Retirement is a great time of life, and for many it represents the end of many years of toil in the harness of a job. But for many active seniors, membership in the workplace keeps calling for a variety of reasons. Sometimes retirement savings fall short of expectations, and a little boost of income can mean the difference between pinching pennies and enjoying a few luxuries. Some folks get bored in retirement and crave being back in a productive environment with structure and purpose to their daily living. And some just plain miss the regular interaction with fellow humans that is often lost when one leaves the daily social contacts that take place in a working person’s life.
When work starts beckoning a retiree back from the rocking chair, what options are out there that combine a respectable income, low stress, and a pleasant environment in which to earn? Actually, there are plenty.
Work in a retail environment is a good fit for many seniors. Operating a check out register usually ensures a regular flow of pleasant interactions without any major challenges to face. Serving as a customer guide in an area where one has prior life experience such as hardware, cooking, or sewing is a great opportunity to share and educate while providing helpful advice that is greatly appreciated by shoppers seeking assistance in their product choices. Light shelf stocking and display upkeep is an opportunity for healthy exercise and the pride of measurable accomplishment.
Service functions are an appealing option for the socially minded senior worker. Information desks offer the opportunity for daylong chats with a steady stream of patrons seeking help and advice. Reference aides can help look up and obtain information for visitors, and often soon become so well versed in organization practices that they become walking information booths themselves. Work as an attendant at a park, theatre or sports facility can provide a senior job seeker with both the opportunity to earn and the enjoyment of an environment that will entertain and appeal to their personal interests.
Another approach for a retiree to consider is the recycling of existing skills. It’s entirely possible to find useful employment sharing the experience of a lifetime of working in a particular field without actually rejoining that specialty as a full time worker. Veteran teachers can function flawlessly as substitutes on call, individual tutors or classroom aides. People whose careers gave them deep familiarity with a particular city are perfect fits for jobs as guides or transporters of passengers who need a knowledgeable pilot to both educate and move them efficiently to their destinations. Experts in a particular industry have indispensable stores of knowledge that are invaluable when shared in the capacity of a consultant, a trainer, or a short term project contractor.
From any viewpoint, re-entering the workplace as a retiree can be highly rewarding both in financial benefit and personal satisfaction. As long as one ensures that they will participate in the workplace at a position that keeps stress to a minimum and meets their individual needs and goals, it’s definitely an option well worth exploring.