Work, Retirement, Leisure, and Optimal Aging

Lecture 12December 5, 2007

Final Exam

• 40 multiple choice questions, 5 short answers & 1 long answer.

• Monday, December 10 at 7 pm in Kruger Hall in Woodsworth College

Tonight’s Lecture• All about work!• Why have leisure activities?• How do people deal with retirement?• What is successful aging?

Why Work?• Although most people work for money,

other reasons are highly variable.– They include, prestige, recognition, and a sense

of worth• Occupational priorities have changed over

time.– Younger workers’ expectations from their

occupations are lower and their emphasis on personal growth is higher.

How Does The Importance of Work Change Over Time?

• In a longitudinal AT&T study, changes in workers' priorities have been documented. – The shorter the time a person had been on the

job, the lesser their expectations of rewards (and vice versa).• However, this was only true for high-level

management.• Lower-level management showed a decline

over time.

Figure 12.1 Changes in the relative importance of work at different levels of management in the AT&T study.

Occupational Choice• Holland’s theory– Holland’s theory is focused on the idea that

people choose occupations that optimize the fit between their individual traits and their occupational interests

– Six personality types that represent different combinations have been identified• Investigative• Social• Realistic• Artistic• Conventional• Enterprising

Occupational Development• Super’s theory• Super describes five stages in adulthood, based

on self-concept and adaptation to an occupational role– Implementation– Establishment– Maintenance– Deceleration– Retirement

• The more congruent a person’s occupational behaviors are with what is expected of them at different ages, the more vocationally mature they are.

What Do People Expect From Their Occupation?

• People have expectations about what they want to become and when they hope to get there– Expectations change as the result of: • Realizing that one’s interests have changed

or the dream was not a good fit.• But also due to age, race, or sexual

discrimination, lack of opportunity, and obsolescence of skills.

What Do People Expect From Their Occupation?

• Reality Shock– The realization that one’s expectations about

an occupation are different from the reality one experiences.• Reality shock is common among young workers.• This happens most to young adults and people with

little relevant experience prior to assuming a new job.

• The outcome of reality shock is often a revision of personal priorities in life.

Why Do Workers Mentor or Need Mentoring?

• A mentor is a co-worker who teaches a new employee the unwritten rules and fosters occupational development.

• Mentor-protégé relationships develop over time, through stages, like other relationships.– Being a mentor helps middle-aged workers

achieve generativity.• Kram suggests that a four-stage sequence occurs in

mentor-protégé relationships:– Initiation– Cultivation– Separation– Redefinition

Job Satisfaction • The positive feelings that results from an

appraisal of one’s work.• Job satisfaction tends to show low to moderate

increases with age.– Older workers report higher job satisfaction

than younger workers.• This may be partly because of self-selection

– Unhappy workers may quit• Other reasons include intrinsic satisfaction, good fit,

lower importance of work, finding non-work diversions, and life-cycle factors.

I Can’t Get No Satisfaction• Alienation– Feeling that what one is doing is

meaningless. • Burnout– Too much stress in one’s occupation and

can lead to: • Loss of energy and motivation.• Loss of occupational idealism.• Feeling that one is being exploited.

Gender Differences in Occupational Choices

• Currently, 66.4% of women work outside of the home, with this number on the rise (Department of Labor, 2002).– Many women have difficulty finding occupations

that match their level of skill.– Women in nontraditional occupations are viewed

more poorly by both men and women. – Women in traditional female occupations changed

jobs less often.

Traditional and Nontraditional Occupations

• Research in this area has focused on three issues:– Selection of nontraditional occupations.–Characteristics of women in nontraditional

occupations.–Perceptions of nontraditional occupations.

Women in the Workplace• Betz found that 10 years after college graduation: – Only 1% of women had been full-time

homemakers.– While 79% reported having successfully

combined work and family.• Women who leave well-paid occupations do so for

many reasons, including:– Family obligations - for women working part-

time.– Workplace issues - for women working full-time.

• Women who continue to work full-time: – Have adequate child care. – Look for ways to further their occupational

development.

Age Discrimination

• Making employment decisions only on the basis of age or denying employment or promotion if the worker is over the age of 40.

• Age discrimination occurs in many ways, such as differential layoff patterns and stereotypical views about older workers.

Occupational Change• Factors influencing occupational change

include: –Dislike • Which results in quitting or seeking other

employment.–Worker obsolescence • For example, technological developments

that eliminate jobs.– Economic factors which result in layoffs

or downsizing• For example, recessions.

Retraining Workers• Rapid changes in the nature of work have

resulted in the displacement of older workers.–According to the U.S. Bureau of the

Census • 51.4% of workers 55 to 64 years old do not

find new employment.• Whereas 65% to 70% of workers under 35

do find new employment.

Retraining Workers• As a result, there is greater career plateauing: – When there is a lack of promotional

opportunity in an organization or a person chooses not to seek advancement.

– Thus, learning new skills is essential to maximize one’s opportunities.

• To adapt to the effects of the global economy and an aging work force, many corporations provide retraining opportunities for workers.

Leisure Activities• Four categories are usually used to help organize

leisure activities– Cultural– Physical– Social– Solitary

• Leisure activities can also be considered in terms of the degree of cognitive, emotional, or physical involvement.

