It Gave Me Somebody Else to Think About Besides Myself: Caring Callers Volunteer Experiences With a Telephone-Based Reassurance Program for Socially Isolated Older Adults

The Caring Callers Program was developed as a telephone-based intervention utilizing Senior Companion volunteers to reach older adults at greater risk for loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. This pilot program consisted of trained volunteers who provided supportive, weekly calls as well as community resources with their Caring Callers clients. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore the experiences of Senior Companion volunteers in the Caring Callers Program through the lens of productive aging. We completed semi-structured interviews with 18 Caring Callers volunteers. We used Rapid and Rigorous Qualitative Date Analysis (RADaR) which yielded four themes: (1) reciprocity; (2) purposeful use of time; (3) learning new skills; and (4) gaining perspective. Our findings provide insight for gerontological researchers examining volunteering as a productive aging activity and offer strategies for designing peer-led, telephone-based interventions to promote social connectedness in an unprecedented time.

Retiring from ‘University Life’: Critical Reflections on a Retirement Lifestyle Planning Program

While assisting individual workers to prepare or plan for a successful transition to retirement is a key responsibility of human resource (HR) departments, within many large organizations (including universities) preparations related to financial planning are prioritized, with limited evidence of consideration for the lifestyle preparations needed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a series of leisure education-based webinars focused on supporting university employees to engage in lifestyle planning associated with the transition to retirement. In addition to live sessions, a learning management system provided access to discussion boards and resource materials with senior students available to provide individualized assistance. Participants (n = 44 across two implementations) indicated wanting assistance to make retirement fulfilling or rewarding. Participants were very-to-highly satisfied with the sessions, with the most highly valued focused on self-exploration (e.g., considering values, beliefs and strengths to bring into retirement). Participants also valued opportunities to reflect on what aspects of their work life they want to bring with them into retirement, and what they want to leave behind. Although a ‘readiness’ for self-exploration seemed important, opportunities for leisure-related self-reflection and assessment seemed particularly beneficial. Findings are discussed in relation to considering HR departments’ responsibilities to assist university workers to prepare for the retirement transition. Leisure education as a tool for facilitating retirement planning in the university context is warranted. Possibilities for incorporating peer-to-peer education and support—as well as tailored educational sessions—are discussed.

Ajustamento à Aposentadoria: Relações com Saliência de Carreira e Realização de Carreira

Resumo A aposentadoria requer a reorganização de prioridades, atividades e papéis de vida. A teoria da continuidade considera que essa reorganização será maior quando a carreira profissional é uma prioridade pessoal ou quando objetivos de carreira não foram alcançados. Medidas de saliência de carreira, realização de carreira, ajustamento na aposentadoria, percepções de saúde, recursos financeiros e senso de domínio foram respondidas por 454 aposentados, com idade média de 64 anos, 66% mulheres, ativos e inativos. Realização e saliência de carreira explicaram o ajustamento para além dos dados demográficos e dos recursos financeiros e de saúde. A realização de carreira elevou o ajustamento em aposentados inativos e o prejudicou em aposentados ativos. Houve efeito supressor da saliência de carreira sobre a influência da realização de carreira no ajustamento. Conclui-se que a saliência e a realização de carreira são variáveis a serem levadas em consideração no planejamento de programas de preparação para a aposentadoria.

The Differential Impact of Retirement on Informal Caregiving, Volunteering, and Grandparenting: Results of a 3-Year Panel Study

Objectives

Research on retirees’ engagement in informal caregiving, formal volunteering, and grandparenting often views retirement as a permanent exit from the workforce. Retirement processes are, however, increasingly diverse: some retire fully while others remain in paid work after retirement from a career job. A relevant but understudied question is how these different retirement processes relate to changes in engagement in unpaid productive activities. Building on role theory, we hypothesize that full and working retirees face different consequences of retirement and, therefore, differ in engagement in unpaid productive activities.

