I occasionally start a blog post clarifying what the definition of a particular word is, with my chosen lexicographical reference guide today (yep, you know I googled that one) being the Cambridge Dictionary. Today’s word of choice is:
retirement
Well, of all the things!
retirement: the act of leaving your job and stopping working, usually because you are old.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect the last four words to be contained within that meaning, but there they are – because you are old!
Anyway, whether we consider ourselves ‘old’ or not doesn’t matter too much in this context. It’s the rest of the meaning I want to consider. The act of leaving your job and stopping working.
For many, this is exactly what they do. They work, they stop. They never work again. Hence, they have entered retirement. It’s part of the path of life. We go to school, perhaps move into higher education, we work, then we retire. Boom. That’s the way to do it, as Mr Punch would no doubt say.
But is that the only way?
Nah, of course not. Let us now enter the world of unretirement, and delve into exactly what it is all about.
The Retirement Plot Twist
So what exactly is unretirement then? Some of you will probably be ahead of me here, I’m sure. Unretirement simply means returning to work after you have previously retired. This could be in a part-time capacity or taking on consultancy or freelance work. It could be starting a small business, doing seasonal work, or turning a hobby into an income. It could be a volunteering opportunity that later turns into paid work, or a caregiving and companionship role. The world we live in today gives us a lot of choice and more flexible paid opportunities than we have ever known. That’s a good thing.
Here’s a question for you. How many times throughout your career did you either ask or others asked of you, “In an ideal world, where money was no object, what type of job would you want to do?”
With the best will in the world, a lot of us get ‘trapped’ in our jobs. Swapping careers throughout our adulthood can come with challenges. Reduced income, cost of re-training, uncertainty in starting something new again, balancing work responsibilities with family life – there’s a lot to consider. Which is why a lot of us don’t jump ship. We therefore stick with the safety net of what we know. It’s highly understandable.
But for those of us who wish to return to the work environment after the career goals have been met, does this then open up a different world of opportunity for us? We will consider this question later in the post, but for now, let’s take a look at the reasons why unretirement is a growing trend. Before we do that, however, I feel the urge for a quote:
“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else…” – Fred Rogers.
A reminder to us maybe that as one phase of our life closes, a new chapter could present itself, even if it’s not particularly obvious to us at the time.
Geez. Getting deep again.
So…Why Go Back?
I’m sure a lot of you have read that question and thought, “Well, it’s money, isn’t it, Matt?” And by gum, that is definitely one of the reasons. A recent study found that nearly a third of UK retirees are considering returning to work to cope with rising living costs. Additionally, almost one in six have already unretired, with the majority (53%) stating the need for more income as the main reason. Lorna Shah, Managing Director, Retail Retirement and CEO of Legal and General Home Finance, says that “Rising living costs are driving people back to work to top up their income as the pressure is on to make their money go further.” She further adds that “Research indicates that people are not returning to full-time roles so they will likely be topping up money they make from work with some form of income from their pension pot.“
So money is a driving factor. But is it the only one?
Talk about a leading question. I mean, if the answer to that was truly yes, then, well, that pretty much brings this post to an end! But as you will be unsurprised to learn, there are indeed other factors. And for a blog that focuses primarily on the wellbeing aspect of life in the build-up and during retirement, you will be equally unsurprised to learn that these factors are wellbeing-related. Let’s take a look.
As this article shows, there are varying reasons why people consider and indeed decide to return to work. For some it’s money, for others it’s a desire for purpose, structure, or quite simply, having something to do. The article breaks down the reasons as follows;
- Staying mentally active – 62%
- Rising cost of living – 37%
- Sense of purpose – 32%
- Pension fell short – 27%
Purpose is so important, as we’ve discussed many times on this site. Even if we don’t think too much about it, our adult lives can automatically give us a sense of purpose, whether that’s through our family life, our jobs, our hobbies, or activities outside of work. But as we talk about, retirement can take an awful lot of that away, so it’s then left for us to seek out new ways of generating meaning and purpose in our lives. This is something I talk about a lot on this site. From looking at the link between purpose and health in life, through to ways of trying to find meaning as you navigate your way through your retirement years. I even give you tips on what you can learn from teenagers. No one can say I haven’t got you covered here!
Purpose and mental stimulation aren’t the only two non-financial reasons that growing numbers of people are returning to work.
Robert Brokamp, senior retirement adviser at The Motley Fool, says, “There are many people who do go back to work because they got bored. They got lonely. They need something to do.” He adds, “There is no question that people are returning or continuing to work at increasing rates.“
Mental health is cited as another reason people are returning to the workforce in this Guardian article. Dr Zena Burgess, CEO of the Australian Psychological Society, says that ” The transition to retirement can impact mental health, self-identity, and social relationships, and can either enhance or reduce life satisfaction depending on a multitude of factors.” Burgess further adds, “Retirement may result in significant shifts in identity, particularly for those whose sense of self is strongly tied to their professional roles. Involvement in professionally related social activities, volunteer activities and learning new skills are of value to maintaining engagement and relevance.”
It turns out retirement isn’t always the final chapter we imagine then – it can have a surprising sequel. Yet despite the growing number of people choosing to unretire, there’s still a lingering belief that going back to work somehow means retirement didn’t work out. Is there any truth in that, or is it time to challenge the stereotype?
Failure… or Just a Change of Plan?
I’ve listened to a few podcasts on this topic where a few unretirees (yes, I’ve googled it – it is a word) said they felt it wasn’t so much a failure that they had returned to work, but they did question whether others might view it that way. That their ‘best laid plans’ just hadn’t worked out, or that they must be missing something in their retirement to cause them to readjust their priorities.
