Is Retirement Like a Labor Day Barbecue?
Over the weekend, I read a great column by my good friend, John Nelson, co-author of What Color is Your Parachute - For Retirement. John's column relates to work and retirement. Since most boomers will need to work in their retirement years, his column is particularly appropriate. I asked his permission to run it here, which he gladly gave. Here goes.
The Labor Day holiday, and the life stage of retirement, both arose from the industrial era. But when we think about it, they're almost opposites. Labor Day is about reducing the nastiness of work -- while retirement is about expanding the best in your self.
Labor Day has come to represent end-of-summer time with family and friends. It's a bonus day of leisure, when we'd otherwise be working. Retirement seems a little like that, in some ways.
BUT LABOR DAY IS ABOUT THE NASTINESS OF WORK
Labor Day was originally enacted to appease American workers in the early industrial era. Jobs were dirty and dangerous, with twelve hour shifts or seven day work weeks being common. In those days, simply "not working" was a sweet reward. Thankfully, most of us don't work like that anymore.
The flashpoint happened at the Pullman railroad factory. Pullman cut wages by more than 25% -- but wouldn't reduce rents on the company housing where workers lived. A grassroots strike shut down railroads across the country. The US Army was called in, and striking workers were killed. In a conciliatory gesture, it took Congress less than a week to create the "Labor Day" holiday.
Work was so nasty and oppressive in those days, that even a symbolic Monday off in September was a cause for celebration. A few decades later, the new-fangled idea of retirement caught on for the same reason. Simply "not working" was enough!
RETIREMENT IS ABOUT EXPANDING THE BEST IN YOURSELF
Is your work so nasty and oppressive, so dirty and dangerous, that simply "not working" is a reward? Or is "working" in the broad sense of the term, a good thing? Would you love to keep doing PARTS of your work as long as possible? Even after you retire? Does your work bring out PARTS of yourself that are so wonderful, that you wouldn't want to lose them? Even after you retire?
When you think about Labor Day, ask yourself:
FIRST... What kind of "work" would make your heart sing in retirement?
SECOND... How could that "work" bring out the best in you?
THIRD... How could you start doing more of that right now -- instead of waiting until retirement?
John -- thanks for the great insights! I've previously written about the need to work in retirement, so one important goal is to make work as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible. Hopefully you've arranged your financial affairs so that you don't need to make as much money in your retirement years as you did in your career years. This lets you explore John's intriguing questions, which I urge you to do.
More on CBS MoneyWatch
How to Find Retirement Work that Pays
Do the Downshift to Survive Your Retirement Years
Can't Retire Yet? Don't Despair
View all articles by Steve Vernon on CBS MoneyWatch»
Steve Vernon helped large employers design and manage their retirement programs for more than 35 years as a consulting actuary. Now he's a research scholar for the Stanford Center on Longevity, where he helps collect, direct and disseminate research that will improve the financial security of seniors. He's also president of Rest-of-Life Communications, delivers retirement planning workshops
and authored Retirement Game-Changers: Strategies for a Healthy, Financially Secure and Fulfilling Long Life and Money for Life: Turn Your IRA and 401(k) Into a Lifetime Retirement Paycheck.
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