We are pleased to announce a Call for Papers for a Special Issue on Friendships over the Lifespan in Work, Aging and Retirement. This Special Issue seeks empirical research that advances understanding of how friendships shape, and are shaped by, work and career experiences across adulthood and into retirement.
Guest Co-Editors:
Ulrike Fasbender (University of Hohenheim)
Bernadeta Goštautaitė (ISM University of Management and Economics)
Nina Junker (University of Oslo)
Tabea Wolf (University of Hohenheim)
Timeline:
- 1 March 2026 – Proposal portal opens
- 31 March 2026 – Proposal deadline
- 31 May 2026 – Invitations to submit full manuscripts
- 31 January 2027 – Full manuscript deadline
We invite empirical contributions (quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, meta-analytic) that address themes such as:
Key Themes:
Contributions may address (among others) the following themes:
- Lifespan Perspectives on Friendship
- How do friendship formation, maintenance, and deterioration differ across early, mid, and late career stages?
- How do age-related developmental tasks (e.g., caregiving, career establishment, retirement preparation) shape friendship dynamics?
- Friendships in Career, Work, and Retirement Transitions
- How do friendships support (or strain) individuals during job loss, career mobility, unemployment, or retirement?
- How do workplace friendships persist, transform, or fade during major transitions?
- Organizational Contexts, Employment Characteristics, and New Work Trends
- How do age-diverse teams, leadership, HR practices, and organizational cultures shape friendship opportunities?
- What happens to friendships in hybrid, remote, digital, or AI-mediated work?
- Dynamic Processes and Cross-Domain Spillover
- How do daily friendship experiences affect well-being, motivation, and performance across different ages?
- How do friendships spill over between work, family, leisure, and post-retirement contexts?
- Types of Friendships and Diversity in Friendship Dynamics
- How do age-diverse, cross-hierarchical, or intersectional friendships evolve over time?
- What distinguishes multiplex friendships from purely instrumental or social ties?
- Challenges associated with Friendship and How to Overcome Them
- When do friendships create conflict, strain, favoritism concerns, or ethical dilemmas?
- How do such challenges vary across career stages — and how can they be mitigated?
Submission Instructions:
Submit a proposal (max. 1,000 words, excluding references) via the Work, Aging and Retirement submission portal. In your cover letter, please indicate that the submission is for the Special Issue on Friendships over the Lifespan.
More details:
https://academic.oup.com/workar/pages/call-for-papers-friendships-over-the-lifespan
Thank you and best wishes
Ulrike Fasbender
Post Type
Calls & Announcements