I have a view on this. What an absolute load of rubbish!
Not the individuals, of course, curious about what others might think, but just the idea that anyone could even see it as adverse that someone returning or continuing to work is a negative. We must remember that the idea of retirement is still a relatively new concept given how much time has gone before us. This can easily get overlooked. Humans have been around for hundreds of thousands of years, but the idea of stopping work at 60 or 65 is largely a twentieth-century invention. So if some retirees decide they’d rather keep working in some form, or return to work, perhaps they’re not breaking the rules after all—maybe they’re just following an older tradition.
Retirement isn’t a contract. You are allowed to change your mind. In my mind, it would be far worse if a person desired to return to work, perhaps for social connection, mental stimulation or meaning, but withheld doing so, because they felt it could be deemed a bit of a negative, that others might go ‘Oooh. Richard’s gone back onto the work treadmill – what a disaster of a retirement he must be having!” Okay, maybe an extreme view, but there’s a serious point behind it. We must do what we do for our own reasons – and not for fear of what others might think of us.
Retirement isn’t a life sentence. It’s perfectly fine to edit the plan if it feels right for you to do so.
So is Unretirement Right For You?
Unretirement isn’t for everyone, of course. I mean, it is for Tyson Fury, but hey, I’m sure a lot of you reading this aren’t world heavyweight boxing champions who have the urge to get back in the ring.
So, is it right for you?
Well, I always find that trying to reflect and ask yourself some important questions can be a way of teasing out what is right for you. Questions such as:
- What am I hoping work will give me?
- Does it have to be paid work? Could volunteering scratch the same itch for me?
- Do I need to do this for financial reasons? If not, is it social connection I’m looking for, purpose, routine, or is it just to generally relieve any boredom I’m experiencing?
- Could it be that going back to work will make me feel happier?
Asking questions such as these helps you to delve a little deeper into your own thoughts and feelings, and can give you some guidance as to what direction you want to take.
So if you do decide that unretiring is something that could provide benefits for you, what exactly are your choices then?
One option, as this article talks about, is to explore positions that align with your passions. I touched on at the start of this post about how we can become financially trapped in our careers, and that a lot of us might have dreams of an ideal job or indeed our own business we might want to build. Now I appreciate that finances might still be a strong motivator to return to work – this article confirms that this is a strong reason that many do. But if you are in a position where finances aren’t the main driving force, this might give you the opportunity to explore passions, interests, dreams – whatever you want to call them – that you might have spent time considering throughout your adulthood. Now could be your chance.
But what else could we consider?
You could look at:
- Consulting
- Mentoring
- Remote working – what a change that has been in recent times.
- Starting your own small business
- Turning a hobby into an income
- Coaching
- Setting up a blog and podcast on finding happiness and fulfilment in retirement. How dare you!! Am kidding – the more that spread this message, the better.
This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list. But hopefully a few pointers on how you could kick-start your route back into the working environment. We must remember that for a lot of us we have gained amazing skills and experience throughout our working life – skills that can be utilised in another form of work. A lot of what we do is transferable – a point worth remembering. Employers seek out those who have gained decades of expertise, who have shown loyalty, been reliable, and who could be used as mentors to help develop a younger workforce. That very much could be you. Ah wow, that’s taken me back to a BBC comedy from back in the day called The Mary Whitehouse Experience!
“That’s You That Is” – The Mary Whitehouse Experience quote from back in the day!
Another one of those moments. When I wrote a recent blog about what happiness and fulfilment mean in retirement, comedian, actor and singer Ken Dodd made an appearance (song lyric-wise, of course). Now here we have the slightly off-beat alternative comedy The Mary Whitehouse Experience nudging its way into an unretirement post. This writing process can be quite fun, you know.
We move on.
Here’s a question. Can you still get the benefits you might be looking for, such as social engagement, meaning and identity, from elsewhere?
This could be the case. Let’s list a few examples below:
- Grandchildren?
- Volunteering?
- Learning? – So much online choice these days for continual learning. A blog is imminent from me on exactly what those choices are.
- Sports?
- Local community clubs/events?
The point is, things like social interaction, stimulating our brains, crafting our retirement identity, purpose and more can be obtained from different areas. Keep this in mind when you are considering whether unretiring is something you want to consider. Mental health benefits can very much be obtained in many different ways.
Your Retirement, Your Rules
Everyone’s retirement will map out in different ways. Yes, some will retire, stay retired, and that’s that. Some will retire, unretire, perhaps retire again, then unretire a bit more. Then retire…ah, geez, it’s all becoming a bit too much!
You design your own post-career phase of life. If that means kicking work into touch until the end of time, then go for it. If thoughts and feelings change, and you want to return to paid work, go for it.
Retirement is one of the biggest transitions we face in life. It really is. Moving from education into a career – yep, tough. Maintaining that career and keeping those bills paid – yep, also not a walk in the park. Bringing up a family, maintaining harmony in your relationship. Not easy. There is much more. Life presents many challenges along the way, with retirement very much being one of those.
The best retirement isn’t necessarily the one where you never work again. Whether you do or whether you don’t is a personal choice. The best retirement (in my humble opinion) is the one that’s built around what gives you purpose, happiness and fulfilment – that might include work, it might not. That’s for you to decide.
Please let me know your thoughts around whether returning to work after giving up work is something you are considering, or indeed are doing? Contributions from you are always extremely welcome. Let’s keep this conversation alive.
Oh, and before we end this particular post, let me leave you with one particular phrase.
“Milky, milky“
Thank you, Hugh Dennis.