The Significance of Work

Mitch Anthony

We are, I believe, coming to grips with the significance that work brings into our lives and the lives of our clients. Rather than viewing retirement as a cold turkey exit from the working world or a jump from the cliff of employment we are beginning to view it as a transition or a segue. The transition ramp may be a gradual decline of hours spent on the job. It may be ramping up into free agency or another career. Why do so many retirees come back to work soon after they retire? Obviously they miss the significant aspects that work brings into their life.

Why do almost 80 percent of us say we want to continue working in some way, shape or form? Because we realize that for all that we give to our work, work gives something back to us. When we strip away the annoying personalities and the frustrating tasks that our current job offers, we realize that work can provide great intangible rewards to our mind and spirit; camaraderie; shared victories and disappointment; identity; the adrenaline rush of the chase; building something out of nothing; moving from a concept to a reality; the realization that our efforts have influenced or helped people and the world we live in; relationships; and a sense of accomplishment These benefits should not be underrated when assessing the place of work in our lives and our clients’ lives.

By an overwhelming majority, retirees have decided that the best reason to keep involved is because of the vitality, energy, and perspicacity that work arouses. They have recognized the enjoyment that work brings even if part of their motive is the need for money. The realization comes to the majority of retirees sooner or later that the choice to retire entirely from productive engagements is not a good one. As you celebrate Labor Day, remind your own clients to pursue their own new retirementality by retiring to something, instead of from something.

Adapted from The New Retirementality: Planning Your Life and Living Your Dreams…At Any Age You Want, Second Edition by Mitch Anthony. (©2006 by Mitch Anthony. Published by Kaplan Publishing.)

Mitch Anthony is the founder and president of Advisor Insights Inc. and The Financial Life Planning Institute, training companies serving advisors and the financial services industry. He is a contributing editor for Research magazine and his column “Financial Life Planning” appears in Financial Advisor magazine. Anthony has been named one of the financial service industry’s top “2006 Movers & Shakers” by Financial Planning magazine. His radio feature, The Daily Dose , is heard every day on 200 radio stations nationwide. Anthony is the author of several books for advisors, including StorySelling for Financial Advisors , The New Retirementality, Your Clients for Life , Selling with Emotional Intelligence , Making the Client Connection , The Financial Professional’s StoryBook, and Your Client’s Story. Contact him at mitch@mitchanthony.com

© 2007 Mitch Anthony