QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE AMONG 50+ EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE EU: A DOUBLE JEOPARDY FOR CROATIAN OLDER WORKERS/Kvaliteta radnoga zivota zaposlenika starijih od 50 godina u EU-u: dvostruki izazov za starije hrvatske radnike

One of the most pressing concerns in the EU nowadays seems to be the impact of ageing population on the economy. In Croatia the problem is even more pronounced considering that a significant proportion of workforce leaves the labor market before the legal retirement age. One of potential reasons for early retirement might be the quality of working life (QWL) among older employees. Aim of our study was to explore QWL among older Croatian workers by comparing them to younger Croatian workers and their EU peers. Using the data from the 6th European Working Conditions Survey conducted during 2015 on over 30 000 participants, we compared the QWL of Croatian workers older than 50 with younger workers and their peers from well-established market economies of Western Europe and transitional Central and Eastern European countries. Research showed that older workers in Croatia perceive their QWL lower than younger Croatian workers and their peers from other EU countries (especially economic security and autonomy in work). We believe that these findings are, at least partially, the reason for their early retirement. Keywords: older workers, quality of working life, job quality, job satisfaction, Croatia, EU Jedan od trenutacno vaZnijih problema Europske unije jest utjecaj starenja stanovnistva na gospodarstvo, posebno mirovinske i zdravstvene sustave. U Hrvatskoj je taj problem jos izrazeniji jer dobar dio radne snage napusta trZiste rada prije zakonske dobi umirovljenja. Jedan od mogucih razloga za prijevremeno umirovljenje mogla bi biti kvaliteta radnoga Zivota starijih zaposlenika. Cilj je naseg rada bio istraziti kvalitetu radnoga Zivota starijih zaposlenika u Hrvatskoj. Upotrebom podataka prikupljenih u okviru Seste europske ankete o radnim uvjetima, koja je provedena 2015. na vise od 30 000 sudionika, usporedili smo kvalitetu radnoga Zivota hrvatskih radnika starijih od 50 godina s mladim radnicima i njihovim vrsnjacima iz razvijenih trzisnih ekonomija Zapadne Europe (EU17) i tranzicijskih zemalja Srednje i Istocne Europe (EU10). Nalazi istrazivanja pokazali su da stariji radnici u Hrvatskoj smatraju kvalitetu svojega radnog Zivota nizom od mladih hrvatskih radnika i njihovih vrsnjaka iz drugih EU zemalja (posebice ekonomsku sigurnost i autonomiju u poslu). Vjerujemo da su ti nalazi, barem djelomicno, razlog prijevremenog umirovljenja starijih radnika. Kljucne rijeci: stariji radnici, kvaliteta radnoga Zivota, kvaliteta posla, zadovoljstvo poslom, Hrvatska, Eur