And, within months, they are back working. Not because they "need" the money, but because they were bored.
Never mind the thousands of Gen Xers and Millennials who can't get that extra job to actually pay their bills now. Why would an entire generation refuse to be paid to not work? Why would they spend so much time waiting for retirement, only to throw it out the window after barely a long vacation worth of days at home?
Oh, fear not. I have a theory.
The Work Ethic
I've heard about work ethic from the time I was old enough to understand work. I've cared for children, broke donkeys to lead, ridden horses that were "probably" broke to ride, set traps on top of electrical poles, broken ice for animals' water, cleaned homes, and held down jobs while attending school full time.
Apparently, I don't have a very good work ethic.
Why? Because I still fall short on rent. Because I'm tired. Because three shattered bones in my ankle took it's toll on my ability to walk and stand for 8+ hours a day without serious pain. Because two kids robbed me of my flexibility in work schedules. Oh, and because, if I have to deal with all that, I want more than minimum wage.
I get it. My parents and grandparents (Boomers and older) knew that if you sold yourself off to the highest bidder as a young adult, you would be set for life. If you showed loyalty, you would be rewarded by the corporations. If you put in the time, you would get your dime.
Unfortunately, they forgot the songs of their own times.
This song has become the reality for an entire country. This is what the work ethic mentality has given us - angry, struggling people who bust their butts for a corporation that will never let them be free of debt and obligation.
But what does that have to do with people who actually did get retirement pensions and won't use them?
When Work Ethic replaces Personal Growth
I think that the Work Ethic concept was pushed so hard onto the Boomer generation, as well as older Gen Xers (though younger Xers, or Xennials, seem to have snapped out of it), that the general trend of those groups has been the fear of dystopian novels. We have people who are effectively nothing more than worker bees for the great machine of the Economy.
I know, I know. Them's fighting words. But think about it this way - if you never develop a rich personal life outside of working for a paycheck, and if that work doesn't happen to be creative or crafty but is routine, and this continues for 40+ years, what do you do with yourself once that work is gone?
If your self-worth and self-identity are associated with being a good employee for decades, can TV and movies, books and even travel fill that within you? What if you don't even know what the problem is? What if you just feel the need to work again? What if you feel unmoored without the Timeclock God telling you when to eat lunch?
If you never exist as an adult outside of the framework of employment, how do you tackle that at 60+ years old?
The Blessing and Curse of Younger Workers
In many ways, the problems caused by this work-centric, economy-as-god lifestyle of older generations has SAVED younger generations. Without the illusion that corporations care about us, we've never sold ourselves into the loyalty-based, indentured servitude that is the hallmark of the Work Ethic Problem.
Without the confidence that our jobs would take care of us for life, we've been forced to find meaning and self-confidence in ourselves, even when unemployed and underemployed. Without living wages, we've had no other choice than to engage with the world of gig-jobs at a creative level that would (and still does) break many people's wills - cuz it's hard to live with that kind of stress, always jumping from rock to rock to avoid the lava of personal economic destruction.#NotAllBoomers
Look, I'm not saying all Boomers fell into this trap. In fact, I know many who didn't. Most of them are denigrated by their peers for being "hippies" or the like. But they know how to retire, even if many of them can't because they didn't buy into the corporate machine.It is a weird and vicious trap where success is given at the expense of being able to claim the reward for that success. It is the original Hunger Games, where those who win still lose themselves.
The Solution
Ha!If anyone has any ideas on this, I'm open. As far as I can see, the system is so built in with this lose-lose scenario (unless you are rich, of course - sometimes), that only a radical re-imagining of the economic system will actually fix the problem.
Honestly, I think the saddest part of this is that many people who can't get the same work-til-you-retire pipe dream would actually love to have that. But those who have, cannot appreciate. Those who could appreciate it, will never have the chance.
We have been put into the untenable and non-consensual position of exchanging servitude in a work-ethic society for forced personal growth, while watching those in servitude stumble over their own lack of personal growth. We need to work better on balancing bills paying with enjoyable hobbies, or there is no happy ending for any of us.
