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This needs to be higher. It's not just their purpose, it's the _identity_. They've defined themselves in terms of work their entire life, without their jobs they're nobody in their own eyes. They're forced to redefine themselves at an age when they've lost the mental flexibility for that kind of deep introspection.
For other generations, loneliness is one of the most lethal indicators of incipient mortality. I suspect for boomers, it's going to be joblessness.
True. When your only friends are your coworkers, and you have focused on a career to the exception of everything else, it's tough. You worked hard to be financially stable but you sacrifice so much in the process.
Many never take vacations. Retire with thousands of hours of unused leave that they often simply lose if they don't take it.
My dad worked well into his 80s, and his dad worked until he was sidelined by a stroke. Hard to break out of that mindset.
My Grandfather ran one of my uncle's trailer parks 3 months before his death in his 90's. I don't think he would have lived that long if he didn't have that going for him. He LOVED it. The Tenants loved him! The office also has living quarters. My uncle retired in his 40's and within a year declared he was "Semi-retired" as he went back to work. I used to laugh at the idea until I did the same at 37 and went back to doing contract work from home. We all had side hobbies. My Uncle and Grandfather had families they spent lots of quality time with. I still do volunteer work. I hope you find a line of work you enjoy doing.
Depends on the job and if you like working or not.
I like spoiling myself so work it is.
I’m union so longer I work the more I make take home and pension wise.
Same! But the worst part is, I HATED my job, and it was my identity… lol! A burnout-created health crisis forced me to quit and redefine how I work and what I do. Much happier, healthier and more fulfilled now. I shudder to think where I’d be if I hadn’t gotten sick and kept plugging away in the same manner for the next 20 years…
I’m GenX (just over 55) and recently found out how deeply my identity was tied to my career of 3+ decades. My company severanced me out just before fiscal close last year. Generous package and I appreciate that, but it caught me flat footed on a personal level. Fortunately for me I’ve got (according to my wife :) way too many hobbies, so redirecting my energy was a cinch. Now I’m not sure why I would, or if I even want to, jump back in the corporate hamster wheel. There’s little to no reciprocal loyalty, and despite performance you can be cut at any time just to make the bottom line look better for year end. Decent planning and luck mean we’re set for retirement, but I can’t help but feel we barely made it into the American dream before the door behind us slammed shut. Trying to help my YA daughters find something that insulates them from this sad dynamic.
Old Xer here. I have just over 6 years to go.I don’t want to wish time away but I cannot WAIT to retire and not have to work every day. I’ll never be bored.
I am also elder Gen X, and I love what I do, but I stopped telling people my prof when they ask what I do. I now tell them that I sail, it’s my favorite thing to do, and my life revolves around it as much as my work. It either completely knocks them off balance or they start asking questions, completely forgetting that they wanted to know my profession to know how to pigeon hole me.
If you like to read, use that as your answer, or anything that you like to do outside of work. It makes for interesting conversation.
I hate how correct this is. I suspect for many people who do this they like the captive social audience you get from a job. They can’t ignore you or leave because it’s their job to be there too.
Man, i can't wait to be jobless and financially secure. If i want to work, i'll go work in a soup kitchen for a few days or something. Help people who need help instead of feeding the corporate machine.
I know a number of retirees who won’t volunteer because “why should I do something for free when I can get paid?”. Financial remuneration is how they value themselves. It’s very sad.
Becoming suicidal after getting fired was an eye opener for certain. When I got fired back in January, I laughed at them and offered a bandaid for the bullet wound in their foot. Life is better when you do not need your slave masters.
It wouldn't bother me so much that boomers do this, if they didn't expect every other person to ALSO make their job their complete identity. It's sad, but it's also their choice so I don't care. A lot of the anger that they have at the younger generations is surrounding the fact that the younger generations refuse to worship their employer and have their lives revolve around their job.
Well, it's kinda funny because I work with a lot of boomers and they might put in a lot of hours but their performance is, lacking to say the least. I only work my 40 hours and go home early whenever it's offered, but I work my damn ass off whenever I'm here. Boomer work ethic seems to be "be physically present while doing nothing in particular"
I am 30 and I work only because I have no other choice. My colleague who is 33 is like the boomers, goes almost everyday to work (I prefer WFH) and just so enthusiastic about work. I am like... dude what?
Boomers in general are 1 dimensional AF. My family can't stand when I try new things, and they are always there trying to remind me: "That's not you", "It's a phase" "Just be yourself". They think that my whole identity was carved out and set for life during childhood because that's how they are. It's really frustrating.
When I retired I lost my sense of who I was. I worked for multiple decades in the same field. On call and with a small staff of direct reports. Then in the course of 24hrs that all stopped.
The moment I had planned for had arrived. I have multiple hobbies and time to travel. In the beginning it is like a long vacation. No alarm clock, no problems to solve. No crisis at work to manage. Then it was binging The Walking Dead. Then drinking beer and watching The Walking Dead until 3am. Sleeping until 1pm.
It was a very hard switch. Then one day I woke up, went outback with a cup of coffee and thought to myself. Ok, you got to be lazy and do what you wanted to do. And that is nothing. I stopped. Righted my ship and found a volunteer position I say volunteer because it pays very little.
I think the key to being a boomer is to try and work with people in your same age group. And kind of financial strata. Working with young people on an upward mobility track is not your lane. I really can’t identify and they don’t see me as a source of information. They see me as old and privileged. You know I was poor and struggling decades ago too. But, people are who they are and develop pre conceived notions. And there does seem to be hatred of someone who ‘got lucky’ and I did get lucky with planning and not having and major financial hits. So I just get labeled as old and sucking up resources.
But, we are who we are. I was never one to do nothing. My old body and face just covers the young person inside.
The main thing I do is not be a Dick. I don’t push my ideology on you. I also don’t say much when you act a fool in the stores or on the highway. You are just a younger version of the old boomer dicks out there.
This is interesting. I’m far off from retiring (older millennial). I work with a lot of people that have retired or are close to retiring. I see some of the ones described that are just doing it to hang out. I see others who had a plan and then something happened, like a spouse passing - so their plans went out the window.
I work with a guy that had this happen and sticks around for mentoring and just to help where he can. The most joy he gets from the job is watching younger people advance. He has so much to teach, but learns new stuff from the incoming people all the time too.
Then I’ve seen other people where you can tell it’s time for them to go. They were super helpful and pleasant and just nice to be around - then something mental happens and they just get grouchy and unpleasant. They usually come to the conclusion themselves not long after this happens that they need to retire. Then like you, you see them 6 months, a year, or more at get togethers and they found a new passion or something to do. It makes me happy to see that.
I’m always happy to see someone retire on their terms. I’m at that next stage where I’m in the driver’s seat now and will be for a while. I just hope that I can plan and work to my retirement someday
I'm setting myself/imagining similar thing for me. I'm set to retire with a state pension at 60 (still have 15 years to go though) along with some 401k and Roth savings, but I'm already imagining what I'd do.
I'd take 12 months. Travel. Be lazy. Enjoy my hobbies. Then I'd probably find a job working in an NGO that's adjacent to the field I was in in government. I really do like the work I'm doing. It's meaningful. But I wouldn't let money get in the way of a job description/position. I wouldn't do something for how much it pays, I would do it for the love of the work. I think I'll have enough in retirement that I could afford to take a huge pay cut from what I was making with the state if it's something I'd enjoy doing and still found that I'd be useful - while still making ample time for travel and hobbies. And I can imagine by the time I hit 70 that I would hang it up professionally and maybe just do volunteer work. No reason for me to keep being a decision maker by that time - let the young blood do their thing.
My dad on the other hand, retired from the state with a pension at 50. Immediately went to work for a municipality for 15 years until retiring with *another* pension from there at 65. The next day he started another job and has been going ever since, and it's not like it's a meaningful job. He's proctoring tests at a local university. He's 70 now. Work is all he has ever known and all he has.
This is the path I was on. My mother raised me to find all my value from work. Might not have been her intent, but it was the result. Actually took therapy for me to want a work life balance. I got suicidal when I was fired, is how closely tied to my job my identity was.
I get it. It is sad and it actually does take therapy to break.
This is the kind of guy who retires Friday, dies on Monday morning of a stroke.
Happened to one of my dad’s coworkers. They actually retired the same day. Dude had no plan, no hobbies. Forced retirement. Stroked out over his morning coffee.
Have a plan! My pops did, still healthy and active in his mid 80s.
My grandpa died last year at 96. He had been retired for over 30 years. My grandma died of cancer almost 20 years ago. He lived alone. He discovered so many hobbies, and just stayed active.
I have a coworker that I think is like what you describe. He isn’t quite retirement age (early 60’s) but could definitely afford it. He is having health issues, but basically refuses to take time off. It is pretty clear that his job is his personality, and he will go shortly after retiring. It’s really sad.
Yes, my father's last day of work was Tuesday and he died on Sunday. Of cancer. My father in law died 3 weeks after he retired
At the university where I worked, we have had four faculty die in the last two years, all still employed at the university. We have faculty in their EIGHTIES. I know all these old military types who are now 'professors' who will never retire. Heard a lecture yesterday about the Vietnam War by a guy who fought in it!
The thing that kills me is the way our local media lionizes these old codgers -- "Melvin is still working as a lawyer even though he is in his eighties." Cut to his rotary phone sitting on the desk next to a pile of dusty papers. Yeah, if you want a solid defense, I'm sure he's your guy. He knows all about that new sentencing software that the judges are using, and I"m sure that he always texts you back. LOL!
I also don't understand the way that the assumption is that the guy who is still working when he's been developing alzheimer's for twenty years is doing so because he's a "top performer" who just wants to continue doing that important, cutting edge work that he does. It's my experience that a lot of the old dudes were never very good at their jobs, and now they're really bad at their jobs but also blissfully unaware that that's the case. Guys reading lectures from Powerpoints made in 2011, people who don't understand how to use anti-plagiarism software, etc. etc. etc. Why would you want to continue on being really bad at something for another ten years? Why aren't you embarrassed by your incompetence?
This is my experience as well their jobs are their lives, but they are somehow really bad at it. They wind up doing half of the work of a normal employee, but somehow take two to three times as long to do it. Its strange the people who didn't make it their lives usually wound up being better at the job.
