If you are about to retire from your job, and discover that your company is planning a party to mark the occasion, should you agree to take part in this celebratory event?
You are on the brink of retirement and are seriously thinking about moving to a new town. Is this a good idea?
With a view toward the increased leisure that comes with retirement, you are about to commit yourself as a full-time volunteer at your local hospital. Does this make sense?
Yes, to the first; No to the second and third. At least, that is what Bob Weiss would answer. And, at the moment, he probably knows more about retirement than just about anybody else.
That’s Robert W. Weiss, Senior Fellow at the UMass Boston’s Gerontology Institute. Over the past few years, he and his colleagues have made a thorough study of the subject, interviewing 89 men and women retirees. From this research has come a book, The Experience of Retirement, which will be published in November.
Those interviewed, it should be noted, are all from Boston suburbs. Moreover, almost all of them are middle-class and many have had careers in the mainline professions.
Weiss explains that he himself can be considered retired, having stepped down 14 years ago as professor of sociology at UMass Boston. But ever since, he has continued his work in research, lecturing, and writing.
The main reason for accepting the party? It will make you feel better about yourself. “Even a bittersweet retirement event is better than no event,” concludes Weiss. The celebration will also give a positive twist to your thoughts about the workplace and colleagues that you have left.
As to moving your residence, you would not be acting wisely. It would be much better at this time of major transition to test the waters rather than to take the plunge.
The same caution applies to volunteering. In general, it’s a fine thing to do but committing yourself prematurely to a full-time slot forfeits the leisure that offers you many new possibilities.
For those thinking of retiring, Weiss offers an all-purpose rule of thumb: “The more orderly the retirement, the better.” That means advance planning and, especially, linking plans with the wishes of one’s spouse or significant other.
Trying to make this relationship flourish must loom large in any happy retirement. When handled right, this relationship with a life partner does not remain static but changes, over the years, into a closer companionship.
Another central task for people in retirement, especially for those who live alone, is to stave off social isolation. About this, Weiss says that most handle it reasonably well. But those who derived their community from their workplace will need to adjust or face loneliness.
Often, those who suffer isolation do not recognize what is happening to them. The researcher urges people to try various activities, even if they feel pessimistic in advance that any one involvement will work for them
No single way of organizing retirement works for everyone, but certain approaches have proven worthwhile. Balancing engagement and freedom; choosing activities that replace the ones you like best in the workplace; trying things you always wanted to do but never got around to; finding retirement activities that boost your feelings of self worth ─these are staples.
About volunteer work, Bob Weiss offers a helpful generalization. “The closer your volunteer position comes to being a real job, the better.” But volunteering often produces feelings of frustration when you are not given a meaningful role. Again, the best rule of thumb, he says, is not to commit yourself without trying the position first.
As for paid work in retirement, the author finds that 16 or so hours per week suits most people best. That schedule provides enough time for a desirable mixture of labor and leisure.
In this study I would have liked to see more evidence of retirees who have opted for community service. Asked about retirees getting involved in social action, Bob Weiss says: “That’s unusual ─ almost always they are people who have done it before.”
That strikes me as true, but the idea of huge numbers of retirees in Florida, Arizona, and elsewhere focused on improving their tennis game, preparing for their next luxury cruise, or ready to drive a golf ball down the green fairways, but doing little or nothing for the common good, gets me down.
With all the gaping holes our society shows ─ in schooling the young, in providing health care, in relieving poverty ─ we could use what the Gerontological Society of America calls “the tremendous reservoir of skills and experience in our rapidly growing older adult population.”
Retirement is a time of great potential. The time has come for drawing on it and putting it to use for the benefit of us all.
Richard Griffin