Ageing and work-life complexities in retirement

Pritchard, Katrina and Whiting, Rebecca and Reed, C. (2024) Ageing and work-life complexities in retirement. In: Wilkinson, K. and Woolnough, H. (eds.) Work-life inclusion: Broadening perspectives across the life-course. Emerald, pp. 159-172. ISBN 9781803822204.

Abstract

Retiring from work used to signify the end of paid employment and a transition to focus on life outside the workplace. From this perspective, the work-life interface may have no relevance for the retired. However, recent changes, particularly resulting from the Covid pandemic, suggest that conceptualisations of both retirement and the work-life interface are more fluid, ambiguous, and complex. In this chapter, we first set the scene, reviewing how and why the traditional concept of retirement has changed so dramatically. Drawing on empirical data from contemporary media, we then consider how the current experience of the older worker and retiree are being reframed in neoliberal terms, emphasising individual responsibility to remain not just fit and healthy but also productive, through a wide range of activities. We then focus on the impact of Covid-19, highlighting how pre-pandemic structural inequalities have been exacerbated, resulting in a range of responses in both levels of retirement and work by older people. We conclude by suggesting that retirement and its work-life interface need to recognise lived experience as dynamic, messy, and varied and implicated in wider structural features of both the economy and society.

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