Even before I started working, I was told about the joys of retired life – not having to get up like a slave every morning, fighting traffic to get to work, kids grown and no worries in the air, traveling and playing whenever and wherever and the list went on.
Now that I am well past retiring age, I can attest to exactly the opposite thing. The joy of not retiring —simply put, the joy of working.
The first people to retire were my father’s friends. Most of them worked for the government back in Bangladesh and the mandatory retirement age was 57. None really wanted to retire because, with retirement, they lost the “perks” of government service – free housing, chauffeured cars, and easy access to almost everything. With retirement, these people simply did not know what to do with themselves. They aged by a decade in a year or two after retirement and soon all their stories became repetitive. Ill health followed, dementia was common, and death became the next natural step.
Now that many of my friends are retired, I see some of the same trends albeit less pronounced. This generation is health-conscious, and most will outlive their parents by 10-15 years. Retirement age is usually between 62 and 65. Only a few are working like me. They are enjoying life, traveling instead of sitting like the previous generation at that age and some are avidly pursuing their hobbies – fishing, golf, or even gourmet cooking.
Somehow most of my conversations with them center around two themes – “good old days” where we selectively remember all the good memories and block the bad experiences. We tend not to remember the detention classes in Catholic schools where most of us went for schooling, occasional caning (teachers could do that then and they were always right in our parents’ eyes), and of course the bullying or other frustrations.
The second theme is always the state of our health. Being old “sucks.” Everything takes a little longer – whether walking from one point to another or peeing in line with the person behind you getting restless while you are getting barely started. Almost everyone is borderline diabetic and “sugar level” is now a competitive sport. Dementia is creeping in and recalling names is becoming harder. It is strange how we tend to have clear recollections of younger days but cannot find our reading glasses, keys, or phone ten minutes after we put them somewhere. Some of my friends furiously play word games, sudoku, or other sports recommended by the Facebook doctors.
Now about my decision about not retiring and the joy of working. I will not be truthful if I give everyone the impression that I have a conventional job with a boss breathing down your neck. In fact, I have two jobs – a tenured professorship at a midsize university that is more focused on teaching and less on research. Most academic research gets a faculty member promoted and tenured but is of dubious value. Teaching 9-12 weeks for 7.5 months a year is the best-compensated part-time job in the USA. It also keeps me current with everything going on in my chosen field. I also get to meet fascinating people from around the world in academic conferences where we discuss politics and food more than theories or applications. Academics are also a field that brings together people of all ages and being older makes you a sought-after sage.
My other job is running a group of healthcare companies that deal with outpatient surgery and physician practices. Outpatient surgery is a pioneering area in medicine. Technology is allowing spine fusion or total knee replacement to be done on patients on an outpatient basis. It is amazing to see patients going back the same day after total knee replacement surgery. Managing physicians is an oxymoron, so I do not even try. Mercifully, I have mentored a slew of middle managers and my job is now more advisory – the perfect recipe for an aging, wiser mind and less physical stamina.
I do spend more time at home because of COVID-19 restrictions but having me at home is not necessarily a good thing. I am unusually gifted in the areas of being clumsy, sloppy, and messy. I also have a gift for collecting too many things — too many clothes, some waiting for the fashion cycle to come back; too many books, many of which I have not opened in years, and far too many unfinished writings. I cook occasionally but the kitchen is usually a disaster after my cooking. The trade-off between good food and clean-up upwards is extremely discouraging.
Some of the best parts of working are that I go to the restaurants at “normal” times instead of lining up for 3 PM early bird “dinner specials” at a discounted price like my retired friends. I rejoice when I get a difficult theory or concept across in the classroom and follow that up with an example from my own lived experiences. In the healthcare setting, I am a big advocate for patient’s rights and comfort as I see in each patient an old relative or a family friend, or sometimes even me. I no longer worry about what I cannot control and enjoy what is possible.
The best part about working is the interactions with people of all ages, ethnicity, nationality, religion, economic status, and political leanings. I listen to top 40 hit songs on the radio (some of them are good), keep up with the news and gossip, and endlessly surf the internet…. all of these help me to relate to a wide range of people. My life is richer because of that and I am totally optimistic about the future. I see hope, strength, and grit and a resolve to create a better world among the young every day in every part of the world. So, I choose to work.
Faisal M Rahman Ph.D., Professor & Founding Dean, The Graham School of Management, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL 60655, USA. Dr. Rahman is also the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at APAC group of healthcare companies.
Email – rahman@sxu.edu.