Overage labor, value perceptions, and happiness in urban older adults’ lives: Empirical evidence from China

BACKGROUND: Over the past four decades, China has seen a rapid increase in the level of urbanization, along with an increasing number of older adults. How to promote active aging in the midst of rapid urbanization has become a new challenge for the Chinese government and all sectors of society. This study attempts to verify the relationship between overage labor and happiness in life, and further explore the possible mediating role of multidimensional value perceptions. METHOD: Based on 5010 valid samples from the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018 China Health and Aging Tracking Survey datasets (CHARLS), the study explored and tested the differences in happiness in life between older adults with overage labor and retired older adults. In addition, this study further examined the mediating role of multidimensional value perceptions using a mediation model. RESULTS: (1) Urban older adults with overage labor had significantly higher levels of happiness in life compared to urban retired older adults. (2) The higher level of life happiness of urban older adults with overage labor depends on their perceptions of different values; (3) Specifically, the realization of value perceptions in personal, family and social dimensions through labor contributes to the life happiness of urban older adults with overage labor. CONCLUSION: There is a significant difference between urban old adults with overage labor and urban retired old adults in terms of happiness in life. At the same time, the study confirmed that all three aspects of value perceptions, such as personal, family and social, are the mediating mechanisms between overage labor and urban old adults in terms of happiness in life.