Retirement, for many if not all, is a leap into the unknown. Young people retire early and learn that hard work is needed to fill the void created by leaving the workplace.
Building and integrating this new life is the subject of the eye-opening book, “Retirement: Creating a Life That Works for You.” Their book, written by five academics in the field of management, is very useful for students because it interviews more than 100 senior and retired employees who have gone through this program.
The authors use their unique experiences to explore the emotional and strategic challenges they face when they decide to retire and, once they do, rebuild lives dominated by decades of work.
There’s Gene, who still felt “unstuck” three years after leaving the corporate writing job. He had big plans to pursue creative writing in his retirement. She fell in love and enjoyed a new relationship. But his plan to become a famous retired writer did not materialize. After an emotional struggle, he finally agreed that writing would be a hobby and not a second job.
Fred, on the other hand, slipped easily into retirement. The research scientist began spending more time on activities he enjoyed, learning Russian and joining a choir while continuing to consult on projects with former colleagues. But even Fred would eventually face the need to find something that would give him purpose after he and his wife were uprooted to be near their daughter and her family.
For Bonnie, giving up customer service made her realize how much being a workaholic had defined her. Her difficulty taking time off from her job eased, however, after she took a “shock plan” and entered her employer’s retirement plan, which was more difficult than it should have been. . However, when she retired, Bonnie was surprised at how easily she found “very rewarding” volunteer work at an organization that provides animal therapy for children.
These and other stories are the heart but not the whole book. Using interviews with older and retired workers, the authors draw out major themes that occur repeatedly in the stories. They describe four stages of retirement: making the decision to retire, withdrawing from work, building a new life structure, and consolidating one’s activities into a stable structure.
They also explore how family, friends and employers can help with this transition. They explore important emotional challenges that come with retirement, including changing relationships with spouses.
Retirement “involves internal, psychological changes as one sorts out questions about who one is outside of one’s work identity,” he writes.
I really liked the authors’ reflections on their own back-to-life transitions that they each share with readers. For example, Mary Crary, who retired from Bentley College in 2018, found that writing this book with her colleagues provided a new source of “richness” in her life that filled the hole left by leaving after more than three decades at Bentley.
So, are you struggling to decide whether to retire or, after doing so, finding it difficult to anchor yourself in a meaningful life?
This book will reassure you that you are not alone. Others filled the gap, and so will you.
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