Work-related choice and identity in older women.

Abstract

I grew up, I mean, I was at the tail of the traditional women but not really at the forefront of the women's movement. I spent my married life as a good wife; I had some part-time work and then when my husband and I divorced I suddenly thought holy shit! (Excuse my language.) I've got to support myself! And finding that I could was very empowering.-Retired successful businesswoman, age 75According to the life-course perspective (Elder, 1995;Settersten, 2003), major life transitions such as retirement are embedded in the contexts defined by personal history and social circumstances. The wide variety of contextual factors affecting life transitions can include family situations, socioeconomic status, organizational work contexts and policies, one's own and/or one's partner's health, the nature of one's work, income, and the perception of being pressured to retire (Gibaldi, 2013;Ní Léime, 2017;Shultz & Wang, 2011;Wang et al., 2011). For example, two comparatively recent major policy changes that may affect work-related transitions are the

Older Canadians’ Identity and Well-Being in Retirement

“…In some studies, psychological well-being in later life increases at or after retiring (Kim & Moen, 2001;Latif, 2011), whereas in other studies, well-being decreases (Dingemans & Henkens, 2015). Research also supports the notion that the experience of retirement is individual, with acknowledgment of the need to examine a wider range of personal resource factors (Shultz & Wang, 2011;Wong & Earl, 2009), such as personality (Ryan et al, 2017) or personal identity (Newton & Ottley, 2020). Additionally, the context of retirement-for instance, the amount of control one has in choosing when and how to retire-can have important consequences for post-retirement well-being (Calvo et al, 2009;Quine et al, 2007).…”

“…As with other life transitions, retirement-related shifts in identity-defining commitments can indeed lead, as Whitbourne and Skultety (2006) observe, to identity revisions or consolidation (Lodi-Smith & Roberts, 2010;Osborne, 2009Osborne, , 2012van Solinge & Henkens, 2008). Furthermore, level of choice in whether to retire or continue working has been found to be associated with identity (Newton & Ottley, 2020), such that women who are forced to retire exhibit low levels of identity certainty. Whitbourne (1986) developed the identity process theory as a way to understand potential identity change involved in life transitions such as retirement, proposing a three-category model for how people incorporate new information and experiences into their sense of identity as they age.…”

“…As with other life transitions, retirement-related shifts in identity-defining commitments can indeed lead, as Whitbourne and Skultety (2006) observe, to identity revisions or consolidation ( Lodi-Smith & Roberts, 2010 ; Osborne, 2009 , 2012 ; van Solinge & Henkens, 2008 ). Furthermore, level of choice in whether to retire or continue working has been found to be associated with identity ( Newton & Ottley, 2020 ), such that women who are forced to retire exhibit low levels of identity certainty.…”