411
3.627
4 -
368.306 -.991 .403 .306 1.482 .926 .221 .393
3.776
5 -
368.305 -.989 .403 .307 1.484 .927 .221 .392
3.783
6 -
368.305 -.989 .403 .307 1.484 .927 .221 .392
3.783

Rank(1) Rank(2) Rank(3) Service(1) Service(2) Service(3)

-.093 -.282 .096 .239 .299 .802
-.084 -.372 .194 .411 .514 1.199
-.053 -.445 .232 .498 .602 1.445
-.040 -.466 .239 .510 .611 1.502
-.039 -.467 .239 .510 .611 1.504
-.039 -.467 .239 .510 .611 1.504

OperW(1) ShiftW(1) Education(1) Education(2) Education(3)

.233 -.021 .559 .652 .431
.330 .043 .864 .982 .690
.399 .082 1.031 1.158 .845
.416 .090 1.072 1.198 .883

259
 .417 .090 1.074 1.200 .885
.417 .090 1.074 1.200 .885

PromQ(1) PromQ(2) Age(1) Age(2) Gender(1)

-.177 -.622 .433 1.656 -.751
-.230 -.845 .637 2.710 -1.051
-.260 -.922 .736 3.335 -1.194
-.266 -.933 .758 3.490 -1.220
-.266 -.933 .759 3.498 -1.221
-.266 -.933 .759 3.498 -1.221

a Method: Enter
b Constant is included in the model.
c Initial -2 Log Likelihood: 643.025
d Estimation terminated at iteration number 6 because parameter estimates changed by less than
.001.

Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients

Chi-square df Sig.
Step 1 Step 274.720 23 .000
Block 274.720 23 .000
Model 274.720 23 .000

Model Summary

-2 Log Cox & Snell Nagelkerke R

Step likelihood R Square Square
1 368.305(a) .447 .596
a Estimation terminated at iteration number 6 because parameter estimates changed by less than
.001.

Hosmer and Lemeshow Test

Step Chi-square df Sig.

1 6.455 8 .596

Contingency Table for Hosmer and Lemeshow Test

Retire Age = At or Near Retire Age = At or Near

55 60

Observed Expected Observed Expected Total

Step 1 1 45 45.268 1 .732 46
2 43 42.852 3 3.148 46
3 39 39.067 7 6.933 46
4 37 32.971 9 13.029 46
5 25 26.095 21 19.905 46
6 18 18.029 28 27.971 46
7 7 11.562 39 34.438 46
8 8 6.960 38 39.040 46
9 3 3.402 43 42.598 46
10 2 .793 48 49.207 50

260
 Classification Table(a)

Observed Predicted

Retire Age
Percentage
At or Near 55 At or Near 60 Correct
Step 1 Retire Age At or Near 55 189 38 83.3
At or Near 60 41 196 82.7
Overall Percentage 83.0
a The cut value is .500