Method

We analyze data that were collected in 2015 and 2018 among 4,882 Dutch individuals aged 60–65 and employed at baseline. Around half had fully retired at follow-up and 10% worked after their retirement. At follow-up, more respondents are regularly volunteering (from 17% to 27%) and grandparenting (from 39% to 53%) than at baseline, while caregiving remains rather stable (from 33% to 30%).

Results

Conditional change models show that full retirement is associated with an increased likelihood of volunteering and grandparenting, but not caregiving. Engagement in postretirement work is related to an increased likelihood of looking after the grandchildren, but not to volunteering or providing informal care.

Discussion

Our findings suggest that volunteering is important for replacing weak ties after full retirement, while grandparenting might be a new, central role in retirement—irrespective of work engagement. Retirees seem to engage in unpaid productive activities for different reasons.

The Second Act: Seeking Best Practices for Encore Worker Management

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The Baby Boomers are the largest generation in history, and as they reach the traditional retirement age of 65, many leave the workforce and seek encore jobs. This exodus of Boomers creates a knowledge gap that the Gen X and Millennial generations lack the numbers and often the experience to fill. As the knowledge gap increases, managers can recruit and hire encore workers to fill the gap and retain human capital. This article answers the question: What processes can managers implement to close knowledge gaps by hiring or retaining Boomers seeking encore jobs?

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This article examined the factors for filling knowledge gaps with encore workers and the necessary processes for hiring or retaining encore workers to attain organizational goals. A systematic review of 32 published articles and four dissertations was conducted using Super's amended career development theory. A thematic analysis approach was used to examine the evidence.

RESULTS

The findings led to the development of best practices to guide managers who want to hire encore workers to close the knowledge gap, and increase organizational knowledge capital.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Baby Boomers are responsible for finding and sustaining encore worker positions, but managers can support Boomers through best practices including skills assessments, revised HR policies, reverse-mentoring programs, and training opportunities for managers and encore workers.

Retirement Transitions among Baby Boomers: Findings from an Online Qualitative Study

ABSTRACTCanadian baby boomers began turning 65 - traditional retirement age - in 2011. How this generation perceives and experiences retirement may differ from preceding generations. In this online, grounded-theory study, 25 baby boomers who were approaching retirement or had recently retired participated in a multi-author blog about their retirement experiences and processes. We collected additional data via subsequent focus groups and participant interviews. Participants retired in several ways, including ceasing work, adopting casual or part-time work, and adopting new types of work. Findings highlighted three phases of the retirement transition: pre-retirement, characterized by both apprehension about retirement and idealization of the perfect retirement; the initial transition, which participants compared to an extended vacation, but in which they also struggled to adjust to increased amounts of free time; and mid-transition, when participants learned to balance structure and flexibility. Findings suggest that despite retirement transition challenges, many people have positive experiences with this transition.

Retirement: A concept for nurses to consider

PROBLEM

The large number of aging retirees is changing the landscape of US healthcare and economic systems. Many nurses will be among these retirees. While retirement has been studied in many fields, it has been explored considerably less in nursing science. Retirement as a concept is complex, not well-defined across disciplines, and the impact of this important transition on health and well-being is not well-understood.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of retirement as a transition that may be related to health and well-being in aging individuals.

FINDINGS

Conceptual exploration supports that retirement is defined by two identified attributes: (a) It is a transitional period surrounding stopping or changing full or part-time, paid or unpaid employment status, and (b) it occurs at a time when a person self-identifies as being retired. Identified antecedents and consequences of retirement are closely related to health.

CONCLUSION

Many life changes often occur during the transition of retirement. As a concept, retirement is linked to healthy, transitional aging. Nursing's holistic perspective of addressing client needs can be better understood when caring for individuals who have retired or are planning to retire.

