Browsing by Author "Mäkinen, Elina"

Due to the baby boomer generation and loss of workforce, retirement is currently a hot topic in the Finnish media. Retirement phase is commonly viewed as a positive transition that affects everybody in the same way. However, research shows that many factors have effect on how retirement is perceived. For example, when work is very challenging and rewarding and when an individual is very committed to it, retirement phase becomes more demanding (Atchley 1976, 37; George 1980, 73). It has also been noted that how retirement phase is experienced, varies according to different occupational groups. This narrative study describes how male surgeons orientate towards their retirement phase. I demonstrate how work can affect the way retirement phase is perceived. I also consider other factors that might affect the retirement phase. In this narrative study such factors are individual factors, political and social context, and fantasies one might have of life without work. The methodology utilizes narrative interviews, which were structured around work life course. During the interviews, I asked especially for stories, concrete memories, and important moments from the surgeons' work life courses. Data was then analyzed using William Labov's (1972; 2006) story schema and concentrating on two parts of story: complicating action and evaluation. Complicating action reveals the point of the story: why is this particular story told? Evaluation reveals teller's attitude towards what has been told. In evaluations surgeons expressed how they felt about retirement phase and how they orientated towards it. From the data three ways for surgeons to plan their retirement were found. Firstly, public sector offered a 'clean cut' separation from work. After a certain chronological age surgeons planned to leave their work place and never come back. A 'clean cut' retirement was considered risky in comparison with slowly, step by step, letting go of work. Colleagues from public sector had suffered from alcoholism and depression as they had retired. Secondly, private sector offered a flexible way to retire as the surgeons had personal authority over their work and free time. Though the most interesting surgery was done in public hospitals, private sector was valued for its flexibility. Thirdly, if surgeons experienced health problems, they lost their power to decide over their work and were forced to retire early. The loss of ability to work was a personal tragedy. Among surgeons, successful retirement required optimal conditions: good health, personal authority, right decisions during work life course, and identification of risks. Successful retirement meant that retirement should be seen as a transitional process. From these findings, several recommendations for pre-retirement training were suggested to make sure everyone would have a chance for a successful transition to retirement.