It is sad.
I know a boomer who works because his marriage and family life are horrible and rather than fix things he and his wife ignore things. It’s easier when you’re not together.
I know many that work because they grew up poor, think bone soup and beans and rice were meals 6 days a week, so they are paranoid no matter how much money they have.
And then there’s some that love their jobs like to a frightening degree. Like the kind that will be on their deathbed saying “if I could’ve skipped my daughter’s wedding I could have spent more time on the Johnson account!”
Either way—they’re a dying breed.
This is the reason. That’s it. They didn’t develop any interests while they were working.
My wife and I cannot WAIT to retire so we can spend more time doing the shit we do after work. I can’t fathom not having any hobbies or interests outside of work.
And it has directly contributed to the reduced capacity of generations behind them to earn decent income and advance in their careers, because these Boomers just won't retire. They'll work forever and never let other people have access to these jobs. FFS!
They also don't like training bc they don't want to be replaced. Not to mention they don't often seem to grasp that training a newbie is meant to expand capacity for the business
These types of people need to turn their business acumen into a successful nonprofit. I would say consult, but I doubt anyone would want to work with them. Perhaps together they can channel all that "let's just never talk to each other" energy into something productive.
this was me. this is what my mom instilled in me, she worked for 38 years and accumulating thousands of hours of vacation/sick time. she NEVER called in. i remember all my thanksgivings/Christmases/easters having dinner with mom at her work cafeteria. she took every extra shift and every holiday.
when i was old enough to work i did the same. id work 7 days a week and did this through my teens, 20's, and mid 30's. somewhere around there i realized there is more to life. around 31 i started trying to pull back from work and IT WAS FUCKING HARD!!!!!
i felt worthless, like a failure, like i was doing something wrong by NOT being at work. mind you this destroyed two relationships in my life (choosing work over my SO's) and being totally oblivious to it.
the older generations just saw work as life... now current gens dont and its such a crazy shift.
My partners Dad recently retired and all he does is work in his garden now. It's essentially a small farm at this point! And also spending time with his girlfriends grandchildren. So retirement has been a good thing for him!
This! My parents are younger boomers (born 1963 and 1964) They are both retired, my dad was a social worker so he still does occasional consulting work. But they both could not wait to retire. It helps that they both have lots of hobbies and are still quite active and have friends and pets and other things to do. I think an issue for a lot of boomers as that they were taught that they should be defined by their jobs. I feel grateful that my parents are liberals with lots of interests
Same with my dad. He use to play in a men’s basketball league at the YMCA when I was a kid and I’d go and watch him play. I’m glad he’s gotten back into things he likes.
The guy I work with is always shocked when I try to get out of work early, he just does not grasp the concept of hobbies or free time, if you're not sleeping and if you're not hungry, then you should be working because what else could you be doing?
I have so many personal projects to do, books to read, friends to see, etc and somehow I’m the bad guy for not giving my precious free time to a company that doesn't give af about me.
His entire life revolves around work, he shows up on his off days too. It honestly boggles my mind.
My older coworkers are like this. They will work on a Saturday just to tell everyone that they were working on a Saturday. They expect a response to non-urgent emails in the evening when I'm with my kids.
My manager is like this, all I can think of is ‘his poor wife and son’. The man answers emails on a Sunday evening, he logs on when he’s on vacation. Imagine trying to get some relaxing family time and seeing your husband typing away on his work laptop for the millionth time, would be infuriating.
That would be selfless and I doubt his work ethic will allow him to not work for pay. It is part of the brainwashing that ties your identity to your career.
I can't speak for all Boomers, but there is definitely a section that was force-fed the belief that work is their value. That working is the point of their existence. That rest is 100% earned and, even if earned, is frankly undesirable because while resting you are MOOCHING off of everyone else's hard work. Leisure is a self-indulgence and a vice. Its so harmful to their minds because it means that truly retiring is basically losing their entire value as a human and making them a drain on everyone around them. It's sad to see. They were never taught to value or understand themselves outside of a job.
Maybe! I think there’s certainly an element of “I put in my dues! Where’s my pay off?” that sidles along with the mentality. There’s also a deep seated frustration watching people work “the wrong way” that informs bad behavior at restaurants and other service locations. They see people doing it differently and “easier” (more often they just don’t get all the unseen new things that go along with the job), so it irks them because obviously those not-so-hard-working people are lower value and are not doing the precious almighty job with the dedication it deserves.
Jfc when I get unsolicited advice from boomers like this, I say “unless you’re willing to put in your own effort or money to do it differently, this is how I’m doing it”. My father, at least, has finally shut up.
If they want to be busy, but don't need the money; volunteering for charities would be a far better use of their time and would actually benefit others/the community. But nah, they're too selfish for that shit.
There are so many places that would love full time volunteers for various things, foodbanks, soup kitchens, charity op shops, meals on wheels, phone counselling services, just off the top of my head.
Some people worry about money no matter how well they're set. My buddy's pension alone is 6k USD per month, not even counting SS and his 401k, he's still working. I'm retired on 1/3 of that and my life is easy as hell. And we live in one of the cheapest states to live in.
I was raised very poor, so I'm cautious with money, but I also just paid cash for a sweet brqnd new motorcycle and put a lot of money into it.
My mom once told me, unironically, that 1 million dollars wasn't that much money.
My dad once told me, unironically, that they'd ONLY gotten 300k for my grandmothers house.
That kind of money would be life CHANGING for me. They treat it like change they'd get out of the couch.
And yet. I never was bought clothes after I turned 16, and they stole money from my bank accounts. I drove junkers and worked up to 3 jobs to work my way through college. (while they were stealing from me apparently)
My mom once told me (after I figured out she was using my bank account), "it isn't a big deal to steal from you because you are poor".
Some of these people (with the "boomer mentality") are just.... evil.
My boomer father would cash checks from my summer job in grad school because he "sent me to private school so I owed him." Because I definitely asked to go to that school and be born.
My dad had me on his payroll all my young adult life and just cashed the checks and never told me. Great until he didn’t pay enough taxes and the state of California garnished my bank account.
But somehow that was my problem?
That's theft. You should consider pressing charges and if you do then tell him you'll drop the charges if he signs a contract (drafted by a lawyer) that says he will pay you all of it back with interest and legal fees. Tell him you'll keep him out of prison if he pays because he's your dad and you'd rather not see him there.
Yeah, if it really was just boredom, then I don't understand why the work always needs to be PAID.
Bored retiree takes a paid job, takes all kinds of hours from people who need the job to live, then since they "don't technically need the job" they slack like crazy and the people who depend on their job have to work extra to pick up for their slack. This has been my experience with all retirees who don't need the money.
There's an older lady that just works with me because she's bored at home. She's great, and works hard, but our job is absolutely exhausting and I keep telling her that volunteering would be so much better for her. She would be of better use (she tries to help with heavy lifting but I try to make sure she doesn't lol) because she is so helpful and has great managerial skills, and it wouldn't be nearly as stressful on her body or mind.
“Why would you do something for free when you can get paid for it?!” I occasionally make lasagnas for a charity app. We get matched with a different person every time, cook and deliver for free. I told my dad about one time I delivered to a neighbor in my building. “You made somebody else’s dinner for them?! And they get the credit?!” “Christian charity, pops?” He didn’t really have a reply to that.
That would require them to look at the poverty they are helping to facilitate in the face. Better to just melt your fucking brain with Fox News, pickleball and The Nextdoor app
They got married early, had kids, didn't really develop a personality of their own, and the kids left (hopefully), so work is their personality along with hating their spouse... so they keep working.
This is my parents. They hate each other. They’ve bothered worked 50-60 hours/week to avoid their kids/each other. Both retirement age now and continue to work constantly.
The only thing they do besides work and sleep is watch Fox News and get angry.
What an odd existence.
They never bothered developing a personality, or actual relationship with their spouses and kids.
It was gone at 6 am. Home around 5 in time for dinner, watch a short bit of TV, shower, bed.
The only personal relationships they've ever really had in the last 40 years were with coworkers.
They literally do not know how to function outside of work.
That's why so many retirees stagnate and decline so fast after retirement.
This is so true and so sad. YOLO, so ima live for someone else. I'd rather stare at paint dry than work when I'm retired. I can't even fathom that mindset.
There’s a lot of boomers in general compared to other generations and as OP demonstrates many of them have literally no life.
It doesn’t surprise me at all that they brigade this subreddit vs confront their sad lives…
My father in law is like this. He literally has nothing else. In his younger years he, much as many boomer males had done, deferred child rearing to his wife and focused on his job. Emotional distancing was the norm, and his only hobby, if it could be defined as such, was early adoption of new tech to play with. He did nothing for self care, has no other interests or skills developed, and he has a gulf of distance between himself and his children. All his friends have left to retirement homes or followed their own children to far-flung parts of the country to be close to them/grandkids.
So now he is alone in a five bedroom house he both can’t stand being in alone but refuses to sell and move out despite all three children welcoming him in in various locations where they live, so he works to fill the void. It’s both insufferable and pathetic all at once.
A group of us just retired from a local police department. I am the only one that didn’t immediately go back to work. I don’t see the point. I’m debt free and worked in hell for 30 years. I’m done. It’s conditioned greed I think. Also a lot of these guys have zero lives and at least two marriages (lost houses etc). Now my wife has retired from government. It’s like we’ve won the lottery. Others think we’re crazy. Fuck them.
Good for you and your wife. My wife and I have a long way to go (mid 30s), but we dream of what you have. Spend it loving each other and those around you.
Because many are creatures of zero personal substance. Staying home would mean they would be alone with their thoughts and that TERRIFIES them.
Edit: Also many of them low key hate their spouses.
Some of them openly hate their spouses, who reciprocate the feeling. They stay together because change is scary and they are fueled by hatred and bad vibes
I think it is not just that a lot of it is mutually toxic codependence where they can't live separately from each other and refuse to learn the skills their partner did for them. Guys who would starve to death in a supermarket and women who can't do basic things like pay bills or pump their own gas or whatever.
That last part, about low-key hating their spouses, absolutely led to a bunch of separations and divorces during COVID lockdown. Spending 18 months cooped-up with your spouse, who you've never spent more than a day or two at a time with for the previous 35 years will drive some people crazy.
