The book “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50” by Jonathan Rauch introduced the U-shaped curve of wellbeing to illustrate that happiness often rebounds after midlife. There is some truth to this. However, according to a study published in July 2025 in the Journal of Labor Economics, the exact process is more complicated. Researchers found that the rebound is almost exclusive among unemployed men.
Unemployment Stigma Fades at Retirement and Restores Well‑Being in Older Men
Background
A particular study has found that the mental health among unemployed men dramatically changes as they approach retirement age. Researchers observed that depression rates are highest around age 50 but begin to decline as men near the socially accepted retirement threshold. The mental health gap between unemployed and employed men also disappeared by age 65.
The research drew from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement or SHARE in Europe. This is a large longitudinal dataset covering 10 European countries. It includes detailed information on employment status, mental health, and demographic factors for older adults. The U.S. Health and Retirement Study was referenced to cross-check and validate the findings.
Note that the focus was specifically on men aged 50 and older who were unemployed. This group was compared against employed men, both employed and unemployed women, and individuals receiving disability benefits to see whether patterns of mental health differed across groups. This was critical to determine the exclusivity or universality of a phenomenon.
Mental health outcomes were measured using self-reported depressive symptoms documented in the surveys. The researchers then examined changes in depressive symptoms across ages. They specifically focused on the period from age 50 to age 65 when retirement norms typically shift. Note that results from all other age groups were still taken into consideration.
Furthermore, to separate the effect of social expectations from biological aging or income changes, researchers exploited differences in early retirement ages across European countries. Note that some countries allow earlier retirement benefits. This variation helped in isolating and determining how changing expectations around work affected mental health status.
Important Findings
• Depression Risk is Highest at Age 50 for Unemployed Men: Unemployed men are 23 percentage points more likely to experience depressive symptoms compared to employed men at around age 50. The mental health decline is twice as severe as the impact of losing a spouse. This indicates the strong impact of social expectations of work or relevant social stigma on the identities and well-being of men.
• Mental Health Later Improves as Retirement Nears: The depression gap between unemployed and employed men disappears. This suggests that the removal of social stigma restores mental well-being. Unemployment becomes indistinguishable from retirement at the retirement age. The social stigma surrounding employment outcompetes factors like increased leisure time or biological aging.
• The U-Shaped Well-Being Curve is Social and Not Biological: The observed U-shaped curve of well-being or the mental health decline in midlife and rebound later in life is not universal across groups. For unemployed men, this rebound results from changing social perceptions about work and retirement, challenging explanations that attribute this curve to biological or developmental processes.
• Similar Results Across Selected Countries and Datasets: A thorough analysis of datasets from SHARE in Europe and the Health and Retirement Study in the United States showed similar results. This consistency demonstrates that the effect is not limited or exclusive to one culture or retirement system. It also suggests that the effect may be a broader or general phenomenon occurring in industrialized societies.
Takeaways
The findings above indicate that societal norms and all other relevant social stigmas around work profoundly influence mental health. Specifically, when society no longer expects mid-life men to work, since retirement is standard, psychological burdens ease. This demonstrates the influence of external expectations and pressures on internal well-being.
Unemployed men specifically experience significant distress during or around mid‑life because societal norms define work as a source of identity. However, when retirement becomes socially acceptable, identity loss diminishes and mental health and well‑being improve. This illustrates the role of psychosocial dynamics in influencing mental health.
The effect was unique to unemployed men. No similar rebound was observed among unemployed and employed women, employed men, or those on disability benefits. This indicates a specific intersection of gender, unemployment, and social norms. Further studies should explore results in countries with different cultural norms or retirement systems.
FURTHER READING AND REFERENCE
- Van de Kraats, C., Galama, T., Lindeboom, M., and Deng, Z. 2025. “Why Life Gets Better After Age 50, for Some: Mental Well-Being and the Social Norm of Work.” Journal of Labor Economics. DOI: 1086/737772