• Preoccupations – Ideas and feelings about things one would like

to do can become more focused as interests. • This can lead to the selection of particular leisure

activities.

Why Do People Engage in Leisure?

• Kelly et al. (1986)• Companionship in the activity• Strengthening primary relationships• Competence and skill development• Expression and personal development• Health and exercise• Meeting role expectations• General enjoyment

Why Certain Activities Rather Than Others?

• People develop a repertoire of preferred leisure activities.– Each activity has a different meaning and

importance to every individual.– The activities are determined by perceived

competence and psychological comfort. • Perceived competence - how good we think we are at

the activity compared to others.• Psychological comfort - how well we meet our

personal goals for performance.

How Does Leisure Change Over Time?

• Longitudinal research shows that leisure preferences in adulthood reflect those in earlier life.

• However, as people grow older, they tend to engage in leisure activities that are less strenuous and more family-oriented.

Why Is Leisure Important?

• Leisure activities promote well-being and can enhance all aspects of people’s lives.– Importantly, it is the amount of satisfaction

you derive from your leisure activities, not your level of participation. • Quality rather than quantity of leisure

activities.

Impact of Leisure on Life Satisfaction in Retirement

• Article by Nimrod (2007)• Interviewed 383 retirees between the ages of

50 and 85 about leisure activities, leisure benefits, and life satisfaction.

• Activity Theory vs. Continuity Theory

Impact of Leisure on Life Satisfaction in Retirement

• Leisure does enhance psychological well-being, and is a crucial factor in life satisfaction in early retirement.

• Needed for adaptation to retirement?• To early retirees, essentiality was a crucial benefit

of leisure. For leisure to be work-like was also a benefit but not essential to well-being.

• How does this apply to the Activity and Continuity Theories?

What Does It Mean To Be Retired?• Retirement is largely a development of the 20th

century, and is still an evolving concept.• What does being retired mean?– The way in which people withdraw from full-

time employment.• Changing conceptions of work are resulting in

changing conceptions of retirement. – Retirement can be crisp or blurred.• Crisp - making a clean break from employment by

stopping work entirely.• Blurred - repeatedly leaving and returning to work,

with some periods of unemployment.

Why Do People Retire?• Most people retire because they choose to–Although some people are forced to retire

because of financial status or serious health problems.

• Health – The most important factor in determining

early retirement and satisfaction.• Gender differences–A married woman's decision to retire is

predicted most by her husband’s health status or number of dependents, the opposite is true for men.

Planning For Retirement• Financial planning and realistic

expectations toward retirement are important predictors of future satisfaction.–People who plan for retirement tend to

be more successful in adapting to this major life change.

• Pre-retirement education programs cover a variety of topics, including finances, attitudes, health, and expectations.

Adjusting to Retirement

• Retirement is an important life transition and can be stressful.– However, the degree of stress is related to

attitudes toward retirement and whether retirement is voluntary.

• Most people are satisfied with their retirement, as long as people:– Have financial security.– Have their health.– Have a supportive network of relatives and

friends.

Adjusting to Retirement• High satisfaction in early retirement

includes– For men• Being in good health• Having enough income • Having retired voluntarily

– For women• No one role was associated with satisfaction

• For both men and women, high personal competence was associated with higher retirement satisfaction over the long run.

Interpersonal Ties• All aspects of a person's life and interpersonal

relationships are affected by retirement.• Being able to enjoy role as a parent & grandparent

especially important for men to enjoy retirement.• Marital relationships: May undergo considerable

stress until new role definitions are reached.– Readjusting to being home rather than at work is

difficult for men in traditional marriages.– Sometimes marriages are disrupted, but married

men are generally happier in retirement than men who are not married.

What Is Successful Aging?

The absence of disease and disability makes it easier to maintain mental and physical function. And maintenance of mental and physical function, in turn, enables (but does not guarantee) active engagement with life. It is the combination of all three—avoidance of disease and disability, maintenance of cognitive and physical function, and sustained engagement with life—that represents the concept of successful aging most fully (Rowe & Kahn, 1998, p. 39).

Successful Aging

• From everything we’ve discussed in class, what is successful aging?

• What components need to be present?• What sense of aging do you come away with

from this class?

A Framework for Maintaining and Enhancing Competence

• How to optimize the overall sense of competence:– Apply the three key adaptive mechanisms for

aging: The SOC Model.• Selection • Optimization• Compensation

• How to differentiate between successful aging and usual aging.– Successful Aging• Avoid disease• Be engaged with life• Maintain high cognitive and physical function

Successful Aging• Outcomes of the SOC model that are visible

signs of successful aging:– Enhanced competence–Quality of life– Future adaptations

Keys To Optimal Aging• Adopt a healthy lifestyle; make it part of

your daily routine.• Stay active cognitively; keep an optimistic

outlook and maintain your interest in things.

• Maintain a social network and stay engaged with others.

• Maintain good economic habits to avoid financial dependency.

Keeping Healthy

• Little research available on health programs specifically for the elderly–A few trends are apparent:– Exercise is key to health–Health education programs are helpful–Health screening programs are effective

in identifying chronic diseases that impact quality of life.

However…• Quality of life is a very subjective concept.• One may see it differently than others

perceive one’s QOL.• Older adults may be happy and satisfied

despite health problems.• Can’t take poor health to equal

unsatisfactory aging.

The EndOr

The Beginning?