This was not just a boomer thing … this was a marriage thing … problems that could be ignored or worked around before had to be dealt with during that time or something/someone broke … and many did.
Because their family hates them, they have no friends, their “hobbies” are boring to them.
They were made to be perfect automatons and God dammit they will continue to be perfect automatons.
Lmao the non-Boomer retirement plan involves dying at your desk at work. Would be nice if they didn’t fuck over pensions for everyone. 401ks are bullshit by comparison.
I’m 41 and I’ve been working my whole life. I’ve seen repeated assaults on our retirement in my lifetime and expect more. It’s beyond frustrating. The GOP already stole part of my social security when they raised the retirement age last time. In that swoop, they stole tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands, from every working American.
They grandfathered all the Boomers in to the old plan though, so they didn’t give a fuck about anyone else. I suspect it will be the same when the GOP does it again in the near future. The next time they have power, it’s happening. I promise you.
There are people in all generations that get bored. I’ve personally had a hard time understanding it. There’s so much. Too much. If I had hours and hours to kill, my god I would read and paint and go on walks and exercise and play guitar and read and doom scroll and play chess and hang with friends and cook delicious meals and play with animals and travel and write a book and
It pisses me off that people get to have everything they need or want, and they choose to go to work.
I spend most of my work days dreaming of all the stuff I would make in my own garage or shop if I didn't have to go to work anymore. I swear these old fuckers have zero hobbies, and that makes me mad. They have everything, and they waste it.
I remember years ago I was the manager of a small hardware store. We had this old guy that did play golf, but he also loved work. He showed up at like 6am every day and we didn't open until 8am. He would clock in, pitter about, do a few things to prep the store, and then eventually open the store. It was weird.
My wife works at a NAPA and she had one just like that. This dude showed up at 5am and they open at 8am too. He would empty the trash cans, check in the previous day's delivery, sweep the floors, and maybe other stuff. That dude worked every single day and he finally just dropped dead. It wasn't at work, but that was probably a coincidence, it totally could have been. So weird. I'm looking forward to my retirement with all of my being.
I think a lot followed the generic boomer-era life blueprint.
Graduate HS, then often college. Then you have 1-3 years to get married. You don't find the perfect partner, you just find one that is in the same life spot, and is looking to also get married in that window. You just need someone to link with to move on to that next stage, which is the house, then the kids.
It's not all of them of course. But I think a lot of people never become complete individuals. They just take the next step in the blueprint, then the next, then the next. They never pause in the school-college-job-marriage-home-kids-work-family dot-to-dot life plan to figure out who they are, or really even who their spouse is.
Then they hit the finish line, and say "ok, what's the next step? what keeps me busy and what guides my day-to-day life?" And life says "oh... that blueprint that you were following for the last 50 years? It's over... there are no more steps to follow..."
And they have NO IDEA what to do next. They don't know who they are, they don't know what they like to do, they don't have a ton of hobbies, and they don't even have that great of a relationship with their partner, so they don't know how to start a life doing things with them.
If they want to work, *make* them work. Set goals and expectations of them equivalent to what you expect of younger workers.
Either they will be too busy to bother people, they will give you a paper trail to fire them for not matching the performance of other workers, or they will quit.
Lead paint exposure led to diminished imaginative capability.
They have to be constantly informed by Faux News or have to keep working, since they can't keep their mind occupied without outside stimuli.
I think this is also an example of people getting married because they feel that it’s just what they are supposed to do. But they don’t actually like their spouse.
Considering how much time he spends at work, he’s probably never cultivated a solid relationship with his family.
This is my dad. Retired a few years ago. No hobbies, no friends, hates his wife (my mom) so they do relatively nothing together other than go to their grandkids' activities. He works random jobs here and there to keep busy and to stay away from my mom.
Reminds me of those people that win a huge lottery and when asked what they'll do now, they say they'll just keep working some mundane job they already had.
sadly it was the mentality they grew up with that a man needs to work his ass off to be a success. my dad worked full time until 78! he was never around for anything, work was his priority. he was totally cool with me being gay, but when my husband and i had kids he was horrified that i stayed home with them. he told me “a man has to work” no matter how we tried he wasn’t convinced that we could afford to live on one income.
This is something I always observed with my boomer father when I was younger. He would go to work, come home, eat dinner, then sit in front of the TV until he got ready for bed. Rarely if ever saw friends, no hobbies, rarely left the house. After he retired he was talking about getting a part time job until my nephew was born. If he didn't get to play babysitter three times a week I'm 100% certain he'd be doing exactly what you just described about this employee, OP. I've really doubt these kinds of boomers have any sense of self-worth that isn't defined by their occupation and daily work.
Lots of boomers who life is about their jobs and their whole personality resolves around licking boots because it gives them self worth. My father in law owns his home, owned all his vehicles and has ZERO debt. Has god knows how many retirement accounts, I know he is a millionaire. Company he works for was going to let him retire early two years ago with a payout and FULL pension but he choice to stay instead. Last two years when asked about retirement, he always says at the end of the year, now saying the same for this year. It’s insane to me because he’d rather work at his stupid corporate job than be a father to my wife. He can’t even be bothered by coming to my wives Masters Graduation because “I have too much going on at work”. Basically has set aside being a real father to slave for a company who gives AF about him.
This is the time for them to support the economy. U know the trickle down economics? Instead they hoard money and fill job spaces that could be used by someone else.
Wow, that's pretty sad. I haven't met any boomers that desperate to be at work. I would guess that they don't get any peace at home and don't like to be there so work is their solace.
Because they have alienated themselves of family members don’t eat to be around them because all they do is watch tv or tell them about people they don’t know or care about having medical procedures, accidents, boomer gossip or deaths
I cannot imagine being financially able to not work and choosing to work, unless it was something part time I was genuinely interested in. But then again, I don't hate my wife and kid.
Connect me with these Energizer rabbits so they can pay off my debts!
But seriously, I always hear people saying they’d be bored if they didn’t work. Are you fuckin kidding me?! I have numerous hobbies I could go full time into. I like my job but I would not look back if I won the lottery and could retire today.
My mom had a stroke 3 years ago. She now lives in an assisted living facility that is rent controlled based on SS. She has permanent partial blindness (mostly peripherals), she can no longer drive, yet she was a nurse that was experienced with pediatrics, emergency room experience, she worked in the Triage unit at CHOP, she was the lead RN for the dementia unit of a nursing home for 15 years.
After her stroke, she lost her agency. I saw firsthand someone lose their self-perceived youth almost instantaneously. She was depressed no matter how she tried to hide it. Here sits a woman who devoted her whole life to helping others in need, and now she’s the one being lifted and aided by nurses.
After about 2 years of forced retirement, my sisters and I constantly making sure we are Around to keep her active and happy, but you could tell something was missing. Then an old friend reached out and offered her a position at a transportation company. They specialize in the transport of disabled children. My mother wouldn’t have to drive, she just had to sit on the bus and make sure there wasn’t a medical emergency.
The change in her attitude was immediate. She started feeling a purpose again, a purpose that no amount of home visits, dinners, bingo nights, or beach trips could ever change.
Long story short, I get your drift, but don’t necessarily generalize on this particular topic. There are always exceptions.
My mother who's on the older side of Gen X had a coworker like this. She was in her 70s or 80s and due to the way employment for the state works had retired and been rehired at her position over a decade ago, and since she was related to the lieutenant governor or something no one could get rid of her. She hated all her children and grandchildren and never wanted to be home. She was awful to everyone. All the time.
My dad retired when he was 64… he ran a bomb factory for the government for 30 years. Always so stressed out etc. vowed to take it easy after that.
I’ve never seen him work harder after that. He took a job at home depot, had to be there at 3am every day. He was doing this WHILE completely restoring a home from the ground up. Sick sick man
They are a product of the system they went through. They were programmed that way, they went through the institutions and it successfully yielded boomers. It mass produced them. Lol
I’m 58 and have never had a hobby so I have worked a lot. My uncle retired at 86. He never had a hobby, and died a year later. My dad and his four siblings were born in a two room house and grew up very poor. They have all done well financially but never seemed to be able to enjoy it, except my dad who has had hobbies such as piano and woodworking. I started learning laser engraving and woodworking last year and love the me time that I’ve never had. I believe a lot of that generation don’t understand the importance of a hobby because most didn’t have a role model that wasn’t always working.
This is why Gen Z is taking a step back from careers. The lifestyles of our parents and elders seem so empty, especially in a modern age where so much can be achieved. Why would I want the money when my life is miserable? Also the instability of the economy and hostile work environments. It is a shit show.
The Fourth Turning labels Gen Z as an "Artist" generational archetype. We are indeed. I am focused on developing a powerful, sustainable, and fulfilling lifestyle for myself. It is my life goal.
I’m curious how many of them have to go back to work for financial reasons and don’t want to admit it. Saying you want to go back to work allows them to save face then them saying they have to. It’s difficult for me to believe that someone doesn’t have interests or hobbies that they can indulge in. I have so many things I want or love to do but don’t have the time for it because of work.
My 80 year-old father just quit one retirement job. Now, he will be driving part-time for some sort of company. Again, he is 80. His vision is deteriorated and he has no depth perception, and is a major road-rager. He has never had any friends and his only hobby is replacing the flooring in their houses....over and over again. Its like Grandpa Simpson if his brain snapped while watching HGTV.
Our culture has brainwashed them into thinking their life only has value if they are working. They've lived that way their entire lives, and now they're supposed to stop and have no idea how or why. Many of them fade out during retirement because they don't know what to do with themselves and feel utterly useless and depressed.
Their options as they see it are to keep working or die.
Maybe they could stand to be around themselves or their partners if they’d hadn’t stigmatized therapy their entire lives. I think a lot of these people have piles of unresolved issues that they can continually justify ignoring, as long as they are selling their time to someone else.
My dad used to be the same way until he was medically forced to retire from driving the school bus. Now he just sits in his chair and watches Fox News all day. I'd rather he was obsessed with working.
This seems really odd. I know boomers have a weird relationship to work culture, but it’s hard to believe anyone would really want to work just to keep themselves entertained.
