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I think this holds true for me and the reason why I have plans to work until the very end. I dont want to get old and in my opinion, retirement signifies that... kind of like the final chapter in life. I am not ready to be in that mindset and feel continuing to work will keep me young. I have nothing that I would want to do in retirement anyway so might as well keep working, lol.
I'm not sure what you do for a living, but as you age, your body becomes less able to deal with stress and lack of sleep. In many cases, I think that work actually ages you. Also, older people often become set in their ways and less adaptable so they may continue to work simply because that is a known and familiar routine to them.
I've seen people retire and then I've run into them after a few months and they look relaxed, well rested and younger than they did before they retired.
I missed the feeling of being needed and depended upon and solving problems. I missed being asked questions and taking care of details.
I missed hearing people call me by my name.
I guess I got a lot of personal satisfaction out of successfully managing things in the company.
After retirement, I felt a bit left behind and out of touch with new ideas and ways of doing things...like I was dumbing down.
Without working hours it's hard to figure out when the relaxing and/or fun hours should begin. The absence of deadlines makes me procrastinate. No hurry to get anything done.
Even with all the above, I'm glad I was able to retire at an early age. I sort of wish the years were flip-flopped and I could have had "retirement" when my sons were youn and I had lots of energy and ideas for things to do...then go to work in later years when sitting behind a desk all day seems more tolerable.
Yes, I do have hobbies and interests since retirement, and zero desire to go back to working for a living!
I've worked for the State, the Government and the Army. Here's my work identity:
“We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.”
― Konstantin Josef Jireček
My top priority identity has always been as a wife and a mother. The same identity applies.
I'm really not that cynical but have often had a good laugh in the breakroom with others over that quote.
What I miss most is the sense of connectedness with other people sharing my interest in improving the world in tiny ways.
My husband is in the middle stage of Alzheimer's so we are both dealing with further change of identity.
After he retired it took about six years for him to quit part-time jobs. One of them was Police Reserves.
I notice some days he wears his ID tag from that job.
Yes, I admit to having an identity crisis in retirement.
But not related to jobs or work. My identity was in my hobbies: horses, hiking, kayaking. I don't quite know who I am without those. Bad joints put the kibosh on all those.
I had lots of plans for fun in retirement--activities to replace those, but for various reasons, none of them have panned out.
Still looking! At least we can still travel, but the rest of the year....
Drove home the day I retired, sat in the driveway and said to myself thank God this is over and never gave my career a second thought. Maybe because I knew the date I'd retire 15 years before I did. That was over 16 years ago.
If you ended up in a wheelchair unable to walk, that would be a major identity loss. You are now an invent.
Nothings changed except you are now elevated in status due to your achievement of now being financially able to retire. If you were a doctor let's say, you usually keep that title of Dr. long after you retire. You are not your career or job
Well this reminds me of the Bing Crosby show with Danny Kaye "White Christmas" where Bing singing about what's a general to do (leaving the military) where they say "Here comes the general! And the people respond "general who?"
I don't think it's more of a getting used to being a civilian it's getting used to not being waited on by underlings where a general would have 15 people directly below him majors and lieutenants and captains. And they have to walk away from all that power and recognition and prestige.
And of course it's a major deflation of ego for some people.
I'm not sure what you do for a living, but as you age, your body becomes less able to deal with stress and lack of sleep. In many cases, I think that work actually ages you. Also, older people often become set in their ways and less adaptable so they may continue to work simply because that is a known and familiar routine to them.
I've seen people retire and then I've run into them after a few months and they look relaxed, well rested and younger than they did before they retired.
A lot depends on what you do in retirement.
I sit on my butt all day in front of the computer for work, lol. That said, when im eligible to retire from my career i intend on getting a job where i actually am able to move around a little more. Not looking for stress but i like the social aspect of it as well as the structure and i feel i would get incredibly lazy without it. I find that i am already getting stuck in my ways and like having a routine. There is absolutely nothing i want to do in retirement so i think working suits me best.
I sit on my butt all day in front of the computer for work, lol. That said, when im eligible to retire from my career i intend on getting a job where i actually am able to move around a little more. Not looking for stress but i like the social aspect of it as well as the structure and i feel i would get incredibly lazy without it. I find that i am already getting stuck in my ways and like having a routine. There is absolutely nothing i want to do in retirement so i think working suits me best.
I also had an office job. During retirement I got a job at Tractor Supply...4 hours on Wed/Fri
I enjoyed that job for while I had it. No stress, customers were friendly and I got to know the right size belt for various lawn mowers
I live in a golf course community and one of the guys at the range lives here and works there part time...to get out of the house.
A lot depends on if the person had a clear line between work hours and home hours. The minute work starts creeping into their so called "off hours" that is when their life starts to revolve around their work. It doesn't happen all at once. It's a gradual shift that takes place over the years as their responsibility increases at work. They literally don't know what it means to not be constantly on call and at the ready - they get calls in the middle of the night, they get calls standing in line at the grocery store, they get calls when they are in the middle of the ocean on a cruise ship, they get calls during Christmas dinner...
For those with more 9-5 type hours and no work calls in the evenings/over the weekend/during holidays and on vacation, having real, uninterrupted "down time" is a normal part of life and I would imagine that the transition into retirement would be fairly easy. For those who have been more or less on call 24/7, there is going to be an adjustment because they simply are not used to their time truly being their own. Their professional commitments are so entrenched and constant that they have a hard time even thinking about retirement.
Much depends on the type of work you've been doing.
I went from the "always on" you describe above to retired without any adjustments.
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