L.A. Times article - "Why they're still working" (conversation, federal)
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I am 61 and haven't been working due to a lot of things. Luckily I have my late husband's pension. But like someone posted I found I had no purpose in life, no reason to get up in the morning. I did some gardening and some charity work but it's just not the same as going to work and earning your own money. I always thought it would be great not to have to go to work but after a while, unless you're wealthy enough to take vacations, etc., there is only so much "fun" you can fill your day with.
I went back to work this past May - part time, two days a week from 11-5. I feel sharper and less like I'm just wasting what's left of my life. I am punctual and flexible to fill in for people when they go on vacation. It was a field I had never worked in but I have picked it up quickly as I was an administrative assistant most of my working life.
I'm sure for a lot of those grandmas who are still working it might be the economy, it might be that they are raising grandchildren because their kids can't or won't. It might be that they like working.
Excellent post. I can relate. Your personal example is a reminder that there is a middle ground between full-time work and not working at all. Your two days a week at work allow you a more relaxed pace than full-time work with plenty of time to pursue your own stuff.
These articles kill me. I guess if you live in a very remote area depression and boredom would be a factor , but I live in NYC there is and will always be people to see and stuff to do! Volunteer opportunities are endless to provide structure as well.
Earning money and having a boss are not required to prevent boredom. If you have no real interests, nothing you always wanted to learn or accomplish but didn't have the time, it still should be extremely easy to never get bored.
I have hobbies and I love learning, and I like to join various kinds of things, so it would never be a problem for me. But IF I did not have all those things I do, I could EASILY think of ways to stay busy and stay useful.
For example, there must be a whole lot of people who are elderly and/or disabled and would love to have visitors, or someone to help with chores.
Since my hobby is music, in the past I have entertained at nursing homes and I have never felt so appreciated in my life. It really was fun and rewarding. I might do it again, now that I actually have time for it.
But if you are not into music there are many other ways you could bring happiness to nursing home residents. They are starved for attention and entertainment.
Alternatively, I am sure there are many children with various kinds of problems who would love to have a friend who is older and retired and can spend a lot of time with them.
If you like going to church (I do) that is another way to be involved and interested in something.
If you like staying home, you finally have time to read some of those books you never had time for before.
You do not need a boss to make you feel useful. There is so much trouble and sadness in the world, so many lives you could improve.
Earning money and having a boss are not required to prevent boredom. If you have no real interests, nothing you always wanted to learn or accomplish but didn't have the time, it still should be extremely easy to never get bored.
I have hobbies and I love learning, and I like to join various kinds of things, so it would never be a problem for me. But IF I did not have all those things I do, I could EASILY think of ways to stay busy and stay useful.
For example, there must be a whole lot of people who are elderly and/or disabled and would love to have visitors, or someone to help with chores.
Since my hobby is music, in the past I have entertained at nursing homes and I have never felt so appreciated in my life. It really was fun and rewarding. I might do it again, now that I actually have time for it.
But if you are not into music there are many other ways you could bring happiness to nursing home residents. They are starved for attention and entertainment.
Alternatively, I am sure there are many children with various kinds of problems who would love to have a friend who is older and retired and can spend a lot of time with them.
If you like going to church (I do) that is another way to be involved and interested in something.
If you like staying home, you finally have time to read some of those books you never had time for before.
You do not need a boss to make you feel useful. There is so much trouble and sadness in the world, so many lives you could improve.
I agree with you for the most part. I always had outside interests and hobbies even before I retired. Before I retired, I did the following (serially, not all at once):
1. Traveled in Europe
2. Learned to fly private airplanes
3. Took up bicycling in a very serious way (once rode 300 miles in 24 hours)
4. Took up motorcycling in a very serious way
So when it came time for retirement not a whole lot changed. For example I already liked to read and liked foreign films and enjoyed road trips in my car, so I had more time for those things.
However (and here's where I part company with you) I don't get the denigration of people who find their ticket to mental stimulation and zest for life in continuing to work. You and I have one path (the nature of my volunteer work is that I don't have a "boss"), and those folks who find gratification at work have another path. So what if they have a boss? What is so bad about having a boss if he's a good one?