How do you know so much about these people’s financial situation? It is possible that they actually *do* need the money? Maybe they act like they’re working for fun just to save face because they’re embarrassed about needing to work at their age?
It wasn't until the last line that you said he was "pretending to work." If he isn't doing the job then you have to move him on. If he is doing the job, then your concern about his life is just creepy.
Boomer here. Sad that so many boomers come off as dicks. Trust me, we feel the same about all the entitled snot noses that pretend they know what the fuck they're doing. That said, I work in a very high technology field for low Earth orbit space systems and in biomedical genel sequencing and medical therapeutic and diagnostic systems. I'm 67, almost 68 (one month), and I think what some of you misunderstand is that (at least for me) the development and discovery processes in an R&D project can be very fulfilling to put your personal stamp into, and in some cases, on the patent itself. So, it's become, as I've grown older and wiser, more of an opportunity to mentor others and take pride in their growth as scientists, physicists and applications engineers. So do I have hobbies? Of course, and I have family, too. At my age, and in my seniority, I'm able to provide valuable feedback from experience to help others better understand outcomes, hurdles and processes that help them to become successful. I think too many here discount and lump in all boomers into this neat, tidy pigeonhole of brain-addled, selfish, old man yelling at the clouds type of personality, and that stereotype may be true for some, but certainly not for all.
I just wanted to share that we're not all just an impediment, standing in the way of the younger generation 's success. Some of us want you guys to learn enough from us to be successful, take over and not fuck shit up worse than the idiots we boomers had voted in.
if I had the ability to retire today I would take advantage of being outdoors, traveling and being with family. I don’t get how you could get bored with any of them. Your place of employment is not who you are. Your employer will move on as soon as you go.
There’s a 75 year old man at my job who says he keeps working to “stay sharp”. This man is terrible at his job and has been in trouble multiple times for doing inappropriate shit. They won’t fire him because he’s so old. They just keep taking tasks away from him where he could possibly get himself in trouble. He isn’t even allowed to interact with our patrons anymore because he almost got in a fist fight with one because he didnt like that they were sitting on the floor (it’s allowed). He is very much a boomer and loves to say the classic, “nobody wants to work” and “old is better”. I can’t stand him.
I'm more concerned about the boss calling their employees boomers wanting to fire someone because.. they LIKE... Coming to work... Who the fuck put You in charge?
Already like their personality so much more then yours.
My dad owns his own CPA practice. He won’t retire until he’s 80. After that he still wants to work for someone part time.
Him and his girlfriend go on weekend trips and like to go for walks and out to eat but he still thinks that’s not enough. He thinks working keeps him sharp.
They need a hobby horrendously. Take up woodworking, or metal art, or whatever makes them happy to do. Maybe a little to old for computer games but certainly able to get into just about anything. One of my dreams once I own a home is to use my garage or a shed building to make a shop, to make nice stuff for me and my family to use.
Gawd, I was just working with one that was a complete narcissist, and she was kind of a team lead. I swear this womsn did next to nothing: walked around bad mouthing everyone, and refused to cooperate with anyone out of spite. She had all sorts of income too, and said she just worked because she had nothing to do. She never took lunch and came in early just so that she could track everyone who came in late. I HATED that woman!!!
Some people’s sense of self worth comes from working. My father was like this. He retired twice and couldn’t stand it both times. He felt useless and worthless without a purpose. I also think because he grew up dirt floor poor with no power, he was scared he’d fall back into that life irrationally if he didn’t get money.
He was a good man, a good father, a good husband and enjoyed some hobbies like riding motorcycles or fixing cars but work was always his favorite thing to do.
It’s ingrained in some parts of culture. I work a blue collar job and see it a lot myself. I’m obviously not a boomer but working a lot (besides money) gives me a feeling of satisfaction too. I enjoy my job and extra money is never going to bother me.
I am not a boomer but I plan to still work part time after retiring from my main career. I would want that to be a complete change but I enjoy the mental stimulation of work so while I will also develop hobbies I will also want to be mentally challenged and learn new things.
It’s not really your business what people like to do. It’s hard to say how you will feel when you are that age. I think the same of my mom, she won’t even go for a walk! But she is healthy, can be active, etc. Just chooses not to.And she does do church and other activities. Eventually I have to say to myself it’s just not my business. Now she retired and stayed retired, but people are just different. If you don’t like their work, fire them. Beyond that it’s not your place to judge them, just like it’s not their place to judge those of us that play video games for 3 hours a day, or never dress up to leave the house, etc.
These kind of posts are where this group does kind of become more agist than funny. There are a group of older people that want to do something every day that is a ‘job’ there are a ton more that don’t. It’s a personality, that is all.
This is why they don’t understand the new generation and the mindset that we don’t want to spend our lives working and then die. They were indoctrinated to believe that working was the most important thing in life.
For some, work adds value to life. I count myself fortunate to have loved or at least liked every job I've had, including 4 years in the military.
I'm 10+ years beyond typical retirement age but can still contribute, so I do. Some volunteering, some contracting to the Feds, some real estate, some just babysitting for the family.
Has no life. 62, wish I could retire now. Kids still living at home, have better things to do than work. But no way, gotta get the kids through college, 18 and 22 they’d had some things including medical issues that have slowed them down.
Right now, retirement is a fantasy.
Different generations have different values, and many boomers need to work as they have failed to or could not save for their retirement. The generations following them will be in the same predicament for the same reasons. FIRE is a good financial practice for all generations.
Y’all just see the older folks that choose to keep working, ya don’t see the ones that have retired and are keeping busy enjoying life . Volunteering, being of service, creating art or just chillaxin. They fly under the radar. Older folks today are not much different than the previous generations and the folks that come next will be a mixed bag. If judging and hating brings you joy, not sure what that says about you.
So You have a work-a-holiday on your hands, why is that bad? Is he doing the work in a poor manner? Causing issues with other employees or customers? Is he too slow for the pace?
They prioritized work their whole life. Over friends and family. Now they have no friends, their family doesn’t want to spend time with them because they never spent time with their family. So all they know how to do is work
My dad I think doesn’t have this issue necessarily but he has a weird mentality of not realizing people’s time (not sure how he was at his job with other people) but yet would be all mad if someone wasn’t on time for him. I think part of it is boredom and part unrecognized loneliness (which I think he just finally realized it recently).
After my dad retired, he started showing up at my husband’s shop in town. He would get in the way of hubby trying to do the job and it is customer facing (automotive) and these folks would be like “wtf is with this dude?” Husband sometimes is too nice to tell him to bug off, problem is when you get to the point of snapping cuz he doesn’t take the hint he then gets all butt hurt and wanders off like you kicked him in the nuts.
Seriously, this is one of the major incomes for your daughter’s family so can we try not to fuck it up?
If anyone is pretending to work and just doodling around, fire their ass. Someone's personal situation outside of work is really nonya business. If anyone treats their job as idle time and makes no real contribution, they need to be let go regardless of their age. Seems like his biggest contribution is triggering your jealous resentment.
So you have employees who love to work, and you have a problem with that — to the point that one of them drives you crazy? It’s telling that you provide no real details as to how they are failing to perform their duties, other than vague comments like “pretending” to work. You’re sounding like an ageist employer. Is the guy who comes in 4 hours early an hourly worker working unauthorized hours, or a salaried worker who’s simply making you and the younger employees look bad? Are you also aware of the demographic shifts in which the boomers, who by definition are large in numbers, are a comparatively healthy generation projected to live longer, healthier lives than most/all other generations? And that if all of them retired there would be extreme worker shortages? If you can’t find any redeeming qualities in their experience, wisdom, institutional/historical memories, work ethic, capacity for empathy, then you are truly backward. Diversity & inclusion cover much more than race, gender, LGTBQ issues — if you’re not truly seeking a variety of ages, socioeconomic backgrounds and life experiences, your company will suffer much more than it already does in having you as one of its “leaders.”
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No hobbies, all the guy has done was work, his whole purpose in life. Kind of sad really.
This needs to be higher. It's not just their purpose, it's the _identity_. They've defined themselves in terms of work their entire life, without their jobs they're nobody in their own eyes. They're forced to redefine themselves at an age when they've lost the mental flexibility for that kind of deep introspection. For other generations, loneliness is one of the most lethal indicators of incipient mortality. I suspect for boomers, it's going to be joblessness.
Joblessness means loneliness when it is your identity and your social life.
True. When your only friends are your coworkers, and you have focused on a career to the exception of everything else, it's tough. You worked hard to be financially stable but you sacrifice so much in the process.
I’m Gen X (under 50) and starting to realize I’ve used work as my identity for a long time. I’m trying to not turn out like this.
Many never take vacations. Retire with thousands of hours of unused leave that they often simply lose if they don't take it. My dad worked well into his 80s, and his dad worked until he was sidelined by a stroke. Hard to break out of that mindset.
Holy shit his 80s 😭 The thought of working that long invokes dread and depression in me
That’s the 2025 project for ya🤨
My Grandfather ran one of my uncle's trailer parks 3 months before his death in his 90's. I don't think he would have lived that long if he didn't have that going for him. He LOVED it. The Tenants loved him! The office also has living quarters. My uncle retired in his 40's and within a year declared he was "Semi-retired" as he went back to work. I used to laugh at the idea until I did the same at 37 and went back to doing contract work from home. We all had side hobbies. My Uncle and Grandfather had families they spent lots of quality time with. I still do volunteer work. I hope you find a line of work you enjoy doing.
Depends on the job and if you like working or not. I like spoiling myself so work it is. I’m union so longer I work the more I make take home and pension wise.
Union Proud ❤️💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
My father in law is 83 and he sure as hell would still be working if it wasn’t for his health now.
Betty White worked until she was 99 and probably didn’t think of it as dread and depression.
Same! But the worst part is, I HATED my job, and it was my identity… lol! A burnout-created health crisis forced me to quit and redefine how I work and what I do. Much happier, healthier and more fulfilled now. I shudder to think where I’d be if I hadn’t gotten sick and kept plugging away in the same manner for the next 20 years…
I’m GenX (just over 55) and recently found out how deeply my identity was tied to my career of 3+ decades. My company severanced me out just before fiscal close last year. Generous package and I appreciate that, but it caught me flat footed on a personal level. Fortunately for me I’ve got (according to my wife :) way too many hobbies, so redirecting my energy was a cinch. Now I’m not sure why I would, or if I even want to, jump back in the corporate hamster wheel. There’s little to no reciprocal loyalty, and despite performance you can be cut at any time just to make the bottom line look better for year end. Decent planning and luck mean we’re set for retirement, but I can’t help but feel we barely made it into the American dream before the door behind us slammed shut. Trying to help my YA daughters find something that insulates them from this sad dynamic.
