Introduction Night/shift work is increasing but there are few data about the prevalence amongst older workers. Night/shift work has been associated with a number of adverse physical and mental health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, anxiety, and depression. With governments encouraging people to work to older ages, it is important to know how feasible night/shift work is for older workers and whether it is associated with prematurely exiting the workforce.

Objectives Amongst current older workers (aged 50–64 years), to explore the prevalence of night/shift working and evaluate its associations with early exit from the workforce over 4 years of follow-up.

Methods Data from the Health and Employment After Fifty (HEAF) cohort were used to describe the demographic, job and health characteristics of men and women undertaking night/shift work. Longitudinal data from annual follow-ups were used to examine the number and nature of exits annually thereafter.

Results Amongst the 5409 working at baseline, 32% reported night/shift work but the sectors differed by sex. Night/shift workers were more likely to be: current smokers; doing physically-demanding work; struggling to cope at work physically and mentally; dissatisfied with their hours; depressed; sleeping poorly; and/or rating their health poorly. Men (OR 1.4, 95%CI 1.1–1.8) and women (OR 1.3, 95%CI 1.0–1.6) working nights/shifts were slightly more likely to exit the workforce over 4 years. A greater proportion of those exiting the workforce who were night/shift workers attributed their exit to ill-health compared with those working conventional hours.

Conclusion In our study, almost one in three workers reported night/shift work. We found some evidence of adverse impact on health, sleep and wellbeing and higher rates of job exit in shift/night workers. More research is needed, but night/shift work may be challenging to sustain for older workers and could be detrimental to health.