Whether you intended this or not, what comes through to me in your post is "my way is superior". Sure, it's superior for you and that's why you chose it. In fact, your way (more or less) is superior for me too. But the fact is we're all different and there's not a thing wrong with continuing to work.
I agree with you for the most part. I always had outside interests and hobbies even before I retired. Before I retired, I did the following (serially, not all at once):
1. Traveled in Europe
2. Learned to fly private airplanes
3. Took up bicycling in a very serious way (once rode 300 miles in 24 hours)
4. Took up motorcycling in a very serious way
So when it came time for retirement not a whole lot changed. For example I already liked to read and liked foreign films and enjoyed road trips in my car, so I had more time for those things.
However (and here's where I part company with you) I don't get the denigration of people who find their ticket to mental stimulation and zest for life in continuing to work. You and I have one path (the nature of my volunteer work is that I don't have a "boss"), and those folks who find gratification at work have another path. So what if they have a boss? What is so bad about having a boss if he's a good one?
Whether you intended this or not, what comes through to me in your post is "my way is superior". Sure, it's superior for you and that's why you chose it. In fact, your way (more or less) is superior for me too. But the fact is we're all different and there's not a thing wrong with continuing to work.
Of course there is nothing wrong with continuing to work. I had some bad experiences with bosses, so I do not miss them not the least tiny bit. However, lots of people have great bosses and if they want to work even if they don't need money I would never criticize that. Working for money is a way to prove you have value. When I was working, even if I would have rather not been working, it did give me a sense of having value.
What I meant to say is that, no one should be afraid they will get bored if they are not working.
I have often heard people say they can't think of things to do since they retired, or that they are afraid to be retired because they would get bored. Ok that's fine, as long as they can still find work.
One problem is that there are mandatory retirement ages in some countries or in some companies. So a person who loves their work and loves their boss and has no desire to retire may have no choice, when they get to 70 or whatever the age might be.
Every time I heard anyone say they were afraid to retire because they would get bored, I thought of all these things they could do, even if they never had a hobby.
I honestly never wanted to work for a company and did it only for money. Lots of people feel the same way, but there are also many who love being part of a company.
Would you quit if you won a big lottery, is the question that separates the two kinds of people.
At my most recent job, the answer was usually a very loud YESSSS! Everyone was tired, everyone hated Monday morning. Partly it was because the company was extremely stingy about time off.
No I don't miss that place, not one bit, or any of the others before it. And I honestly loved my work. But that kind of work, and many others, can be done as a volunteer.
If you are a teacher and you miss the kids, just do volunteer tutoring. If you are a nurse, volunteer to help sick or disabled people.
If you absolutely decide that you need to have a boss, but you don't need any money, come see me and I will let you do my chores.
Changes in benefits for the elderly have been part of the equation. More retirement plans are based on employee contributions, which encourages working longer. The eligible age for social security has increased, and there are less costs associated with working while receiving benefits.
I found the above from the link very interesting. With pensions there were incentives to retire early, while with 401K/403B plans especially if maxed out and with a match you may want to roll up the moola more. I wonder if more affluent workers with maxed out work place plans are inclined the most to work a few more years.
Even for those who don't need the money, I think work provides a daily structure and routine most folks are not willing to impose on themselves. I've known several guys my age who were unemployed over the long term, and this lack of a routine/accountability to something caused various bad habits to take hold. Many seniors could also fall into the same trap.
Well, cursing in an IT department certainly cannot hurt, although maybe it doesn't help. Young IT guys try to use the F work at least once in every sentence. I only said it once in a while, hoping to prove I was one of them. It is just the way they talk, doesn't mean anything at all.
Didn't help me though. And now I have to remember NOT to curse.
Do they do that cussing in front of all the employees, or just among themselves when no one else is around? I can understand the frustration that IT guys experience in trying to deal with computer and network issues, as well as less than computer literate employees sometimes, but I can't think that letting go frequent f-bombs would improve much of anything.
I have to say the IT folks with the employers I worked for in my 40-some yrs in the workforce didn't swear like that, at least I never heard them. Maybe they did so when no one else was around, but who knows?
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Fwiw
