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‘An ant against an elephant’: Retirement village residents’ experiences of disputes and dispute resolution
Author(s) -
Malta Sue,
Williams Susan B,
Batchelor Frances A
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12524
Subject(s) - dispute resolution , dispute mechanism , life satisfaction , business , socioeconomics , psychology , political science , sociology , alternative dispute resolution , social psychology , law
Objective To record Victorian retirement village residents’ experiences of dispute management and satisfaction levels related to dispute resolution processes. Methods Survey distributed to 6500 retirement village residents. Results Surveys returned from 1876 residents (29% return rate). Most residents rated life in retirement villages as positive (mean 7.9/10), with an association between life satisfaction and management's ability to resolve disputes ( r s = 0.44, P < 0.01). Almost 70% of respondents reported issues of concern to management were resolved satisfactorily; 38% were not resolved to residents’ satisfaction. One‐fifth reported contacting regional managers or higher personnel regarding issues affecting them, with two‐thirds of these respondents reporting a negative outcome. Over 30% did not know if their village had dispute resolution processes in place. Conclusion Despite finding retirement village life positive, residents of retirement villages found disputes and dispute resolution processes unsatisfactory and desired change to address these concerns.