Life after leaving the workforce
"Success in managing the changes that accompanied ageing...was in large part determined by the extent to which people were able to maintain interdependent lives : being able to view themselves as both givers and receivers of emotional, social and practical support"
(Godfrey et al, 2004, as cited by Tanner & Harris, 2008, p. 10).
The youtube video above displays some lovely older people talking about their view on retirement and I think it demonstrates how older people are wanting to be more active once they retire. It also shows how older people often continue to enjoy being active during retirement and how the view of retirement is slowly changing. Older people are working in retirement more often and are getting out there and keeping active!
According to Fingerman (2011) people retire "when income and assests allow them to; or they retire when their physical health begins to fail and they can no longer work" (p.220). Older people often find it a struggle to transition from employment to retirement. With retirement a person loses a number social and work roles that they may have had all of their life. They have to transition from a productive working life to a hopefully relaxed retirement . Retirement can be classified as one of the most difficult transitions due to the huge adjustments we need to make in this stage of our lives (Baby Boomers Planning for Retirement, 2010). Our work provides us with a sense of identity and provides us with a structured day where we know what to expect frome each day. Work gives a person the opportunity to give back to society by being an effective member of the workforce and thus a part of society. However once older people get to a certain age they retire and there can be benefits and pitfalls because of this transition. Often older people lose some purpose from their lives. It is crucial to older peoples' well-being that their lives have a meaningful purpose. Activities and social relationships and maintaining structure in their day are highly valued by older people (Tanner & Harris, 2008).
As the population is ageing there has been a steady decrease in the working age population resulting in a workforce dominated by older workers and less educated youth. If this continues it is said there will be a economy that does not grow (Morgan & Kunkel, 2011).Giving older people oppportunity to participate in occupations could possibly improve the overall economy due to health benefits associated with being active. Furthermore more older people are participating in part time work or voluntary work once they have retired as the youtube clip above highlighted.
Another factor to take into account is that due to the fact we are all living longer those that are retired will be retired for a longer amount of time as the website http://www.baby-boomers-planning-for-retirement.com (2010) states "retirees can expect to live 20-30 years in retirement, which is a good one-third of your life". This is why it is my opinion that older people need to be given the opportunity to take part in activities they enjoy. I still think society's view needs to continue to change regarding what older people "should do" once they retire. I feel that just because someone retires it doesn't mean they should be cut off from society, on the contrary I feel extra effort should be made to include them and those seniors which remain active should be appreciated. Instead of telling them to 'take it easy', push them a little more to remain active as in the end it will benefit their health and make them feel better throughout retirement. If we help support older people to remain active and independent it will benefit our economy, benefit health professions and most importantly benefit the older population as "it is increasingly important that older people, who are a growing proportion of the population, remain independent and healthy during their retirement" (Massey University, 2007).
References:
Baby Boomers Planning for Retirement. (2010). The Retirement Transition. In Planning for retirement. Retrieved November 23, 2011, from http://www.baby-boomers-planning-for-retirement.com
Fingerman, K. (2011). Handbook of life-span development (pp. 220-231). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Massey University. (2007). Understanding retirement. In Health, work and retirement study. Retrieved November 23, 2011, from http://hwr.massey.ac.nz/study-info.htm
Morgan, L. A., & Kunkel, S. R. (2011). Aging, society, and the life course (4th ed., pp. 176-180). New York, IL: Springer Publishing Company.
Tanner, D., & Harris, J. (2008). Working with older people (pp. 10-16). New York, NY: Routledge.
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