Once upon a time, people retired from the workplace
somewhere between the ages of 55 and 65 and lived on the pension for the rest
of their lives.
These days, we are likely to be still building our
careers up to, and even beyond, the age of 65, but the path is rarely smooth.
Many people over the age of 45 will adjust their working lives several times as
they develop new interests, change their lifestyles and even retrain after
being made redundant. Many of us will still have mortgages, children to raise,
personal goals to achieve and giving up work is simply not an option.
At some stage, though, we will all start to think
about working less hours, or working in a role that is less pressured. Most of
us find this problematic: our employer wants us to keep doing the great job
(for the same long hours) that we have always done; our work environment does not
'allow' for part-timers; our families have become used to a particular
lifestyle that our salary provides.
Retirees and downshifters can successfully
renegotiate their working lives, but it does involve having a plan. Often the most
difficult thing to achieve is getting other people to see you as a part-time
person or perhaps in a lower role than you have currently, even if you are
happy to work this way. Once you have decided this is something you really want
to do, you need to set the wheels in motion, perhaps by asking for a shorter
work-week, or by applying for a new job that has the working conditions you
prefer. (Don’t do this till you are really ready though, it might be hard to go
back!)
