Profile

I am a Professor of Work and Ageing at Newcastle University Business School.

My teaching and research explores the organisation, management and experience of work and how this varies between different countries. My research has explored the factors influencing employment in older age, the management and experiences of older workers, and prospects for the future of work and retirement. I have a particular interest in how pressures to extend working lives impact on older workers, organisations and society. I am also interested in how health is managed in the workplace and how it influences employment outcomes.

I have been exploring these issues, through research and teaching, for more than two decades. I began my academic career as a Research Officer at the Institute for Employment Studies in 2000, working on a range of projects funded by the UK government and the European Commission. Following this I completed a PhD in Sociology at the University of Sussex, which explored employment beyond age 65 in the UK and USA. I then worked at the University of Brighton Business School between 2008 and 2017, progressing to the position of Senior Research Fellow. I joined Newcastle University Business School in 2017 as Senior Lecturer. I was made a full Professor in 2024.

I am an Academic Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD). I am on the Executive Committee of British Society of Gerontology, acting as Treasurer, and I organised the society's 2024 conference, which was held at Newcastle University. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), and I am on the Management Board of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies, University College London.

Within Newcastle University I am Head of the Leadership, Work and Organisation Subject Group, a large group with around 55 members of staff teaching and researching across a range of management disciplines. I am also Co-Director of the Newcastle University Centre for Ageing (NUAGE).  

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My research has mostly focused on issues related to older workers and retirement. In recent years I have been particularly interested in the impact of pressures (and opportunities) to extend working lives on older people, organisations and society. I am a sociologist by background, and I'm interested in how this is influenced by the inter-play between changes to work, welfare/policy and families.

I have published numerous journal articles on this and allied topics, alongside two books, book chapters and reports for the UK government and European Commission. My book, 'Reconstructing Retirement', explored prospects for extended working lives in the UK and USA; this was nominated for two book awards and received positive reviews in six international academic journals. I have co-edited special issues for the journals Work Employment and Society, Employee Relations and Social Policy and Society. I was on the Associate Editorial Board of Work, Employment and Society from 2014-16 and was one of the organisers of the conference for this journal in 2010. 

I am lead editor/author for the book 'Older Workers in Transition: European Experiences in a Neoliberal Era' . I am Series Editor of the Bristol University Press book series ‘Rethinking Work, Ageing and Retirement’. Please get in touch with me if you are interested in writing a book for the series. 

I am currently working on project exploring job mobility for older workers in physically demanding routine and semi-routine occupations. This is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and involves working with colleagues from the Institute for Employment Studies. More details are here.

I recently worked on the ESRC funded project 'Supporting Healthy Ageing at Work', focusing in particular on the experiences of older self employed individuals. An article exploring why people become self-employed after age 50 is in press. I am also on the Management Committee of the EU Cost Action Project 'Work inequalities in later life redefined by digitalization'.

I led the Economic and Social Research Council 'Rethinking Retirement' seminar series between 2011 and 2012. Between 2011 and 2014 I held a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship. From 2014 to 2017 I was a co-investigator on the Economic and Social Research Council project 'Uncertain Futures: Managing Late-Career Transitions and Extended Working Lives'. Publications from this project explored job transitions in older age and 'ontological precarity' among older workers, a topic that has become a key research interest of mine in recent years. Research from this project is also explored how financial insecurity impacts upon the management of health within organisations.

Alongside the above, I have worked with Professor Sarah Vickerstaff on the EU project 'Understanding the employment participation of older workers'. I have also completed qualitative research on grandparents and employment, working with the charity Grandparents Plus; this resulted in an article in Sociological Review. In addition, I have led a UK team of Researchers for a cross-national project funded by the Norwegian Research Council that explores job transitions of older workers. 

Over the years I have been invited to present my research to academic audiences at at The Danish Center for Social Science Research (Denmark, 2025), Linköping University (Sweden, 2023), Hitotsubashi University (Japan, 2019), the London School of Economics (2019), the University of Miami (USA, 2018), the University of Edinburgh (2015 and 2013); Linnaeus University (Sweden, 2014); the University of Bremen (Germany, 2013) and the University of Birmingham (2013). 

I have been fortunate in having the opportunity to disseminate my research to non-academic audiences. I have presented my research at events organised by the Society of Occupational Medicine (2023), International Longevity Centre (2022); Age and Employment Network (London, 2017); the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Berlin, 2015); Age Northern Ireland (Belfast, 2014); European Economic and Social Committee of the European Parliament (Brussels, 2013); and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (2012). I have provided advice and guidance on older-worker issues to a range of bodies including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Australian HR Institute and the HM Treasury. 

I have also organised two events on ageing with members of the general public as part of previous ESRC Festivals of Social Science. I have provided media commentary on older workers and retirement to the Guardian newspaper, Mature Times, The Voice of Russia Radio, BBC Radio Scotland, Personnel Today, People Management, The Institute of Leadership and Management, and BBC Sussex Radio. 

