Thursday, February 4, 2010
How Old is Too Old to Work?
How old is too old to have to work? I met Deloris On December 1st 2009. I am with a recycling company and we were the successful bid for a new scrap contract. Deloris was the head security guard, and was in charge of the front gate. She controlled the traffic in and out of this large company. My company went in and out several times with trucks and trailers during the course of the day.
Deloris was a small frail lady. Her back was bent from years of sitting behind a desk. I remember her going out in the cold and the rain to check the contents of trailers leaving the facility. Being the head security guard, it was also her duty to train new persons on job duties. She also made a check of the grounds with her personal vehicle to check on the other guards at various posts. She always had a smile, and was very sharp to be 82 years old. I often wondered why she was still working. We had talked about Christmas and how she was excited about her kids coming to visit. She did not mention a husband. Deloris had also mentioned having a stint surgery. Is this why she was still working to pay for this procedure? I never asked but I felt compassion for this senior citizen who never missed a day of work.
On Monday of this week, I noticed her car was not at her parking spot. Before I could get to the guard house, another lady stopped me and asked, “Did you hear about Deloris?” She was killed yesterday while making her rounds in her car. She pulled out in front of a maintenance vehicle and was hit in the passenger side door; however, the impact broke her neck. I could well imagine how this frail little lady’s neck could have snapped by such an impact. She died while performing her job. How old is too old to work?
I suspect that society in general had let this 82 year old fall through the cracks. Did social security not pay enough for her to live on? Did she have medical bills she could not pay? Why did her family allow her to work? We have a growing senior citizen population who cannot live out their golden years in comfort and dignity. I don’t relish the thought of working to 82. Do you?
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Tom: Many older people work because of loneliness. They do not want to be alone and find it more secure to work and be around other people. They also work for the money and the medical benefits. I have found many do not get enough social security to pay for their needs. If they do not make a decent wage when they are younger when social security comes around the amount is meager. Yet you have some that are so independent that they must keep busy or they would surely die from boredom. I am so sorry to hear Deloris was killed while working. She sounds like a wonderful woman of wisdom and spirit. As for working until 82 years, that is not my plan. My plan is to retire March 1, 2010. Any work I do after that will be part-time and on projects that I create.
ReplyDeleteEJ and Tom,
ReplyDeleteI also am sorry Doris was killed and didn't really get to enjoy a retirement as we think of it. But EJ is right, some work because they can't stand the loneliness and/or because of too little revenue coming in. I personally want to retire as soon as I graduate from school, then I will be "enjoying" the work I do part time or full. I want to work with teens. I will have 30 years at work on March 1, 2010 but am staying until I get my degree. It is a shame that people cannot retire at an early enough age to enjoy some relaxation and if more family would get involved with the elderly then maybe more of them would retire. But too many times the younger generation (both children and grandchildren) forget about the oldler person and therefore they become lonely and depressed... We need to remember that we too will get old someday and put ourselves in their place and try and make extra time for them, why because we care and love them and want to show our appreciation for them being there for us. So it's our turn to be there for them! Maybe this instance will be a reminder to us all!
Tom
ReplyDeleteNo I could not see myself working up to 82 years old, not even 75 years old for that matter by that time I want to already be retired for several years. That was horrible to hear it makes you think about how hard life is on people. I question these situations; Why do we have to struggle so hard in life by work work working until there is nothing left to give. Will there ever be a better solution this problem? That poor woman gave it her all even her last breath. Like what the others stated earlier, it is possible that she wanted to work to avoid being lonely. I worked at a casino as a cocktail server a couple of years back and there was a senior citizen working security on graveyard shift along with me. He was about in his 80's as well and one of the most generuos people you could ever meet. I could never figure out why he would work at his age then one day I built up the nerve to ask him. His reply was when his wife passed he could not see himself sitting home all time with nobody to talk to. a couple of months later he passed. I know now I'm young and I want to be retired by that age but you never know what will happen in future. Maybe it will be something I desire.
I too work with individuals that are well beyond the retirement age. They all work simply because they too have to make ends meet. The social security and retirement checks are often not enough to sustain especially in the current economic situation. Some work because they do not want to be home and feel that if they are home doing nothing that the quality of life will diminish. They often want to feel useful and many are. Most elderly employees are some of the most responsible and dependable to work with. Eboney W.
ReplyDeleteI feel that there are many reasons why people choose to stay in the workforce at an old age. My grandmother worked until she was about 80 years old. She chose to work partly because she needed to and partly because she wanted to. She wanted to stay active, as do most elderly people, but her social security benefit was not enough to handle her monthly expenses. I think decision of when it becomes time stop working will depend on the individual. I work for a bank and we have a receptionist that is very elderly, but she is smart and still drives herself to work. She talks about her wigs all the time and will hold you up talking about nothing but she is still working.Working stops when the individual is no longer able to perform the duties of the job probably.
ReplyDeleteI work with a woman who is almost in her 70's. We work in a childcare environment. She can not do certain jobs that are needed to be performed but she can performs what she can to her best.She does only work part-time though so that she does not lose the money she does recieve. I know she gets social security but as she always states, there is no way she could make it on that check. I am sure this is a big reason why seniors are working. I do not want to be working at this age, I think at a certain age we should enjoy what is left of our life. Yet, can I afford this? Will I have enough money to be able to do this? I hope, but right now seeing so many seniors in the work field I am not so sure.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with everyone about being lonely and just needing to be in a social environment. At some point though when it is a safety issue or when someone can not perform their job, I think it is safer to stay home.
Nrobinson,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when we get to a point where we are a safety "hazard" to ourselves and others or cannot preform our duties, I think its time to retire. I also think the Administration needs to look at those situations and insist on our retiring with honor and if we don't have the common sense to retire then they need to take action for everyone's safety and for efficiency. I hope I have the good sense to retire if I stop performing at the level I perform my job now. I will have 30 years in March 1, but each month and each year I must examine myself and make sure I am still doing the job I was hired to do. If I find I am lacking then it is time to go. I was in a different department 16 years ago and I hated what I did, I was getting bored and knew it was time to leave and go somewhere else before I stopped performing my best. I have been in two different departments since. It was one of the best moves I made both times. I have plans of retiring as soon as I finish school, hopefully this December or no later than May. Two semesters in a row the school has canceled at least one required class. Let's hope they don't cancel any more and will offer these two next semester so I can retire and let another younger person come in and do my job. That is what retirement was set up for and social security so the older ones could enjoy life in their later years and make room for the younger generation the opportunity to work.