Retirement and Its Discontents : Why We Won't Stop Working, Even if We Can / Michelle Pannor Silver.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Silver, Michelle Pannor, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Retirement--Social aspects.

Retirement.

Retirement--Psychological aspects.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (296 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Columbia University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In the popular imagination, retirement promises a well-deserved rest-idle days spent traveling, volunteering, pursuing hobbies, or just puttering around the house. But as the nature of work has changed, becoming not just a means of income but a major source of personal identity, many accomplished professionals struggle with discontentment in their retirement. What are we to do-individually and as a culture-when work and life experience make conventional retirement a burden rather than a reprieve?In Retirement and Its Discontents, Michelle Pannor Silver considers how we confront the mismatch between idealized and actual retirement. She follows doctors, CEOs, elite athletes, professors, and homemakers during their transition to retirement as they struggle to recalibrate their sense of purpose and self-worth. The work ethic and passion that helped these retirees succeed can make giving in to retirement more difficult, as they confront newfound leisure time with uncertainty and guilt. Drawing on in-depth interviews that capture a range of perceptions and common concerns about what it means to be retired, Silver emphasizes the significance of creating new retirement strategies that support social connectedness and personal fulfillment while countering ageist stereotypes about productivity and employment. A richly detailed and deeply personal exploration of the challenges faced by accomplished retirees, Retirement and Its Discontents demonstrates the importance of personal identity in forging sustainable social norms around retirement and helps us to rethink some of the new challenges for aging societies.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

1. Introduction

2. Renegade Retirement and the Greedy Institution: The Doctors

3. Refined Retirement and Fulfillment Employment: The CEOs

4. Early Retirement and Resilience: The Elite Athletes

5. Late Retirement and Working in Place: The Professors

6. Undefined Retirement and the Retirement Mystique: The Homemakers

7. Conclusion

Appendix A. Methodological Overview

Appendix B. Interview Guide

Acknowledgments

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Sep 2018)

ISBN:

9780231547925

0231547927

OCLC:

1028582112