Nearly 30 retired women – about half of who had been employed in professional careers and half who had held nonprofessional jobs – were asked about their retirement experience. Most of the women retirees in the study found the transition to retirement to be generally positive, and the majority spent a good part of their free time volunteering and taking care of their families.
Christine Price
But there were some fundamental differences between how women in the professional group and those in the nonprofessional group perceived retirement, said Christine Price, author of the study and an assistant professor of human development and family science at Ohio State.
For instance, women who worked in professional occupations reported feeling a sense of loss once they left their jobs, while women who held nonprofessional jobs felt relieved to retire.
Also, women in the professional group tended to base their decision to retire on pension eligibility and health concerns, while women in the other group based their retirement decision on family issues, such as being able to spend more time with grandchildren.
"More and more women are seeing employment as a lifetime commitment. It's likely that women do and will continue to identify more closely with their work roles, and the results from this study may show what future generations of women will face when they retire."
"Women in the nonprofessional group explored new interests with no feelings of loss," Price said. "In comparison, women in the professional group enjoyed the retirement experience overall, yet still felt a sense of loss."
The research appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Women and Aging.
Price said she conducted the study because information on what happens to women during the transition to retirement and retirement itself is scant.
"More and more women are seeing employment as a lifetime commitment," she said. "It's likely that women do and will continue to identify more closely with their work roles, and the results from this study may show what future generations of women will face when they retire."
Price interviewed 29 women who had been retired for at least five years. She asked each woman to provide personal and occupational histories and to talk about her decision to retire, the transition to retirement and her life as a retiree. She also asked questions related to a woman's economic security, identity, retirement activities and family relationships.
Price put each woman into one of two groups, based on the woman's previous occupation. Women in the professional group included teachers, university administrators and medical doctors.
The nonprofessional job group included women who had worked in clerical occupations, in school cafeterias and as telephone operators and seamstresses.
Interview results showed marked differences between the groups in attitudes toward certain aspects of retirement:
- Attachment to work roles and professional identity. The decision to retire meant the end of a significant chapter in the lives of the women in the professional group. They talked about losing their professional identities and, subsequently, feeling a reduction in their social status. In contrast, most of the women in the nonprofessional group said they were relieved to leave their jobs. Those who became active volunteers reported feeling an increased sense of importance and responsibility after retiring.
Social contacts. Some women in the professional group missed the daily social interaction that work provided. Even women who did keep in touch with former coworkers said that they still felt a loss in relationships, Price said. Women in the nonprofessional group didn't share this same sense of loss, either because they hadn't developed close friendships with their coworkers, or they had continued these friendships into retirement.
Family roles and obligations. Family relationships were important to women from each group. However, the time spent in family roles and the influence of family on the retirement decision differed considerably between the two groups. While the decision to retire was mainly influenced by family issues – such as helping to care for grandchildren – for women in the nonprofessional group, women in the professional group were less likely to focus on family responsibilities and more likely to have based their retirement decisions on pension eligibility and health concerns.
Community involvement. Women in both groups kept busy with volunteer and recreational activities. However, women in the professional group tended to be involved in more community-related activities that drew upon their professional expertise than the women in the nonprofessional group. For example, the retired teachers and academic administrators served as substitute teachers and as mentors to school-age children. These women also served on boards and donated time to nonprofit agencies.
The women in the nonprofessional group didn't place as much emphasis on community involvement, Price said. When they did volunteer, they were interested in activities that expanded their interests, rather than pursuing activities related to their former occupations. In comparison to the professional group, the nonprofessional women spent more time doing recreational activities, such as quilting, painting and using computers.
In the next five to10 years, Price expects to see a rising number of women retiring from full-time jobs. She also said women need to put more thought and planning into their retirement.
"Women might know how much income to expect once they retire, or have a retirement date in mind, which is often based on their husband's retirement plans," she said. "Yet women tend not to consider what they will actually do in retirement, regardless of what type or kind of occupation they held.
"Because women have diverse work histories, various social roles and the ability to adapt to transitions throughout life, it's likely that women's retirement will evolve into something specific to their gender, something that does not necessarily mirror men's experiences."
Contact: Christine Price, 614-292-4753; Price.121@osu.edu
Written by Holly Wagner, 614-292-8310; Wagner.235@osu.edu.
Journal
Journal of Women & Aging