Work And The Transition To Retirement

   First of all let’s define work as behaviour that contributes to society for which we get paid. In the case of volunteering, we do it for free.  Getting paid is society’s recognition of our usefulness. Retirement may be seen by others, and us, as a form of laziness.  In extreme cases this, building on ageist stereotypes, envisions a world where seniors, “live off of other people”.

     Being engaged in our work is an important factor in our productivity and job satisfaction.  Engagement is work related and characterized by energy, commitment and absorption. There is a strong correlation between work engagement and work satisfaction. Key aspects of our work besides pay are recognition, organizational support and the work environment.

     What happens when we retire? According to Ernie Zelinski, in his very popular book “How to Retire, Happy, Wild and Free:” What will you do with your time if you have never learned to enjoy your leisure?  He goes on to say, “What may be missing is a sense of purpose and some meaning to your life.”

   Nancy Schlossberg, in her recently published book “Revitalizing Retirement: Reshaping Your Identity, Relationships, and Purpose.” one of the key aspects of successful work is “mattering”-- being “noticed, appreciated, and depended on.”

In the book Schlossberg, asks us to respond to the following Concerns:

1.    “ Who am I?  I feel that I am no longer off any use.”

2.  “ I have to work on marital relationships because we are now eyeball to eyeball”

3. " I have lost my buddies. I have to adjust to not seeing as many people each day.

4.  I am struggling to regain my sense of purpose.”

       In summary, a large part of our transition to retirement involves preparation and strengthening of our social relationships and developing new ways to contribute to our community.

Thoughts About The Retirement Process

For the majority of my adult life, with the exception of five years as an Industrial Psychologist, I have been a Post Secondary Psychology Professor and next August 2011 I intend to retire.  Retirement is the most widely shared transition for older adults and looked at the right way, can be considered as liberation. Looked at the wrong way it is a major step toward decline and death.

I intend to be successful in my retirement and this will require me to be productively engaged in life. Research has confirmed that in order to be successful we have to find or create a new path and realize that we cannot simply land on the beach and face a broad ocean with a storm on the horizon. One of the aspects of the storm is self-stereotyping which  holds that to be “old” is to decline.  And, from a financial standpoint, we must also understand that our self-worth is not measured by our net worth.

Erik Erikson, an esteemed Developmental Psychologist, tells us that those who retire and are closely identified with work face the threat of losing their sense of identity.  He argues that our major task during the retirement process is to seek new sources of identity, replacing those lost in retirement.

Robert Atchley has suggested five typical phases to retirement:

1. honeymoon—freedom of time and space

2. discenchantment—facing the reality of everyday life in retirement

3. reorientation—develop a realistic view of financial and social    opportunities as well as limitations of retirement

4. stability—accommodation to retirement

5. termination—eventual loss of independence

Do any of them ring a bell for you ?

Gene Cohen in his book The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain urges us to reinvent retirement. He suggests that we should not let other people push as around.  Indeed, the differences between work and retirement are becoming less distinct. Cohen conducted some research and  found many people had not done any planning for retirement.  Less than 10% had done anything beyond financial planning.  He also asked “What gives you a sense of meaning or purpose in life.”   Almost everybody said that if was making a contribution and helping others. Sounds like a good clue to me. So, I think I’ll stop now and would appreciate any comments you may  have.

Aging, Stress and Interpersonal Relations

Over the last few days I have experienced more than usual amounts of stress.  First, I am preparing to return to the classroom. As an instructor, my need to have everything prepared increases stress and affects my memory.  For example, yesterday I went to my upstairs office three times to see if I had completed my Introductory Psychology Course Outline.

          The other more extreme experience occurred two days ago when I drove my car over at the Muriel Arnason Library to see the room where I will be presenting my Retirement Workshop next week.  When, came back outside, I put my key in the ignition. It would not start the engine and the gears would not shift.  Needless to say my stress-response system kicked in and the cortisol began pumping. And there was no one to “fight” and nowhere to run away. My wonderful wife and I only live about fifteen minutes, by bicycle, from the Library. I called her and she rode over. I was so stressed that I could not take effective action. She took over and movement began. I waited for an hour till Roadside Help arrived. Ten minutes later we were at the repair shop. The car has now been fixed and my brain has rebalanced.

         It has been found that social support helps buffer us against stress by helping decrease blood pressure and it helps us live longer. On the other hand poor interpersonal relationships increase our wear and tear and shortens our lives.  Obviously our stress responses, in a short-term “fight or flight” situation, might save our lives.

