The longer life expectancy combined with decreasing birth rates in many developed countries has led to a growing awareness of the need for older adults to extend their working lives. As more people reach their 80s and 90s, working into their late 60s and 70s will become more common for social, mental engagement, and economic reasons. However,…

Assesses the empirical relationship of the psychosocial variables of empathy, attitudes, and ideological orientation toward treatment (custodial versus therapeutic). Data analysis indicates that a low level of empathy, negative attitudes toward the elderly, and a custodial orientation toward treatment were significantly positively correlated.…

Suggests that work attitudes and the meaning of work are so ingrained in American culture that they carry over to nonwork activities. Proposes that personality influences the relationship between work-leisure meanings. Urges further research on sociological variables. (JAC)

Preretirees displayed the least work satisfaction, preferred a lower retirement age, and manifested simultaneous positive attitudes toward retirees and their gatherings. Early retirees had negative attitudes toward work and retirement. Working retirees were the most work-oriented while fully retired persons were retirement-oriented and negative…

Both healthy and ill females who had not wanted to retire did not adjust over time to the retirement state. A significant portion of ill female interviewees were able to surmount the effects of bodily disease and adjust to the requirements of role transaction in an adaptive manner. (Author)

Examines retirement as a complex social process in Canada and the United States, focusing on social forces and trends leading society away from mandatory retirement and toward more flexible retirement. Functions that counselors can perform in preparing people for realities of retirement are suggested. Policy implications for Canada are indicated.…

A national survey examined the factors that are primarily responsible in determining an individual's overall quality of life. Using the critical incident technique, researchers surveyed a representative sample of 50- and 70-year-old adults in the United States in order to determine which of 15 factors they felt had negative and positive effects on…

Examined career preparation, personal expectations and interests, and workplace experiences of Jewish professionals, mostly rabbis, in the area of services to the elderly. Of all age groups, recent graduates (N=216) of a college of religious instruction felt least well prepared to work with the elderly, and advocated training in issues related to…

Research synthesized from three studies of the Finnish labor market indicates that a rapidly changing working life in Finland (and the rest of Europe) sets many different challenges for the workforce. In Finland, the population is even more aged than in the other European Union (EU) member states, and the transition of older workers to retirement…