Retired, but want to get back to work?

A few years ago, I suffered from an eye infection that had me home bound for a month. I was barred from going to work, watching television, and reading. Staying indoors and doing nothing is absolutely not my cup of tea, so it had me depressed and low. I suddenly found myself counting the days to get back to work.

What an eye-opener

Before I faced this ordeal, I would crib continuously about work being boring and monotonous and how I would love to retire and sit at home. But this break was an eye-opener (quite in the literal sense as well). I waited and longed to get back to work. I realized at work I had a social life, it kept me occupied, and mentally active and gave me a routine from Monday to Friday. As much as we hate routines, it creates a sense of comfort and stability in a world that often leaves us unbalanced. 

Once you retire, then what?

I realized that life sans work leaves us feeling empty and depressed which eventually affects our health too. By the end of the third week, I begged and pleaded with my doctor to let me go to work, even if it meant going for two hours.

This got me thinking. Once you retire, then what?

They say retirement is a new beginning. You are free to gaze at the stars, enjoy a hobby or play with your grandkids. You are free they say, of deadlines and the rush of everyday life. Indeed!  But for how long, for how many days, and for how many hours are you going to star gaze or play with grandkids?

Do you want to be dependent?

Point being, if you don’t have a dozen hobbies or interests, you are just going to be dependent on your spouse or kids, waiting for them to visit you or to take you out. But let’s not forget, kids have their own life too.  So, No! This cannot be the life of someone who’s always been independent, right?

I’m sure this resonates with you.

• You have retired, but you still have the will to work
• You have the energy and enthusiasm towards work
• You miss those days with office friends, endless cups of tea and of course the first week of the month when the salary gets deposited
• You miss the routine.

You miss work.

For a person who’s worked all his/her life, it can get quite boring to sit at home.

So why should you stop working?

You are fit, able, wise, and experienced. You are capable of handling a good project and are ever ready to learn new ideas.

A great mix

With advancing technologies, and alternative careers boosting, the workplace now is an exciting place to be at. There is so much to learn, experience, and contribute. On the other hand, you are wise, experienced, and willing to learn. What a great mix it would be to have you back in the workplace. You can contribute so much more and add value to a company. You on the other hand can learn new things, meet interesting people and be updated with the current times.   

I strongly believe that an individual should keep working till one is capable, as work keeps one mentally and physically active.

Researchers from the University of Maryland found that men and women who kept working after retirement had fewer major diseases or disabilities than those who quit work.

In fact, retirees benefited whether the work was a full- or part-time job, self-employment, or temporary job.

You should keep working

That’s why there should be nothing like a retiring age. Individuals like you & I should be able to work for as long as we wish to and are capable of. I’m a long way from the official retiring age, but that doesn’t stop me from working towards a cause of making a cultural shift in terms of the age barrier in workspace.

Today the corporate world is embracing diversity in terms of gender, sexual orientation, caste, creed, and other things. Then why should we be stuck on age? It’s high time; I believe that we shift to form an ecosystem where work is based on capabilities and not on age.

This paradigm shift is the only way to move ahead. 

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If you want to get back to work, but don’t know how to fit in with the millennials (people in the age group of 25 – 35 ) then read this.