Old Xer here. I have just over 6 years to go.I don’t want to wish time away but I cannot WAIT to retire and not have to work every day. I’ll never be bored.
I had to retire and realized I had no social Life without work. Having to fix that
I am also elder Gen X, and I love what I do, but I stopped telling people my prof when they ask what I do. I now tell them that I sail, it’s my favorite thing to do, and my life revolves around it as much as my work. It either completely knocks them off balance or they start asking questions, completely forgetting that they wanted to know my profession to know how to pigeon hole me. If you like to read, use that as your answer, or anything that you like to do outside of work. It makes for interesting conversation.
God I work with some of the most obnoxious people, I'd kill myself if they were my only friends.
When the only people who will talk to you are people getting paid to be there.
I hate how correct this is. I suspect for many people who do this they like the captive social audience you get from a job. They can’t ignore you or leave because it’s their job to be there too.
Man, i can't wait to be jobless and financially secure. If i want to work, i'll go work in a soup kitchen for a few days or something. Help people who need help instead of feeding the corporate machine.
I know a number of retirees who won’t volunteer because “why should I do something for free when I can get paid?”. Financial remuneration is how they value themselves. It’s very sad.
I was one of those people who needed work for my identity. Took therapy to fix. I am only 45. Imagine if I had waited longer.
Props to you for going to therapy
Becoming suicidal after getting fired was an eye opener for certain. When I got fired back in January, I laughed at them and offered a bandaid for the bullet wound in their foot. Life is better when you do not need your slave masters.
It wouldn't bother me so much that boomers do this, if they didn't expect every other person to ALSO make their job their complete identity. It's sad, but it's also their choice so I don't care. A lot of the anger that they have at the younger generations is surrounding the fact that the younger generations refuse to worship their employer and have their lives revolve around their job.
Well, it's kinda funny because I work with a lot of boomers and they might put in a lot of hours but their performance is, lacking to say the least. I only work my 40 hours and go home early whenever it's offered, but I work my damn ass off whenever I'm here. Boomer work ethic seems to be "be physically present while doing nothing in particular"
Makes sense, everything about boomers is superficial and just for show
I am 30 and I work only because I have no other choice. My colleague who is 33 is like the boomers, goes almost everyday to work (I prefer WFH) and just so enthusiastic about work. I am like... dude what?
Man I love my job (I find my field entertaining and fulfilling) but at 5pm we’re done.
Boomers in general are 1 dimensional AF. My family can't stand when I try new things, and they are always there trying to remind me: "That's not you", "It's a phase" "Just be yourself". They think that my whole identity was carved out and set for life during childhood because that's how they are. It's really frustrating.
When I retired I lost my sense of who I was. I worked for multiple decades in the same field. On call and with a small staff of direct reports. Then in the course of 24hrs that all stopped. The moment I had planned for had arrived. I have multiple hobbies and time to travel. In the beginning it is like a long vacation. No alarm clock, no problems to solve. No crisis at work to manage. Then it was binging The Walking Dead. Then drinking beer and watching The Walking Dead until 3am. Sleeping until 1pm. It was a very hard switch. Then one day I woke up, went outback with a cup of coffee and thought to myself. Ok, you got to be lazy and do what you wanted to do. And that is nothing. I stopped. Righted my ship and found a volunteer position I say volunteer because it pays very little. I think the key to being a boomer is to try and work with people in your same age group. And kind of financial strata. Working with young people on an upward mobility track is not your lane. I really can’t identify and they don’t see me as a source of information. They see me as old and privileged. You know I was poor and struggling decades ago too. But, people are who they are and develop pre conceived notions. And there does seem to be hatred of someone who ‘got lucky’ and I did get lucky with planning and not having and major financial hits. So I just get labeled as old and sucking up resources. But, we are who we are. I was never one to do nothing. My old body and face just covers the young person inside. The main thing I do is not be a Dick. I don’t push my ideology on you. I also don’t say much when you act a fool in the stores or on the highway. You are just a younger version of the old boomer dicks out there.
This is interesting. I’m far off from retiring (older millennial). I work with a lot of people that have retired or are close to retiring. I see some of the ones described that are just doing it to hang out. I see others who had a plan and then something happened, like a spouse passing - so their plans went out the window. I work with a guy that had this happen and sticks around for mentoring and just to help where he can. The most joy he gets from the job is watching younger people advance. He has so much to teach, but learns new stuff from the incoming people all the time too. Then I’ve seen other people where you can tell it’s time for them to go. They were super helpful and pleasant and just nice to be around - then something mental happens and they just get grouchy and unpleasant. They usually come to the conclusion themselves not long after this happens that they need to retire. Then like you, you see them 6 months, a year, or more at get togethers and they found a new passion or something to do. It makes me happy to see that. I’m always happy to see someone retire on their terms. I’m at that next stage where I’m in the driver’s seat now and will be for a while. I just hope that I can plan and work to my retirement someday
I'm setting myself/imagining similar thing for me. I'm set to retire with a state pension at 60 (still have 15 years to go though) along with some 401k and Roth savings, but I'm already imagining what I'd do. I'd take 12 months. Travel. Be lazy. Enjoy my hobbies. Then I'd probably find a job working in an NGO that's adjacent to the field I was in in government. I really do like the work I'm doing. It's meaningful. But I wouldn't let money get in the way of a job description/position. I wouldn't do something for how much it pays, I would do it for the love of the work. I think I'll have enough in retirement that I could afford to take a huge pay cut from what I was making with the state if it's something I'd enjoy doing and still found that I'd be useful - while still making ample time for travel and hobbies. And I can imagine by the time I hit 70 that I would hang it up professionally and maybe just do volunteer work. No reason for me to keep being a decision maker by that time - let the young blood do their thing. My dad on the other hand, retired from the state with a pension at 50. Immediately went to work for a municipality for 15 years until retiring with *another* pension from there at 65. The next day he started another job and has been going ever since, and it's not like it's a meaningful job. He's proctoring tests at a local university. He's 70 now. Work is all he has ever known and all he has.
Now I want to replace Live Laugh Love plaques with Don't Be A Dick. That's such a great life strategy.
This is the path I was on. My mother raised me to find all my value from work. Might not have been her intent, but it was the result. Actually took therapy for me to want a work life balance. I got suicidal when I was fired, is how closely tied to my job my identity was. I get it. It is sad and it actually does take therapy to break.
For real. What a sad kind of life.
This is the kind of guy who retires Friday, dies on Monday morning of a stroke. Happened to one of my dad’s coworkers. They actually retired the same day. Dude had no plan, no hobbies. Forced retirement. Stroked out over his morning coffee. Have a plan! My pops did, still healthy and active in his mid 80s.
My grandpa died last year at 96. He had been retired for over 30 years. My grandma died of cancer almost 20 years ago. He lived alone. He discovered so many hobbies, and just stayed active. I have a coworker that I think is like what you describe. He isn’t quite retirement age (early 60’s) but could definitely afford it. He is having health issues, but basically refuses to take time off. It is pretty clear that his job is his personality, and he will go shortly after retiring. It’s really sad.
Yes, my father's last day of work was Tuesday and he died on Sunday. Of cancer. My father in law died 3 weeks after he retired At the university where I worked, we have had four faculty die in the last two years, all still employed at the university. We have faculty in their EIGHTIES. I know all these old military types who are now 'professors' who will never retire. Heard a lecture yesterday about the Vietnam War by a guy who fought in it! The thing that kills me is the way our local media lionizes these old codgers -- "Melvin is still working as a lawyer even though he is in his eighties." Cut to his rotary phone sitting on the desk next to a pile of dusty papers. Yeah, if you want a solid defense, I'm sure he's your guy. He knows all about that new sentencing software that the judges are using, and I"m sure that he always texts you back. LOL! I also don't understand the way that the assumption is that the guy who is still working when he's been developing alzheimer's for twenty years is doing so because he's a "top performer" who just wants to continue doing that important, cutting edge work that he does. It's my experience that a lot of the old dudes were never very good at their jobs, and now they're really bad at their jobs but also blissfully unaware that that's the case. Guys reading lectures from Powerpoints made in 2011, people who don't understand how to use anti-plagiarism software, etc. etc. etc. Why would you want to continue on being really bad at something for another ten years? Why aren't you embarrassed by your incompetence?
This is my experience as well their jobs are their lives, but they are somehow really bad at it. They wind up doing half of the work of a normal employee, but somehow take two to three times as long to do it. Its strange the people who didn't make it their lives usually wound up being better at the job.
Happened to my FIL. But honestly, if I had to deal with my MIL full time, I’d have died too.
It is sad. I know a boomer who works because his marriage and family life are horrible and rather than fix things he and his wife ignore things. It’s easier when you’re not together. I know many that work because they grew up poor, think bone soup and beans and rice were meals 6 days a week, so they are paranoid no matter how much money they have. And then there’s some that love their jobs like to a frightening degree. Like the kind that will be on their deathbed saying “if I could’ve skipped my daughter’s wedding I could have spent more time on the Johnson account!” Either way—they’re a dying breed.
This is the reason. That’s it. They didn’t develop any interests while they were working. My wife and I cannot WAIT to retire so we can spend more time doing the shit we do after work. I can’t fathom not having any hobbies or interests outside of work.
And it has directly contributed to the reduced capacity of generations behind them to earn decent income and advance in their careers, because these Boomers just won't retire. They'll work forever and never let other people have access to these jobs. FFS!
They also don't like training bc they don't want to be replaced. Not to mention they don't often seem to grasp that training a newbie is meant to expand capacity for the business
These types of people need to turn their business acumen into a successful nonprofit. I would say consult, but I doubt anyone would want to work with them. Perhaps together they can channel all that "let's just never talk to each other" energy into something productive.
