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...interviewed workers to learn why they decided to pursue a bridge job, how they made the transition, and what challenges they faced and benefits they received. The core theme from the study is that bridge employment redefines retirement. The authors present the findings of the study along with recommendations for career counselors and implications for future research.
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The concept of retirement is changing; therefore, career counseling for older adults needs to be explored. Longer life spans, better health, and more active lives will be significant contributors to what it means to retire. In fact, retirement may be redefined by the options available to the older adult (Collins, 2003). Career counselors can be an integral part of this redefinition of retirement by helping older clients identify retirement options, determine the best retirement direction, achieve goals, and develop strategies to overcome possible barriers.
A demographic shift to an aging society is occurring in the United States as baby boomers approach the normal retirement ages during this decade (Collins, 2003). As the population ages, the workforce also ages. The Bureau of labor Statistics (BLS; 2005a) cited a 34% increase of men and women in the workforce aged 55 years and older between 1992 and 2002 and estimated that these older workers will increase by 49.3% by 2012. The most significant demographic shift within the 55-years-and-older group is the increase of workforce participation rate of individuals in the 65- to 74-year-old group, a group society assumes is fully retired (Toossi, 2004). This age group had a workforce participation rate of 16.2% in 1982; the rate increased to 20.4% in 2000 and is projected to rise to 23.6% in 2012.
Statistics indicate that once older adults reach age 65 they will most likely retire (Ekerdt, 1998). Some individuals do take the traditional retirement route by moving from full-time work to full-time leisure, but a substantial number of older Americans will remain in the labor force after they leave their career jobs (Hansson, DeKoekkoek, Neece, & Patterson, 1997). Many of these working "retired" adults are in bridge-type jobs, which act as transitions between long-term career positions and total retirement (Feldman, 1994; Mutchler, Burr, Pienta, & Massagli, 1997). Furthermore, as a part of downsizing, employers are offering incentives to induce costly older workers into early retirement ("Business: The Jobs Challenge," 2001). By the late 1990s, early retirements accounted for more than 80% of total retirements (Seymour, 1999). A significant number of these early retirees participate in some form of bridge employment (Feldman, 1994). These bridge jobs may be part-time work, self-employment, or temporary work and often involve a combination of fewer hours, less stress or responsibility, greater flexibility, and fewer physical demands (Feldman, 1994).
Bridge jobs offer possible remedies to older adults who are concerned about their financial security and to employers who face a labor shortage. Americans are living longer and healthier lives. In 1900, the life expectancy (i.e., from birth to death) was 47.3 years (Administration on Aging, 2002); in 2002, the average life expectancy was 77.4 years. This increased life expectancy, the high level of dependence on Social Security, and the increased number of workers not covered by pensions could contribute to the financial insecurity of older workers (Committee for Economic Development, 1999). To maintain desired incomes in retirement, older Americans will have to save more during their working years and/or work later in life, including taking bridge employment.
Although adults me working longer, labor economists and human resource planners anticipate a severe labor shortage because statistics strongly indicate that with the expected job growth of 14% for the next 10 years and the vast number of baby boomer workers expected to leave the workforce, this labor shortage will not be going away (BLS, 2002a; Judy & D'Amico, 1999). The number of potential replacements from the Generation X group (i.e., those born between 1976 and 1985) is not large enough to keep up with the growing number of jobs. Encouraging older Americans to work longer and facilitating longer work lives through bridge-type employment could help solve this labor problem.
The "graying of America" has been a frequent banner in the media, and there have been many stories of older adults who retire and embark on second careers. In print or on television, these recareering stories seem effortless and uncomplicated. However, in real life, older workers face definite barriers when they try to make a career change (American Association of Retired Persons [AARP], 2000; Hardy, 1991). Workers in their 50s who lost their jobs are estimated to have a 75% chance of returning to work within 2 years after a job loss, whereas for workers in their 60s, the probability is less than a third (Chan & Stevens, 1999). In the Health and Retirement Study (Abraham & Houseman, 2004), of the workers who said that they had planned to change their type of work after retirement, only 22% followed through on those plans. Career counselors could play a critical role in helping older adults succeed in pursuing their retirement options, but first they must understand the unique needs of their older clients.
No one career theory has been tested enough to be considered more relevant for the older worker (Sterns, 1998); however, most career theories address the principle of individual differences (Isaacson & Brown, 2000), which is critical when examining late careers (Sterns, 1998). There are several career development theories that have application when counseling older...
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