Conceptual Models of Early and Involuntary Retirement among Canadian Registered Nurses and Allied Health Professionals

La disponibilité des professionnels de la santé est fondamentale pour la santé de la population. Plusieurs tendances contribuent cependant à la pénurie de ces professionnels. Objet : Élaborer et valider des modèles conceptuels de retraite hâtive et de retraite involontaire pour les infirmières et les professionnels paramédicaux (PP). Méthode : Une revue de la littérature sur la retraite (n = 23 études) a été réalisée. Toutes les variables rapportées comme des facteurs prédictifs de la retraite hâtive ou de la retraite involontaire ont été incorporées dans un modèle. Pour atteindre une validité apparente, nous avons mené des entrevues avec des infirmières et des PP canadiens (n = 14). Résultats : Le modèle conceptuel de la retraite hâtive incluait huit catégories (38 facteurs): caractéristiques du lieu de travail, variables sociodémographiques, attitudes et croyances, contexte plus général, facteurs organisationnels, famille, mode de vie et santé, en lien avec le travail. Le modèle de la retraite involontaire incluait quatre catégories (8 facteurs): contexte plus général, variables sociodémographiques, mode de vie et santé, famille. Les responsabilités en matière de soins (facteur) ont été ajoutées compte tenu des résultats des entrevues. Discussion : Les infirmières et les PP tiennent compte de nombreux facteurs lorsqu’ils envisagent leur retraite. Certains seraient sensibles à l’intercession, ce qui permettrait d’étendre la vie professionnelle des infirmières et des PP plus âgés.

Push or Pull: Changes in the Relative Risk and Growth of Entrepreneurship Among Older Households

Purpose of the study

Amid insufficient retirement savings and the growing need to work longer, it is important to understand why self-employment, especially entrepreneurship, has grown among older households. Older households may have been pushed into entrepreneurship by the growing risks of wage-and-salary employment as wages and jobs have become less stable. Alternatively, older households may have been pulled into entrepreneurship as the associated risks have declined, for instance, due to greater opportunities to diversify income away from risky business income. We examine the economic causes of the rise in entrepreneurship among older households.

Design and Methods

We use summary statistics and multinomial logit regressions to analyze the link between economic pressures in wage-and-salary employment, financial strength of entrepreneurship, and the presence and change of entrepreneurship among older households-aged 50 years or older. We use household data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances from 1989 to 2013.

Results

We find little support for the claim that increased economic pressures are correlated with rising entrepreneurship. Instead, our results suggest that the growth of older entrepreneurship is coincident with increasing access to dividend and interest income. We also find some evidence that access to Social Security and other annuity benefits increases the likelihood of self-employment. Implications: Entrepreneurship among older households increasingly correlates with income diversification. Policymakers interested in encouraging more entrepreneurship among older households could consider increased access to income diversification through social insurance.

Power Relations and Health Care Communication in Older Adulthood: Educating Recipients and Providers

Unequal power relations lie just below the surface in much of today's discourse on health care communication with older adults. Focusing on pathologies or deficits tends to reinforce stereotypes of frailty and dependency, thus framing elders as a vulnerable group requiring special assistance. Implicit stereotyping frequently colors interactions of health care personnel with older clients and their families-interactions likely to affect elders' perceptions and health outcomes. Health care providers need to be attuned to the vast and growing diversity in today's older population, wherein many older adults are exemplars of what it takes to marshal resources and cope with multifaceted challenges. Thus, elders have the potential to teach medical personnel through narratives of resilience as well as tribulation. This potential can be fully realized, however, only in contexts where communication patterns characterized by paternalism, consumerism, and collaboration are mutually recognized and selectively challenged or implemented. Promising interventions to facilitate health care communication in older adulthood might well be directed toward (a) educating both recipients and providers to become more mindful of cues that evoke stereotypical thinking, (b) promoting an institutional culture that normalizes situationally appropriate assertive responses to stereotyping, and (c) formally ratifying older adults' life experience in the training of health care personnel.