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As Subject Group Head, my current teaching responsibilities relate to giving guest lectures on ageing and employment within undergraduate and postgraduate modules. However, during my career I have taught and led a range of modules spanning the fields of Human Resource Management, Organisational Behaviour, Academic Skills, Sociology and Politics. At Newcastle my teaching responsibilities have related to the following modules:

NBS8286 – People Management in Global Context – Module Leader.

NBS8326 – Managing Organisations and People - Module Leader.

NBS8387 – HRM in Cross-National Contexts – Module Leader.

I have also contributed significantly to the following modules:

BUS3006 - Managing Diversity 

NBS8383 Diversity in a Global Context

BUS3024 - Critical Perspectives on Human Resource Management

I have also supervised undergraduate and MSc dissertations.

I am currently a PhD supervisor for three students, exploring topics related to digitalisation and ageing at work, gender and the four-day working week, and autism and job satisfaction. I have previously supervised four PhD students to completion, two as lead Supervisor. I have supervised projects on older workers in the UK, Germany and Denmark, the National Living Wage and Educational Maintenance Allowance. I have examined PhDs at the Universities of Edinburgh, Newcastle and Linköping (Sweden). I am particularly interested in hearing from people who want to want to conduct PhD research on issues related to older workers, ageing and the life course.

I have previously been the External Examiner at the University of Edinburgh for the Business Management MA (Hons), Business with Human Resource Management MA (Hons), and Business and Law MA (Hons). I was also previously an Admissions Selector for the Business Management BA Honours (N200) at Newcastle. 

In terms of educational leadership, I led the reaccreditation of Business Management BA (Hons) and Global Human Resource Management MSc with the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD). I was also the Degree Programme Director for the Global Human Resource Management MSc, a role that I really enjoyed. 

I enjoy teaching and I have been nominated for a Students Union Teaching Excellence Award on a number of occasions at Newcastle. My teaching and leadership in this area has been recognised by the award of a Higher Education Academy Senior Fellowship.

• Articles

  • Lain D, van der Horst M, Jandric J, Phillipson C, Steffan B, Loretto W. Becoming solo self-employed in later life: turning points, autonomy and the lifecourse. Ageing & Society 2026. In Press.
  • Lain D, van der Horst M, Vickerstaff S. Adapting to an Older Workforce: Health and the (Non) Response of Employers in an Era of Insecurity. Journal of Social Policy 2026, 55(1), 168-184.
  • Airey L, Lain D, Jandrić J, Loretto W. A selfish generation? 'Baby boomers', values, and the provision of childcare for grandchildren. The Sociological Review 2020, 69(4), 812-829.
  • Lain D, Airey L, Loretto W, Vickerstaff S. Understanding older worker precarity: the intersecting domains of jobs, households and the welfare state. Ageing & Society 2019, 39(10), 2219-2241.
  • Lain D, Phillipson C. Extended Work Lives and the Rediscovery of the 'Disadvantaged' Older Worker. Generations 2019, 43(3), 71-77.
  • van der Horst M, Vickerstaff S, Lain D, Clark C, Baumberg Geiger B. Pathways of Paid Work, Care Provision, and Volunteering in Later Careers: Activity Substitution or Extension?. Work, Aging and Retirement 2017, 3(4), 343-365.
  • Fahy AE, Stansfeld SA, Smuk M, Lain D, van der Horst M, Vickerstaff S, Clark C. Longitudinal associations of experiences of adversity and socioeconomic disadvantage during childhood with labour force participation and exit in later adulthood. Social Science and Medicine 2017, 183, 80-87.
  • Clark C, Smuk M, Lain D, Stansfeld SA, Carr E, Head J, Vickerstaff S. Impact of childhood and adulthood psychological health on labour force participation and exit in later life. Psychological Medicine 2017, 47(9), 1597-1608.
  • van der Horst M, Lain D, Vickerstaff S, Clark C, Baumberg Geiger B. Gender roles and employment pathways of older women and men in England. SAGE Open 2017, 7(4), 1-17.
  • Lain D, Loretto W. Managing Employees Beyond Age 65: From the Margins to the Mainstream?. Employee Relations 2016, 38(5), 646-664.
  • Phillipson C, Vickerstaff S, Lain D. Achieving fuller working lives: labour market and policy issues in the United Kingdom. Australian Journal of Social Issues 2016, 51(2), 187-204.
  • OReilly J, Eichhorst W, Gabos A, Hadjivassiliou K, Kurakova L, Lain D, Lesckhe J, McGuinness S, Nazio T, Ortlieb R, Russell H, Villa P. Five Characteristics of Youth Unemployment in Europe: Flexibility, Education, Migration, Family Legacies, and EU Policy. SAGE Open 2015, 5(1), 1–19.
  • Lain D, Hadjivassiliou K, Corral-Alza A, Isusi I, OReilly J, Richards V, Will S. Evaluating internships in terms of governance structures: Contract, duration and partnership. European Journal of Training and Development 2014, 38(6), 588-603.
  • Loretto W, Lain D, Vickerstaff V. Rethinking Retirement: Changing Realities for Older Workers and Employee Relations?. Employee Relations 2013, 35, 248-256.
  • Lain D, Loretto W, Vickerstaff V. Reforming State Pension Provision in ‘Liberal’ Anglo Saxon Countries: Re-commodification, Cost-containment or Recalibration?. Social Policy and Society 2013, 12, 77-90.
  • Lain D. Working past 65 in the UK and USA: Segregation into ‘Lopaq’ Occupations?. Work, Employment and Society 2012, 26, 83-91.
  • OReilly J, Lain D, Sheehan M, Smale B, Stuart M. Managing Uncertainty: The Crisis, its Consequences and the Global Workforce. Work, Employment & Society 2012, 25(4), 581-595.
  • Lain D. Helping the Poorest Help Themselves? Working Past 65 in England and the USA. Journal of Social Policy 2011, 40(3), 493-512.

