Aging is a chore. See Is It Just Age (September 2026); Ever Get Old (January 2025). And beyond the discrete challenges, there is an absence of generational empathy. See Why have we never heard of this? (February 2024); Generational Woes (October 2024); The Time is Now (April 2022).
Succinctly, we seasoned citizens have largely been there, done that, and yet the "next" generations today are no more willing to believe us than we were to believe our own elders. Age and experience do not appear, persuade, or pervade as they might.
Bezinga recently reported that "younger workers are baffled by older coworkers." That generality is likely not a surprise. I have gotten used to the odd looks and skepticism of those who do not share my chronological challenges, 1980s music, and old-age wardrobe.
But this article is about retirement. The "younger workers" are focused on the "finish line" that is retirement. They are dreaming of their chance to kick back and forever escape "alarms, meetings, and managers." They yearn for retirement and cannot conceive anyone avoiding it.
Other posts over the years have noted that the American workforce is seemingly working longer. See What about Tomorrow? (November 2022); Mississippi and Significant Issues in Work Comp (April 2018); Boston Prediction Panel 2018ston Prediction Panel 2018 (March 2018).
But the Bezinga point is not that the workforce is aging, but why. It notes that coworkers are encountering "financially stable" sexagenarians who are not drawn to the retiree role. The conclusion is that work is much more enjoyable once you reach a point that "You have the choice to just leave whenever you want."
One cited explanation of remaining was simply that there is a
"HUGE difference between needing to work to be able to survive and wanting to work in order to give your life structure and purpose,"
And that may be the critical point of working. Perhaps the stress and challenge is not really in the work itself but in the economic reality that this work, now, is an imperative. As I reflect on that, I am reasonably confident that the jobs I disliked the most were those I had during difficult economic times in which mobility was constrained and my options were limited.
I have had some tough jobs (somewhere north of 25 of them) and have both loved and hated various roles.
Broadly, there seems to be a consensus in this article that there is value in work itself. It provides structure, routine, objectives, and goals. It provides purpose, engagement, and challenges. These are values that are way beyond the day-to-day of simply needing a paycheck. They are goals of self-fulfillment and purpose.
That would be my best advice for the younger generations. Do not spend decades in roles that do not stimulate and reward. Not financially rewarding, but holistically. Find roles that are intrinsically rewarding, fulfilling, and motivating for you personally. Don't settle for the paycheck. Don't worship the income.
Find what is rewarding and find a way to make that your path. This may involve economic diminishment; you may not make the same money being happy as you could make in misery. Nonetheless, misery, much like New York, is a terrible place to live.
Get out while you can. If you must, "close the shop, sell the house, and get a ticket for the West Coast." You can always "give them a standup routine in LA." My Life, (Billy Joel, 52nd Street, Columbia, 1978).
Think about it. Happy beats miserable every time.