         It has been suggested that stress experience coupled with good social relationships is a factor in helping us learn to recover more quickly from discouragement.  Aging inevitably exposes us to stressful situations. Survival and adaptation may contribute to our wisdom and personal growth.

         

         

The Early Retirement Factor

Throughout the last part of the 20^th Century most people retired between 60 and 64. Now the average retirement age is actually rising. With the growing economic uncertainty, some people may think that early retirement is bad for society; that those who retire, especially those who decide to retire early, will not be pulling their own weight.  These attitudes reflect as growing attitude of ageism.

Let’s take a closer look at early retirement motivation.  Generally, early retirement is taken by workers with health problems or those who have accomplished good incomes in anticipation of early retirement. Some companies providing private pension plans actually encourage early retirement so they can ether pay a lower salary to new employees or keep the job vacant.

People with low incomes and no pension plan report that they will never retire. One study in 1998 found that just less than half of all people reported that they expected to work after retirement and a large number of those who retired at 65 continued some kind of part-time work.  

In British Columbia the Provincial Government has recently dramatically cut spending and retirement itself is viewed creation of new dependency even though most retirees, early or not, continue to engage in socially useful activities including volunteering and part-time work.

Sometimes, older people looking for work after early retirement find re-entry into the workforce difficult.  For example, Ted, a former CEO, now in his seventies, retired at 58, thinking that is what he should do. But after a couple of years he discovered the whole syndrome of being “young-old”. He reports that, “You have all your juices, all your ability but no obligations to go work just for money.” Ted believes that: “When you’ve had power for a number of years, your value is your power not your abilities.” He further explains, “When you are out of the ‘power loop’ your abilities are no longer valued.”  He reports: “I’ve started looking for another job, but being in my 70’s, I get a very cold reception. They seem to listen to you but they don’t see you. You’re a non-person.”  This suggests that, with early retirement, he has ignored his attachment identity to work.

Essential Retirement: Psychological Concerns

Everyone is searching for successful retirement.  Pardon me for being such an academic but I  am half way through "Essential Retirement: Psychological Concerns" and I can't put it down.  Dr. John Osborne has written a book that we all should read.  Think of any problem you may have with anticipating or engaging in Retirement--He Has Suggestions That Are Useful.  His book is published by Possum Press and is published in Canada.

Meanings of Retirement

When I look at the various meanings of the English word "retire", I find some interesting examples, all of which, along with "leave one's occupation", appear to mean loss:  1. to recede,  2. to withdraw, 3. to retreat, 4. to move away, 5. to take out of circulation.   Could anyone who speaks languages other than English tell me if their word for leaving work is also connected to these other ideas?
One of the only positive words that I can find connected with aging is wisdom.   This is a social process indicating a deepening understanding of interpersonal relations based on extended experience.  Ironically, when older people fail to display wisdom, it is often assumed that it's because they are getting old.
Successful retirement, requires us to refine and "recycle" ourselves. To do so, we must challenge and change some assumptions about ourselves and others based on our experience.  One of the difficulties with successful aging is, rather than using wisdom, we fall into self-stereotyping connected with the ideas in the first paragraph.  For example "seniors moments" and moving away from previous connections.  These attitudes and activities are reinforced by younger people's attitudes toward
older people.  
I think that the next 15 years or so, especially if the "economic downturn" continues, will see more examples of senior stereotyping, and direct attacks on seniors as the population ages and we are held responsible because "...all they are doing is draining the resources of younger 'productive' people.

Questions

I am about ready to retire, 9 months to go. I am challenged to reconsider some very important things in my life. I think I have found a path for my "Third Age."  For so long I have been Professor Anderson, a journey that began in my second year of university when I ask my psychology professor; "What do I have to do, to do what you are doing?"  I was 19 and that was 51 years ago.


I was almost forced to retire five years ago when mandatory retirement was still in effect in BC. With the help of the Faculty Association, I resisted and became "special part-time regular".  I was still working, but only part time and my salary was cut in half.  Still I have come to see these past years as a type of bridge to the third stage of my life. As I prepare to present my retirement workshops, I ask;  "Is this really the right time for the transition?"

Now, I need to examine my strengths and weaknesses and explore my options carefully. I know that I still struggle for perfection, sometimes getting closer sometimes not.  I want this workshop to be good as possible so that both those who have already retired and those who have yet to retire can make the best decisions given their own strengths and skills.

One process I am developing to aid me in my goals is meditation. For this I thank Yongjie Yon, a close friend, who is now working at the National level to fight elder abuse. Finally, I must remember that we are all social animals and that none of us can survive by ourselves no matter how much money we have.  Our social relations are even more important than money.

What do you think?

Larry