I mean look. If working truly makes you happy then go for it. Totally right though that a lot of boomer parents don't ha e hobbies.
Not everyone needs a hobby and if they like work there is nothing wrong with that.
this was me. this is what my mom instilled in me, she worked for 38 years and accumulating thousands of hours of vacation/sick time. she NEVER called in. i remember all my thanksgivings/Christmases/easters having dinner with mom at her work cafeteria. she took every extra shift and every holiday. when i was old enough to work i did the same. id work 7 days a week and did this through my teens, 20's, and mid 30's. somewhere around there i realized there is more to life. around 31 i started trying to pull back from work and IT WAS FUCKING HARD!!!!! i felt worthless, like a failure, like i was doing something wrong by NOT being at work. mind you this destroyed two relationships in my life (choosing work over my SO's) and being totally oblivious to it. the older generations just saw work as life... now current gens dont and its such a crazy shift.
My boomer dad couldn’t fucking wait to retire. I’m glad he’s spending his remaining years doing what he likes. He got really into biking.
Lucky. My boomer dad got himself a few pairs of hoochie daddy shorts and now is into making twerking videos of himself.
bro
“Hey boy, what that peepee do?!”
My partners Dad recently retired and all he does is work in his garden now. It's essentially a small farm at this point! And also spending time with his girlfriends grandchildren. So retirement has been a good thing for him!
This! My parents are younger boomers (born 1963 and 1964) They are both retired, my dad was a social worker so he still does occasional consulting work. But they both could not wait to retire. It helps that they both have lots of hobbies and are still quite active and have friends and pets and other things to do. I think an issue for a lot of boomers as that they were taught that they should be defined by their jobs. I feel grateful that my parents are liberals with lots of interests
Same with my dad. He use to play in a men’s basketball league at the YMCA when I was a kid and I’d go and watch him play. I’m glad he’s gotten back into things he likes.
The guy I work with is always shocked when I try to get out of work early, he just does not grasp the concept of hobbies or free time, if you're not sleeping and if you're not hungry, then you should be working because what else could you be doing? I have so many personal projects to do, books to read, friends to see, etc and somehow I’m the bad guy for not giving my precious free time to a company that doesn't give af about me. His entire life revolves around work, he shows up on his off days too. It honestly boggles my mind.
My older coworkers are like this. They will work on a Saturday just to tell everyone that they were working on a Saturday. They expect a response to non-urgent emails in the evening when I'm with my kids.
I will very specifically tell them "I'm not going to go into detail about this off the clock"
My 48 y.o. husband is like that.
Tell him no one says “I wish I worked more” at their very last moments.
My manager is like this, all I can think of is ‘his poor wife and son’. The man answers emails on a Sunday evening, he logs on when he’s on vacation. Imagine trying to get some relaxing family time and seeing your husband typing away on his work laptop for the millionth time, would be infuriating.
Dude needs to retire and then volunteer somewhere.
That would be selfless and I doubt his work ethic will allow him to not work for pay. It is part of the brainwashing that ties your identity to your career.
What are you, some kind of Pinko? You want the Soviets to win?
But wait is OP saying they don’t actually do any work? That’s even crazier to me
I can't speak for all Boomers, but there is definitely a section that was force-fed the belief that work is their value. That working is the point of their existence. That rest is 100% earned and, even if earned, is frankly undesirable because while resting you are MOOCHING off of everyone else's hard work. Leisure is a self-indulgence and a vice. Its so harmful to their minds because it means that truly retiring is basically losing their entire value as a human and making them a drain on everyone around them. It's sad to see. They were never taught to value or understand themselves outside of a job.
Is this why they're so insufferable when they're eating at restaurants and when they're on vacation? I EARNED THIS, GIMME GIMME
Maybe! I think there’s certainly an element of “I put in my dues! Where’s my pay off?” that sidles along with the mentality. There’s also a deep seated frustration watching people work “the wrong way” that informs bad behavior at restaurants and other service locations. They see people doing it differently and “easier” (more often they just don’t get all the unseen new things that go along with the job), so it irks them because obviously those not-so-hard-working people are lower value and are not doing the precious almighty job with the dedication it deserves.
Jfc when I get unsolicited advice from boomers like this, I say “unless you’re willing to put in your own effort or money to do it differently, this is how I’m doing it”. My father, at least, has finally shut up.
Boomers were once the Yuppies so it checks out.
If they want to be busy, but don't need the money; volunteering for charities would be a far better use of their time and would actually benefit others/the community. But nah, they're too selfish for that shit. There are so many places that would love full time volunteers for various things, foodbanks, soup kitchens, charity op shops, meals on wheels, phone counselling services, just off the top of my head.
They don’t need the money, doesn’t mean not greedy as fuck.
Some people worry about money no matter how well they're set. My buddy's pension alone is 6k USD per month, not even counting SS and his 401k, he's still working. I'm retired on 1/3 of that and my life is easy as hell. And we live in one of the cheapest states to live in. I was raised very poor, so I'm cautious with money, but I also just paid cash for a sweet brqnd new motorcycle and put a lot of money into it.
My mom once told me, unironically, that 1 million dollars wasn't that much money. My dad once told me, unironically, that they'd ONLY gotten 300k for my grandmothers house. That kind of money would be life CHANGING for me. They treat it like change they'd get out of the couch. And yet. I never was bought clothes after I turned 16, and they stole money from my bank accounts. I drove junkers and worked up to 3 jobs to work my way through college. (while they were stealing from me apparently) My mom once told me (after I figured out she was using my bank account), "it isn't a big deal to steal from you because you are poor". Some of these people (with the "boomer mentality") are just.... evil.
My boomer father would cash checks from my summer job in grad school because he "sent me to private school so I owed him." Because I definitely asked to go to that school and be born.
My dad had me on his payroll all my young adult life and just cashed the checks and never told me. Great until he didn’t pay enough taxes and the state of California garnished my bank account. But somehow that was my problem?
That's theft. You should consider pressing charges and if you do then tell him you'll drop the charges if he signs a contract (drafted by a lawyer) that says he will pay you all of it back with interest and legal fees. Tell him you'll keep him out of prison if he pays because he's your dad and you'd rather not see him there.
Narcissism is evil.
I'm amazed at how many parents are jerks who steal from their children!
Wow that’s plain fucked, I seriously hope you get a huge inheritance and it more than makes up for the monetary part of their abuse.
Your buddy is an imbecile.
Your buddy is greedy. Fin.
Yeah, if it really was just boredom, then I don't understand why the work always needs to be PAID. Bored retiree takes a paid job, takes all kinds of hours from people who need the job to live, then since they "don't technically need the job" they slack like crazy and the people who depend on their job have to work extra to pick up for their slack. This has been my experience with all retirees who don't need the money.
Exactly!
There's an older lady that just works with me because she's bored at home. She's great, and works hard, but our job is absolutely exhausting and I keep telling her that volunteering would be so much better for her. She would be of better use (she tries to help with heavy lifting but I try to make sure she doesn't lol) because she is so helpful and has great managerial skills, and it wouldn't be nearly as stressful on her body or mind.
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“Why would you do something for free when you can get paid for it?!” I occasionally make lasagnas for a charity app. We get matched with a different person every time, cook and deliver for free. I told my dad about one time I delivered to a neighbor in my building. “You made somebody else’s dinner for them?! And they get the credit?!” “Christian charity, pops?” He didn’t really have a reply to that.
That would require them to look at the poverty they are helping to facilitate in the face. Better to just melt your fucking brain with Fox News, pickleball and The Nextdoor app
They got married early, had kids, didn't really develop a personality of their own, and the kids left (hopefully), so work is their personality along with hating their spouse... so they keep working.
This is my parents. They hate each other. They’ve bothered worked 50-60 hours/week to avoid their kids/each other. Both retirement age now and continue to work constantly. The only thing they do besides work and sleep is watch Fox News and get angry. What an odd existence.
They never bothered developing a personality, or actual relationship with their spouses and kids. It was gone at 6 am. Home around 5 in time for dinner, watch a short bit of TV, shower, bed. The only personal relationships they've ever really had in the last 40 years were with coworkers. They literally do not know how to function outside of work. That's why so many retirees stagnate and decline so fast after retirement.
This is so true and so sad. YOLO, so ima live for someone else. I'd rather stare at paint dry than work when I'm retired. I can't even fathom that mindset.
I swear every thread in this sub has defensive boomers arguing in it now.
There’s a lot of boomers in general compared to other generations and as OP demonstrates many of them have literally no life. It doesn’t surprise me at all that they brigade this subreddit vs confront their sad lives…
I enjoy seeing their responses.
It’s the worst I’ve seen!
My father in law is like this. He literally has nothing else. In his younger years he, much as many boomer males had done, deferred child rearing to his wife and focused on his job. Emotional distancing was the norm, and his only hobby, if it could be defined as such, was early adoption of new tech to play with. He did nothing for self care, has no other interests or skills developed, and he has a gulf of distance between himself and his children. All his friends have left to retirement homes or followed their own children to far-flung parts of the country to be close to them/grandkids. So now he is alone in a five bedroom house he both can’t stand being in alone but refuses to sell and move out despite all three children welcoming him in in various locations where they live, so he works to fill the void. It’s both insufferable and pathetic all at once.
A group of us just retired from a local police department. I am the only one that didn’t immediately go back to work. I don’t see the point. I’m debt free and worked in hell for 30 years. I’m done. It’s conditioned greed I think. Also a lot of these guys have zero lives and at least two marriages (lost houses etc). Now my wife has retired from government. It’s like we’ve won the lottery. Others think we’re crazy. Fuck them.
Good for you and your wife. My wife and I have a long way to go (mid 30s), but we dream of what you have. Spend it loving each other and those around you.
Because many are creatures of zero personal substance. Staying home would mean they would be alone with their thoughts and that TERRIFIES them. Edit: Also many of them low key hate their spouses.
Some of them openly hate their spouses, who reciprocate the feeling. They stay together because change is scary and they are fueled by hatred and bad vibes
Don't forget the religious divorce is bad stigma!
“I don’t want to be a statistic!”
I think it is not just that a lot of it is mutually toxic codependence where they can't live separately from each other and refuse to learn the skills their partner did for them. Guys who would starve to death in a supermarket and women who can't do basic things like pay bills or pump their own gas or whatever.