• Authored Book

  • Lain D. Reconstructing Retirement: Work and Welfare in the UK and USA. Bristol, UK: Policy Press, 2016.

• Book Chapters

  • Lain D, Vickerstaff S, van-der-Horst M. Retirement and responsibilisation – Current narratives about the end of working life. In: Lain D; Vickerstaff S; van-der-Horst M, ed. Older Workers in Transition: European Experiences in a Neoliberal Era. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2022, pp.183–193.
  • Lain D, Vickerstaff S, van-der-Horst M. Job transitions in older age in an era of neoliberal responsibilization. In: Lain,D;Vickerstaff,S;van-der-Horst,M, ed. Older Workers in Transition: European Experiences in a Neoliberal Era. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2022. In Preparation.
  • Lain D, Vickerstaff S, van-der-Horst M. Job redeployment of older workers in UK local government. In: Lain,D;Vickerstaff,S;van-der-Horst,M, ed. Older Workers in Transition: European Experiences in a Neoliberal Era. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2022.
  • Lain D, Airey L, Loretto W, Vickerstaff S. Older workers and ontological precarity: between precarious employment, precarious welfare and precarious households. In: Grenier, A; Phillipson, C; Settersten Jr, RA, ed. Precarity and Ageing: Understanding Insecurity and Risk in Later Life. Bristol: Policy Press, 2020, pp.91-114.
  • Lain D, van der Horst M, Vickerstaff S. Extended Working Lives: Feasible and Desirable for All?. In: Czaja SJ; Sharit J; James JB, ed. Current and Emerging Trends in Aging and Work. Springer, Cham, 2020, pp.101-119.
  • Lain D. Employment of workers age over 65: The importance of Policy context. In: Parry, E; McCarthy, J, ed. The Palgrave Handbook of Age Diversity and Work. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2017, pp.475-497.
  • Lain D. Work beyond Age 65 in the England and the United States. In: Scherger, S, ed. Work Beyond Retirement Age in Comparative Perspective. London, UK: Palgrave, 2015.
  • Lain D, Vickerstaff S. Working Beyond Retirement Age: Lessons for Policy. In: Harper,S;Hamblin,K, ed. International Handbook on Ageing and Public Policy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, 2014.
  • Lain D. Health and Employment Past Age 65 in England and the United States. In: Vickerstaff, S; Phillipson, C; Wilkie, R, ed. Work, Health and Well-Being: The Challenges of Managing Health at Work. Bristol: Policy Press, 2011.

• Edited Book

  • Lain D, Vickerstaff S, van-der-Horst M, ed. Older Workers in Transition: European Experiences in a Neoliberal Era. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press, 2022.

• Reports

  • Harrison D, Scurry T, Procter S, Lain D, Lopes A, Steven A, Tomietto M. Understanding Newcastle’s future health and care workforce ‘pipeline’ : Pathways, motivations and priorities. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University Business School, Newcastle University, 2025.
  • Lain D, Vickerstaff V. National Report United Kingdom: Understanding employment participation of older workers. Berlin, Germany: Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) and Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), 2015. Report for the European Commission Joint Programming Initiative 'More Years, Better Lives'.
  • OReilly J, Lain D. Labour Market Transitions in Comparative Perspective: Policy briefing from EU research findings. [Report for the European Union FP7 Framework Project 'WorkCare Synergies']. Brighton: University of Brighton, 2010.
  • Lain D, Aston J. Literature Review of Evidence on e-Learning in the Workplace. Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies, 2005.
  • Kodz J, Davis S, Lain D, Strebler M, Rick J, Bates P, Cummings J, Meager N, Anxo D, Gineste S, Trinczek R, Pamer S. Working Long Hours: A Review of the Evidence. London: Department for Trade and Industry, 2003.
  • Atkinson J, Evans C, Willison R, Lain D, van-Gent M. New Deal 50plus: Sustainability of Employment. London: Department for Work and Pensions, 2003.
  • Lain D, Maginn A. Labour Market Involvement in Quality Assurance in Vocationally / Professionally Orientated Higher Education in Europe: Final Report, England. Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies, 2003.