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Anecdote ahead: Just last night I was talking to two friends in this age group about their career situations, which match that of others I've spoken with in th

Anecdote ahead: Just last night I was talking to two friends in this age group about their career situations, which match that of others I've spoken with in the same boat. They are exhausted from their primary career, probably have enough money that they could retire, but what they really want is some kind of work that will get them out of the house a few days each week and put a few coins in their pocket, but doesn't need to be a "career" any longer. Pure speculation on my part, but I'm led to wonder if there just aren't sufficient employer accommodations being made to this age category. When I think about people I know - some have stuck it out and been miserable, others have just left for early retirement. So whereas millennials are asking for and getting remote work, the late boomers / early X's might be wanting to simply work less but are faced with no real choice.

bastardchild 7y ago
Especially if your primary goal is the social factor and the "having a schedule for a few hours a day"-thing (which I completely understand) and getting some money out of it is secondary, I guess a lot of people in that demographic might just opt for volunteering. True, it completely fails to pay any bills, but depending on what you do, you might get some everyday benefits out of it and it's a lot less annoying and exhausting than many jobs you could do elsewhere. Plus, nobody bats an eye if you decide to go from one volunteering gig to another after a few months, after all you're doing it for free. Switching jobs is more of a hassle. As far as I can see, this kind of working hours isn't accounted for in these charts and I see that group as prime candidates for deciding that none-paying but nice, meaningful work is better than pushing numbers for another few years when you could make do without it.

bastardchild 7y ago

Especially if your primary goal is the social factor and the "having a schedule for a few hours a day"-thing (which I completely understand) and getting some money out of it is secondary, I guess a lot of people in that demographic might just opt for volunteering. True, it completely fails to pay any bills, but depending on what you do, you might get some everyday benefits out of it and it's a lot less annoying and exhausting than many jobs you could do elsewhere. Plus, nobody bats an eye if you decide to go from one volunteering gig to another after a few months, after all you're doing it for free. Switching jobs is more of a hassle. As far as I can see, this kind of working hours isn't accounted for in these charts and I see that group as prime candidates for deciding that none-paying but nice, meaningful work is better than pushing numbers for another few years when you could make do without it.