A Day Without End

How to keep workingafter others retire.

By PT Staff, published on November 01, 1992 - last reviewed on August 30, 2004

You've crossed the great divide into middle age. You feel vigorous and at the peak of your powers. You can't imagine why people ever retire. Yet the thought crosses your mind. You've even heard numerous horror stories about older employees. You're a great worker now, but will the company want you around forever?

In a study that gives new meaning to the phrase "work till you drop," two researchers have identified a number of strategies that workers often take to remain on the job as long as they want or need. "Organizations can do much to assist older workers to remain on the job," report psychologists Chrystie Meziere and Robert Hansson of the University of Tulsa, "but the older worker is also an active participant in the process."

First, the Tulsa twosome went to 49 employed and retired adults, ranging in age from 40 to 87, and asked them to describe any work-life-extending strategies they had ever tried, and whether such maneuvers helped them carry out their responsibilities and avoid stress. That yielded 130 strategies that fell into 16 categories, ranging from increased attention to health maintenance to a variety of educational efforts to avoid obsolescence.

Running those strategies past 108 more people, the team came up with a Work-Life Extending Strategies inventory of 33 items, the team reported at an American Psychological Association meeting in Washington, D.C. The items were validated in tests on 54 employed and retired persons aged 40 to 83.

In the final analysis, five basic strategies accounted for the lion's share of success workers had in remaining gainfully employed in their later years. So if you wish to extend your work life, take note:

o Broaden your career options. Pursue on-the-job training. Take work-related classes or training programs to qualify for different jobs.

o Maintain positive self-presentation. Be careful about personal appearance when at work. Develop a positive work reputation; maintain job competence.

o Reduce risk in health and job security. Minimize age-related risks to health and job security. Maintain a healthy diet. Avoid job-related health hazards.

o Continue professional/personal development. Develop work skills and outside interests. Read for new ideas. Pursue friendships outside work.

o Manage workload and resources. Reduce job stress by distributing your workload across time or other people. Delegate work to others. Train others to help you.