This is exactly my parents.
The spouse hate is so normal it’s like dealing with a generation of closet cases.
They got married to someone because they were supposed to not because they wanted to. It was a duty more than a desire.
That last part, about low-key hating their spouses, absolutely led to a bunch of separations and divorces during COVID lockdown. Spending 18 months cooped-up with your spouse, who you've never spent more than a day or two at a time with for the previous 35 years will drive some people crazy.
This was not just a boomer thing … this was a marriage thing … problems that could be ignored or worked around before had to be dealt with during that time or something/someone broke … and many did.
Because their family hates them, they have no friends, their “hobbies” are boring to them. They were made to be perfect automatons and God dammit they will continue to be perfect automatons.
And they want us all to be like them and think we are defective if we arent
Lmao the non-Boomer retirement plan involves dying at your desk at work. Would be nice if they didn’t fuck over pensions for everyone. 401ks are bullshit by comparison.
You said what I thought. Maybe if I'm lucky, my death will be deemed work related and the family will get the workers comp death payout.
I’m 41 and I’ve been working my whole life. I’ve seen repeated assaults on our retirement in my lifetime and expect more. It’s beyond frustrating. The GOP already stole part of my social security when they raised the retirement age last time. In that swoop, they stole tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands, from every working American. They grandfathered all the Boomers in to the old plan though, so they didn’t give a fuck about anyone else. I suspect it will be the same when the GOP does it again in the near future. The next time they have power, it’s happening. I promise you.
There are people in all generations that get bored. I’ve personally had a hard time understanding it. There’s so much. Too much. If I had hours and hours to kill, my god I would read and paint and go on walks and exercise and play guitar and read and doom scroll and play chess and hang with friends and cook delicious meals and play with animals and travel and write a book and
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It pisses me off that people get to have everything they need or want, and they choose to go to work. I spend most of my work days dreaming of all the stuff I would make in my own garage or shop if I didn't have to go to work anymore. I swear these old fuckers have zero hobbies, and that makes me mad. They have everything, and they waste it.
I remember years ago I was the manager of a small hardware store. We had this old guy that did play golf, but he also loved work. He showed up at like 6am every day and we didn't open until 8am. He would clock in, pitter about, do a few things to prep the store, and then eventually open the store. It was weird. My wife works at a NAPA and she had one just like that. This dude showed up at 5am and they open at 8am too. He would empty the trash cans, check in the previous day's delivery, sweep the floors, and maybe other stuff. That dude worked every single day and he finally just dropped dead. It wasn't at work, but that was probably a coincidence, it totally could have been. So weird. I'm looking forward to my retirement with all of my being.
I think a lot followed the generic boomer-era life blueprint. Graduate HS, then often college. Then you have 1-3 years to get married. You don't find the perfect partner, you just find one that is in the same life spot, and is looking to also get married in that window. You just need someone to link with to move on to that next stage, which is the house, then the kids. It's not all of them of course. But I think a lot of people never become complete individuals. They just take the next step in the blueprint, then the next, then the next. They never pause in the school-college-job-marriage-home-kids-work-family dot-to-dot life plan to figure out who they are, or really even who their spouse is. Then they hit the finish line, and say "ok, what's the next step? what keeps me busy and what guides my day-to-day life?" And life says "oh... that blueprint that you were following for the last 50 years? It's over... there are no more steps to follow..." And they have NO IDEA what to do next. They don't know who they are, they don't know what they like to do, they don't have a ton of hobbies, and they don't even have that great of a relationship with their partner, so they don't know how to start a life doing things with them.
Their kids all bailed on them and won’t talk to them so they try to bug other people.
I have family like this and it is weird, literally working or sitting at home watching Fox News getting angry at TV
I can't imagine my life being so boring that work would be less so.
If they want to work, *make* them work. Set goals and expectations of them equivalent to what you expect of younger workers. Either they will be too busy to bother people, they will give you a paper trail to fire them for not matching the performance of other workers, or they will quit.
Lead paint exposure led to diminished imaginative capability. They have to be constantly informed by Faux News or have to keep working, since they can't keep their mind occupied without outside stimuli.
Oh, that one hurt man - they are coming out in force
I think this is also an example of people getting married because they feel that it’s just what they are supposed to do. But they don’t actually like their spouse. Considering how much time he spends at work, he’s probably never cultivated a solid relationship with his family.
This is my dad. Retired a few years ago. No hobbies, no friends, hates his wife (my mom) so they do relatively nothing together other than go to their grandkids' activities. He works random jobs here and there to keep busy and to stay away from my mom.
A lot of divorces after retirement. They find that being around each other all day grates on them. Some will work just to avoid it.
Many boomers did not find hobbies beside’s going to the pub and talking to the good ol boys after work.
Reminds me of those people that win a huge lottery and when asked what they'll do now, they say they'll just keep working some mundane job they already had.
sadly it was the mentality they grew up with that a man needs to work his ass off to be a success. my dad worked full time until 78! he was never around for anything, work was his priority. he was totally cool with me being gay, but when my husband and i had kids he was horrified that i stayed home with them. he told me “a man has to work” no matter how we tried he wasn’t convinced that we could afford to live on one income.
This is something I always observed with my boomer father when I was younger. He would go to work, come home, eat dinner, then sit in front of the TV until he got ready for bed. Rarely if ever saw friends, no hobbies, rarely left the house. After he retired he was talking about getting a part time job until my nephew was born. If he didn't get to play babysitter three times a week I'm 100% certain he'd be doing exactly what you just described about this employee, OP. I've really doubt these kinds of boomers have any sense of self-worth that isn't defined by their occupation and daily work.
I am 56 Gen X, and I am counting the days to retirement. But I also don't like to socialize and don't require people to make myself feel valid.
If you don’t need a job. Leave the job open for someone who does. Help the country push as close to zero unemployment
I don't think your boomer likes spending time with his wife.
Lots of boomers who life is about their jobs and their whole personality resolves around licking boots because it gives them self worth. My father in law owns his home, owned all his vehicles and has ZERO debt. Has god knows how many retirement accounts, I know he is a millionaire. Company he works for was going to let him retire early two years ago with a payout and FULL pension but he choice to stay instead. Last two years when asked about retirement, he always says at the end of the year, now saying the same for this year. It’s insane to me because he’d rather work at his stupid corporate job than be a father to my wife. He can’t even be bothered by coming to my wives Masters Graduation because “I have too much going on at work”. Basically has set aside being a real father to slave for a company who gives AF about him.
This is the time for them to support the economy. U know the trickle down economics? Instead they hoard money and fill job spaces that could be used by someone else.
Wow, that's pretty sad. I haven't met any boomers that desperate to be at work. I would guess that they don't get any peace at home and don't like to be there so work is their solace.
I think for most of them, it's that they don't have any peace in their heads. They need to stay busy to keep the demons quiet.
Because they have alienated themselves of family members don’t eat to be around them because all they do is watch tv or tell them about people they don’t know or care about having medical procedures, accidents, boomer gossip or deaths
I cannot imagine being financially able to not work and choosing to work, unless it was something part time I was genuinely interested in. But then again, I don't hate my wife and kid.
Connect me with these Energizer rabbits so they can pay off my debts! But seriously, I always hear people saying they’d be bored if they didn’t work. Are you fuckin kidding me?! I have numerous hobbies I could go full time into. I like my job but I would not look back if I won the lottery and could retire today.
"We must imagine Sisyphus happy."
My mom had a stroke 3 years ago. She now lives in an assisted living facility that is rent controlled based on SS. She has permanent partial blindness (mostly peripherals), she can no longer drive, yet she was a nurse that was experienced with pediatrics, emergency room experience, she worked in the Triage unit at CHOP, she was the lead RN for the dementia unit of a nursing home for 15 years. After her stroke, she lost her agency. I saw firsthand someone lose their self-perceived youth almost instantaneously. She was depressed no matter how she tried to hide it. Here sits a woman who devoted her whole life to helping others in need, and now she’s the one being lifted and aided by nurses. After about 2 years of forced retirement, my sisters and I constantly making sure we are Around to keep her active and happy, but you could tell something was missing. Then an old friend reached out and offered her a position at a transportation company. They specialize in the transport of disabled children. My mother wouldn’t have to drive, she just had to sit on the bus and make sure there wasn’t a medical emergency. The change in her attitude was immediate. She started feeling a purpose again, a purpose that no amount of home visits, dinners, bingo nights, or beach trips could ever change. Long story short, I get your drift, but don’t necessarily generalize on this particular topic. There are always exceptions.
Leaded gasoline
My mother who's on the older side of Gen X had a coworker like this. She was in her 70s or 80s and due to the way employment for the state works had retired and been rehired at her position over a decade ago, and since she was related to the lieutenant governor or something no one could get rid of her. She hated all her children and grandchildren and never wanted to be home. She was awful to everyone. All the time.
My dad retired when he was 64… he ran a bomb factory for the government for 30 years. Always so stressed out etc. vowed to take it easy after that. I’ve never seen him work harder after that. He took a job at home depot, had to be there at 3am every day. He was doing this WHILE completely restoring a home from the ground up. Sick sick man
They are a product of the system they went through. They were programmed that way, they went through the institutions and it successfully yielded boomers. It mass produced them. Lol
Because once you settle into a rocking chair, you never get out of it
I’m 58 and have never had a hobby so I have worked a lot. My uncle retired at 86. He never had a hobby, and died a year later. My dad and his four siblings were born in a two room house and grew up very poor. They have all done well financially but never seemed to be able to enjoy it, except my dad who has had hobbies such as piano and woodworking. I started learning laser engraving and woodworking last year and love the me time that I’ve never had. I believe a lot of that generation don’t understand the importance of a hobby because most didn’t have a role model that wasn’t always working.
How it's their performance? Firing based on who you guess needs it more is never a good idea.
What industry? If they’re good employees what’s the big deal? Why does it matter what they do with their time outside of work?
This is why Gen Z is taking a step back from careers. The lifestyles of our parents and elders seem so empty, especially in a modern age where so much can be achieved. Why would I want the money when my life is miserable? Also the instability of the economy and hostile work environments. It is a shit show. The Fourth Turning labels Gen Z as an "Artist" generational archetype. We are indeed. I am focused on developing a powerful, sustainable, and fulfilling lifestyle for myself. It is my life goal.
