Having the legal right to retire, many of them today work with enviable pleasure and dedication for younger colleagues. We do not appreciate the benefits of retirement age far enough, psychologist and our columnist Anna Fenko is sure.
Anna Fenko – Member of the Faculty of Design at the University of Delft (Netherlands), author of the book “People and Money” (Klass, 2005).
In her youth, my grandmother worked at the Bogatyr factory, which produced galoshes, rubber boots and heating pads. The production was so harmful that she earned her full pension at the age of 38. I am now 39. If I were in her place, I would already be retired and could spend whole days knitting and watching TV series. An enticing prospect!
My grandmother also did not see the retirement future as attractive, and she continued to work, but no longer in a hazardous industry, but in a district clinic. This not only gave her a modest extra income, but also allowed her to “dodge” the traditional duties of a grandmother: picking up her grandchildren from school and baking pies. Moreover, she did not know how to bake pies, but she played the guitar and danced the tango – every Friday at the Bogatyr factory club.
New revolution
Now more and more pensioners not only work on a par with the young, but also actively spend their leisure time: they sing in the choir, go to dances, travel, study. Studies by the American Hospital Association* have shown that they have fewer cardiovascular diseases, virtually no memory problems, and live (on average) longer than their less active peers. And this is not surprising: work gives them a social status, expands their social circle, is a source of positive emotions, new knowledge and a sense of their own importance.
I think we are on the verge of a new revolution – the active filling of the labor market with older people. Developed countries have long realized that declining birth rates and rising life expectancy will inevitably lead to the fact that the elderly will become a visible category of workers. Unlike Russia, where older colleagues are still treated with distrust, in Western Europe and the United States they are doing everything to keep them. For example, in the United States, where there is a shortage of nurses, hospitals are trying their best to attract experienced medical staff. According to Mercy Health System President Javon R. Bea, “Older employees provide a sense of maturity and stability to the team. They are more reliable as they are less distracted by problems at home, they are focused on their duties and serve as a great example for the young.” To attract employees over the age of 50, the company offers them flexible working hours, up to six months of vacation a year, as well as assistance in caring for grandchildren and sick relatives.
Our prospects
About 5% of Russian pensioners** work in Russia. (For comparison: in Japan, 71% of men of retirement age continue to work, in the US – 57%, in France – 17%.) And 42% of them say that even if they had enough money, they would not quit their business. The unpopularity of work among pensioners is largely due to the fact that people of advanced age are reluctant to take on work. Many employers believe that pensioners cannot keep up with the pace of business development and do not have the necessary experience, since their professional skills were formed back in Soviet times. However, there have been some changes in recent years. If earlier a person of 30-32 years old was considered the optimal candidate, now the age bar has risen to 45 years.
However, only 23% of employers*** are ready to seriously consider older candidates. It can hardly be called fair in relation to pensioners. Thanks to the development of medicine, older people today remain physically fit and brighter for much longer, which allows them to consider retirement as a new stage in life. In addition, retirees have other reasons to stay in the ranks longer: accumulated knowledge and experience, resistance to stress and indifference to career issues.
*
** According to the Public Opinion Foundation,
***
About it
- Ernie Zelinski. “Resigned? Congratulations! With a song for retirement. Gayatri, 2007.
Other articles from Dossier Do we want to work less? :
- Work and life: in search of balance
- They chose their rhythm
- “Young people want to live fully”
- “Dad, why do you have to work?”
- People (shouldn’t) work
- 10 steps to change
- Is my firm a second family?