‘It's a New Way of Life’: An Exploration of the Occupational Transition of Retirement

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the work to retirement transition, from an occupational perspective. Participants' personal reports of experiences relating to the occupational transition of retirement, and its impact on health and wellbeing, were examined. Method: Eight participants who had recently retired were recruited purposively. They were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, focusing on the areas of previous employment, experience of the retirement transition, occupational balance and reflection on the impact on health and wellbeing. The research used interpretative phenomenological analysis to guide data collection and analysis. Findings and conclusion: Three superordinate themes emerged: the process of retirement; purpose, doing and wellbeing; and retirement as a new life stage. These themes suggested that the retirement transition was a period of significant readjustment and that there was a close relationship between participants' engagement in occupation and their perceived health and wellbeing.

Navigating the occupational transition of dropping out of school: Anchoring occupations and champions as facilitators

“…Resources available in the context appear to significantly influence the kinds of occupational repertoires that can emerge for school dropouts 21 . This was also evident when considering the previous studies done on the occupational transition of retirement 8,[14][15][16][17] . The studies presented in this review show that the kind of occupational engagement leading up to dropout and afterwards is characterised by risk.…”

“…The studies reviewed do not suggest which kinds of occupations replace that of school or that school is necessarily immediately replaced by other kinds of occupation. There were thus similarities between this occupational transition and others 8,15,16 . Resources available in the context appear to significantly influence the kinds of occupational repertoires that can emerge for school dropouts 21 .…”

“…Occupational transition is a recently developed concept that explains how people negotiate life changes. The literature on occupational transitions reveals that, with respect to major changes to individuals' occupational repertoires, authors have discussed transitions of homelessness and addiction 9 , forced migration 10 , immigration 11,12 , driving cessation 13 and retirement 8,[14][15][16][17] . A review of these studies indicated that:…”

“…✥ The alteration of occupational patterns subsequent to the transition may be of significance and context could influence how new patterns emerge 8,15,16 . ✥ The disruption of usual occupational patterns is a significant aspect in the development of the new occupational repertoire 13 .…”

Transitions in Digital Personhood

“…In psychology, gerontology and the health sciences, retiring from work is largely viewed as a significant life transition comprising distinct phases of activity and experience, each characterized by varying degrees of self-efficacy [16,50]. Pettican and Prior describe a pre-retirement phase of financial planning, followed by phase in which a sense of purpose is constructed, and then a phase of accepting retirement as a new life stage.…”