My Retirement Decision Making

Recently I came across an article that helps me understand my attitudes toward my upcoming retirement. The article is called “Applying Work-Role Attachment Theory to Retirement Decision-Making”.  There are three variables; job involvement, organizational commitment and career identification.

         In my adult career life that began in 1967 I have primarily been a university professor, with a brief period of time after I left Ontario during which I worked as an Industrial Psychologist (about 5 years) before I joined Kwantlen.

         When I was 65, six years ago, I was almost forced out by mandatory retirement. It of course has now been outlawed as a form of age discrimination.

         There is no doubt in my mind that teaching at the university level has been a central part of my life and retirement will mean giving up valued work role activities. It will also mean giving up a room full of books, fiction and non-fiction, that I have acquired over the years.

         I have less of a commitment to the University it’s self although until recently I have been an active participant in Departmental decision making.

Here are some of the factors that were considered:  all responses were listed between Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree

How do you respond to them?

1.   I expect to retire in the near future

2.   I am very much personally involved in my job

3.   I am proud to tell others that I am part of the organization where I         work.

4.   My line of work/career field is an important part of who I am.

An attitude toward retirement question was:

1. Retirement means being bored.

Finally, some people reported favorable attitudes toward both work and retirement.  Their responses suggested that “...other roles such as leisure and family even more powerful  ‘pull’ toward retirement.”

I would really like to know how you deal with or intend to deal with your retirement.