Should I Work Even After I “Retire”?
For many, the thought of working in retirement surfaces feelings of both pain and possibility. On one side is weariness. In Habits of the Heart, sociologist Robert Bellah interviewed executives, government employees, school teachers, and small businessmen on how they felt about retirement. He found they were “sick of working,” hated “the pressure,” had “paid their dues,” and “wanted to get out of the rat race.” So they chose to retire to “lifestyle enclaves,” as Bellah puts it, or retirement communities built around leisure and consumption, usually unrelated to the world of work. Today Gallup reports that 87% of the world’s workforce is disengaged from their work. If retirement offers a way out of painful or unsatisfying jobs, it’s no wonder most choose to retire as soon as they can. On the other side, however, is a spark of energy, enthusiasm, and genuine curiosity about new possibilities for work in retirement. My friend Dr. Mark Roberts leads the Max De Pree Center for Leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. In...
Read More