Happiness in retirement…or at work

Happiness in retirement…or at work

Are you of ‘a certain age’, getting to what you believe is the end of your working life? Looking forward to a life of bridge, golf, fishing, and following the nags on Sky TV?

Sounds good – but it may not work out to be so enjoyable. In fact, you might be better off if you eschew retirement in favour of (gasp) sticking at the job.

How can this be? Surely one of the main reasons you work is to save to retire so you can do the things you want to do?

Amazingly enough, we’re usually happier when we’re working and we have trouble adapting to retirement.

Work provides a sense of social connection, structure for daily living, intellectual challenge and indeed, meaning – more so than our leisure activities, argues Darren Wickham, an actuary at Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

In a paper he presented last month to the biennial conference of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, he argued that the idea of retirement is outdated and unnecessary in 2007. We’re having too much fun at work, and we should stay there.

To read the full happiness article – click here.

To achieve happiness in retirement or at work – check out our courses and coaching options or contact us about our corporate “Happiness @ Work” programs.