Variables in the Equation

95.0% C.I.for
EXP(B)
B S.E. Wald df Sig. Exp(B) Lower Upper
Step F1 -3.783 .460 67.667 1 .000 .023 .009 .056
1(a) F2 .403 .291 1.918 1 .166 1.496 .846 2.645
F3 .307 .225 1.848 1 .174 1.359 .873 2.114
F4 1.484 .362 16.797 1 .000 4.411 2.169 8.971
F5 .927 .246 14.246 1 .000 2.527 1.561 4.089
Admission .373 2 .830
Admission(1) .221 .433 .261 1 .610 1.247 .534 2.912
Admission(2) .392 .689 .323 1 .570 1.479 .383 5.707
Rank 1.704 3 .636
Rank(1) -.039 .414 .009 1 .925 .962 .427 2.166
Rank(2) -.467 .549 .723 1 .395 .627 .214 1.839
Rank(3) .239 .833 .082 1 .774 1.270 .248 6.495
Service 2.532 3 .470
Service(1) .510 .632 .653 1 .419 1.666 .483 5.749
Service(2) .611 .676 .818 1 .366 1.843 .490 6.933
Service(3) 1.504 .965 2.428 1 .119 4.500 .679 29.836
OperW(1) .417 .373 1.248 1 .264 1.518 .730 3.155
ShiftW(1) .090 .419 .047 1 .829 1.095 .481 2.490
Education 9.505 3 .023
Education(1) 1.074 .453 5.626 1 .018 2.927 1.205 7.108
Education(2) 1.200 .400 8.984 1 .003 3.320 1.515 7.277
Education(3) .885 .455 3.778 1 .052 2.423 .993 5.914
PromQ 2.387 2 .303
PromQ(1) -.266 .298 .801 1 .371 .766 .428 1.373
PromQ(2) -.933 .674 1.914 1 .166 .393 .105 1.475
Age 26.822 2 .000
Age(1) .759 .308 6.081 1 .014 2.136 1.168 3.904
Age(2) 3.498 .684 26.166 1 .000 33.044 8.650 126.224
Gender(1) -1.221 .618 3.902 1 .048 .295 .088 .991
Constant -.989 1.781 .308 1 .579 .372
a Variable(s) entered on step 1: F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, Admission, Rank, Service, OperW, ShiftW,
Education, PromQ, Age, Gender.

261
 Step number: 1

Observed Groups and Predicted Probabilities

32

2

1
2
F 1
2
R 24 1
2
E 1
2
Q 1
2
U 1 1 2
22
E 16 1 1 2
22
N 1 1 22 2
22
C 1 1 11 2 22
2222
Y 111 112 1 2 22 222
2222
8 1111111 12 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2222 22222222
2222
111111111122 1 1 1 12 22 22 2 22 2 2
2222222222222222222
11111111112111111 1 1121111111211 1 22
2222222212122222222

111111111111111111111111111111111211121121211111212111221112
Predicted

Prob: 0 .25 .5 .75

1
Group:
111111111111111111111111111111222222222222222222222222222222

Predicted Probability is of Membership for At or Near 60

The Cut Value is .50
Symbols: 1 - At or Near 55
2 - At or Near 60
Each Symbol Represents 2 Cases.

262
 Casewise List(b)

Observed Temporary Variable

Selected Predicted
Case Status(a) Retire Age Predicted Group Resid ZResid
6 S 1** .864 2 -.864 -2.520
26 S 1** .973 2 -.973 -6.000
102 S 1** .859 2 -.859 -2.468
110 S 1** .971 2 -.971 -5.835
131 S 1** .854 2 -.854 -2.423
189 S 1** .886 2 -.886 -2.786
204 S 1** .945 2 -.945 -4.164
215 S 1** .881 2 -.881 -2.721
221 S 1** .899 2 -.899 -2.984
234 S 1** .950 2 -.950 -4.379
275 S 2** .071 1 .929 3.617
338 S 2** .102 1 .898 2.961
381 S 2** .007 1 .993 12.134
438 S 2** .153 1 .847 2.356
479 S 2** .103 1 .897 2.946
499 S 2** .094 1 .906 3.100
a S = Selected, U = Unselected cases, and ** = Misclassified cases.
b Cases with studentized residuals greater than 2.000 are listed.

263
Legislation

Acts Interpretations Act (1954) Section 32 CA (Queensland Statutes)

Anti-Discrimination Act (1991) Section 106A (Queensland Statutes)

A Bill To Amend The Police Act of 1937 (Queensland Statutes)

Immigration Restriction Act (1901) (Cwth)

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (2004) Ontario Regulation 890 (3)
‘Normal Retirement Age’

Police Service Administration Act (1990) (Queensland Statutes)

Police Act of 1863 (Queensland Statues)

Police Act of 1863 Amendment Act (1891) (Queensland Statutes)

Police Superannuation Act 1968-1985 (Queensland Statues)

Police Superannuation Act 1974-1985 (Queensland Statues)

Anti-discrimination case law

Project Blue Sky v. Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) HCA 20A

Wright and Anor v. Queensland Police Service & Ors (2002) QSC 46

264