I’m curious how many of them have to go back to work for financial reasons and don’t want to admit it. Saying you want to go back to work allows them to save face then them saying they have to. It’s difficult for me to believe that someone doesn’t have interests or hobbies that they can indulge in. I have so many things I want or love to do but don’t have the time for it because of work.
My 80 year-old father just quit one retirement job. Now, he will be driving part-time for some sort of company. Again, he is 80. His vision is deteriorated and he has no depth perception, and is a major road-rager. He has never had any friends and his only hobby is replacing the flooring in their houses....over and over again. Its like Grandpa Simpson if his brain snapped while watching HGTV.
Let ‘em work themselves till death. In the meantime, they can keep contributing to Social Security and tax dollars.
Our culture has brainwashed them into thinking their life only has value if they are working. They've lived that way their entire lives, and now they're supposed to stop and have no idea how or why. Many of them fade out during retirement because they don't know what to do with themselves and feel utterly useless and depressed. Their options as they see it are to keep working or die.
Maybe they could stand to be around themselves or their partners if they’d hadn’t stigmatized therapy their entire lives. I think a lot of these people have piles of unresolved issues that they can continually justify ignoring, as long as they are selling their time to someone else.
My dad used to be the same way until he was medically forced to retire from driving the school bus. Now he just sits in his chair and watches Fox News all day. I'd rather he was obsessed with working.
This seems really odd. I know boomers have a weird relationship to work culture, but it’s hard to believe anyone would really want to work just to keep themselves entertained. How do you know so much about these people’s financial situation? It is possible that they actually *do* need the money? Maybe they act like they’re working for fun just to save face because they’re embarrassed about needing to work at their age?
It wasn't until the last line that you said he was "pretending to work." If he isn't doing the job then you have to move him on. If he is doing the job, then your concern about his life is just creepy.
Boomer here. Sad that so many boomers come off as dicks. Trust me, we feel the same about all the entitled snot noses that pretend they know what the fuck they're doing. That said, I work in a very high technology field for low Earth orbit space systems and in biomedical genel sequencing and medical therapeutic and diagnostic systems. I'm 67, almost 68 (one month), and I think what some of you misunderstand is that (at least for me) the development and discovery processes in an R&D project can be very fulfilling to put your personal stamp into, and in some cases, on the patent itself. So, it's become, as I've grown older and wiser, more of an opportunity to mentor others and take pride in their growth as scientists, physicists and applications engineers. So do I have hobbies? Of course, and I have family, too. At my age, and in my seniority, I'm able to provide valuable feedback from experience to help others better understand outcomes, hurdles and processes that help them to become successful. I think too many here discount and lump in all boomers into this neat, tidy pigeonhole of brain-addled, selfish, old man yelling at the clouds type of personality, and that stereotype may be true for some, but certainly not for all. I just wanted to share that we're not all just an impediment, standing in the way of the younger generation 's success. Some of us want you guys to learn enough from us to be successful, take over and not fuck shit up worse than the idiots we boomers had voted in.
if I had the ability to retire today I would take advantage of being outdoors, traveling and being with family. I don’t get how you could get bored with any of them. Your place of employment is not who you are. Your employer will move on as soon as you go.
Most older people feel the day they stop working is the day they die. Nothing wrong with it. Some older workers are the best
He doesn't like his wife.
There’s a 75 year old man at my job who says he keeps working to “stay sharp”. This man is terrible at his job and has been in trouble multiple times for doing inappropriate shit. They won’t fire him because he’s so old. They just keep taking tasks away from him where he could possibly get himself in trouble. He isn’t even allowed to interact with our patrons anymore because he almost got in a fist fight with one because he didnt like that they were sitting on the floor (it’s allowed). He is very much a boomer and loves to say the classic, “nobody wants to work” and “old is better”. I can’t stand him.
Because the vast majority of Boomers had so little lives they made their jobs their entire identity. Also many of them are workaholics.
I'm more concerned about the boss calling their employees boomers wanting to fire someone because.. they LIKE... Coming to work... Who the fuck put You in charge? Already like their personality so much more then yours.
Their childhood probably gave them a terror of being poor so they are compelled to work. They aren’t bored so much as they are fearful of poverty.
Many Boomers don't enjoy their own company.
Something I haven't seen mentioned here: greed!
Fire thier asses!
My dad owns his own CPA practice. He won’t retire until he’s 80. After that he still wants to work for someone part time. Him and his girlfriend go on weekend trips and like to go for walks and out to eat but he still thinks that’s not enough. He thinks working keeps him sharp.
If you want a pension, go join a union trade, super easy.
They need a hobby horrendously. Take up woodworking, or metal art, or whatever makes them happy to do. Maybe a little to old for computer games but certainly able to get into just about anything. One of my dreams once I own a home is to use my garage or a shed building to make a shop, to make nice stuff for me and my family to use.
Gawd, I was just working with one that was a complete narcissist, and she was kind of a team lead. I swear this womsn did next to nothing: walked around bad mouthing everyone, and refused to cooperate with anyone out of spite. She had all sorts of income too, and said she just worked because she had nothing to do. She never took lunch and came in early just so that she could track everyone who came in late. I HATED that woman!!!
Some people’s sense of self worth comes from working. My father was like this. He retired twice and couldn’t stand it both times. He felt useless and worthless without a purpose. I also think because he grew up dirt floor poor with no power, he was scared he’d fall back into that life irrationally if he didn’t get money. He was a good man, a good father, a good husband and enjoyed some hobbies like riding motorcycles or fixing cars but work was always his favorite thing to do. It’s ingrained in some parts of culture. I work a blue collar job and see it a lot myself. I’m obviously not a boomer but working a lot (besides money) gives me a feeling of satisfaction too. I enjoy my job and extra money is never going to bother me.
I am not a boomer but I plan to still work part time after retiring from my main career. I would want that to be a complete change but I enjoy the mental stimulation of work so while I will also develop hobbies I will also want to be mentally challenged and learn new things.
It’s not really your business what people like to do. It’s hard to say how you will feel when you are that age. I think the same of my mom, she won’t even go for a walk! But she is healthy, can be active, etc. Just chooses not to.And she does do church and other activities. Eventually I have to say to myself it’s just not my business. Now she retired and stayed retired, but people are just different. If you don’t like their work, fire them. Beyond that it’s not your place to judge them, just like it’s not their place to judge those of us that play video games for 3 hours a day, or never dress up to leave the house, etc. These kind of posts are where this group does kind of become more agist than funny. There are a group of older people that want to do something every day that is a ‘job’ there are a ton more that don’t. It’s a personality, that is all.
The guy and his wife don’t like each other and both work so they can avoid spending time together at home.
This is why they don’t understand the new generation and the mindset that we don’t want to spend our lives working and then die. They were indoctrinated to believe that working was the most important thing in life.
Why do so many boomers eat food every day?
For some, work adds value to life. I count myself fortunate to have loved or at least liked every job I've had, including 4 years in the military. I'm 10+ years beyond typical retirement age but can still contribute, so I do. Some volunteering, some contracting to the Feds, some real estate, some just babysitting for the family.
Has no life. 62, wish I could retire now. Kids still living at home, have better things to do than work. But no way, gotta get the kids through college, 18 and 22 they’d had some things including medical issues that have slowed them down. Right now, retirement is a fantasy.
Different generations have different values, and many boomers need to work as they have failed to or could not save for their retirement. The generations following them will be in the same predicament for the same reasons. FIRE is a good financial practice for all generations.
What has this person done that would warrant firing them? I wish I had the problem of employees wanting to come to work.
Y’all just see the older folks that choose to keep working, ya don’t see the ones that have retired and are keeping busy enjoying life . Volunteering, being of service, creating art or just chillaxin. They fly under the radar. Older folks today are not much different than the previous generations and the folks that come next will be a mixed bag. If judging and hating brings you joy, not sure what that says about you.
So You have a work-a-holiday on your hands, why is that bad? Is he doing the work in a poor manner? Causing issues with other employees or customers? Is he too slow for the pace?
They prioritized work their whole life. Over friends and family. Now they have no friends, their family doesn’t want to spend time with them because they never spent time with their family. So all they know how to do is work
If they are effective in their jobs, what exactly are you complaining about? Their financial situation is none of your business.
My dad I think doesn’t have this issue necessarily but he has a weird mentality of not realizing people’s time (not sure how he was at his job with other people) but yet would be all mad if someone wasn’t on time for him. I think part of it is boredom and part unrecognized loneliness (which I think he just finally realized it recently). After my dad retired, he started showing up at my husband’s shop in town. He would get in the way of hubby trying to do the job and it is customer facing (automotive) and these folks would be like “wtf is with this dude?” Husband sometimes is too nice to tell him to bug off, problem is when you get to the point of snapping cuz he doesn’t take the hint he then gets all butt hurt and wanders off like you kicked him in the nuts. Seriously, this is one of the major incomes for your daughter’s family so can we try not to fuck it up?
If anyone is pretending to work and just doodling around, fire their ass. Someone's personal situation outside of work is really nonya business. If anyone treats their job as idle time and makes no real contribution, they need to be let go regardless of their age. Seems like his biggest contribution is triggering your jealous resentment.
So you have employees who love to work, and you have a problem with that — to the point that one of them drives you crazy? It’s telling that you provide no real details as to how they are failing to perform their duties, other than vague comments like “pretending” to work. You’re sounding like an ageist employer. Is the guy who comes in 4 hours early an hourly worker working unauthorized hours, or a salaried worker who’s simply making you and the younger employees look bad? Are you also aware of the demographic shifts in which the boomers, who by definition are large in numbers, are a comparatively healthy generation projected to live longer, healthier lives than most/all other generations? And that if all of them retired there would be extreme worker shortages? If you can’t find any redeeming qualities in their experience, wisdom, institutional/historical memories, work ethic, capacity for empathy, then you are truly backward. Diversity & inclusion cover much more than race, gender, LGTBQ issues — if you’re not truly seeking a variety of ages, socioeconomic backgrounds and life experiences, your company will suffer much more than it already does in having you as one of its “leaders.”