Is retirement overrated? Do you think there is a positive or negative correlation between a ...

Whether retirement is overrated or not, in my opinion, it depends on the financial plans such as savings and investments that an individual employee has, which will cushion them upon retirement. In the case where retirement age is delayed (Behncke 2009), it might bear severe consequences for the elderly employees’ health as it comes with some life changes such as “income streams, social networks, and social status.”

This essay examines a paper that sought to make a comparison in health changes between age peers who retired and those who continued to work, it was established that over a period of time, there was no significant decline in retirees’ mental and physical well-being, save for those who took retirement due to health complications. Health complications such as depression, diabetes, cancer, bronchitis, stroke, and other age related diseases were diagnosed over time. The regression analysis indicated that there was no noteworthy difference in health among peers who took retirement and those who continued working. (Hugo et al. 2009).

On the contrary, the findings of the study showed that poor health was witnessed among elderly workers and this was attributed to poor working condition. They (elderly employees) were relieved from these burdens upon retirement after reaching the statutory retirement age where they enjoyed excellent health. The findings indicated that retirement did not, in any way affect the health of retirees’, instead, those who were still working under poor conditions, those who experienced job dissatisfaction, are the ones who had poor health experience mostly mental health.

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From the summary that I have drawn from (Hugo et al. 2009), I have noted facts about the correlation between retirement and a person’s well-being. Even though some studies show a positive correlation between physical health, mental health, and retirement, this one shows that it is instead the work in old age that causes ill-health among elderly workers. Some of the factors that the study has indicated causes poor health condition among aged workers include; the unfavorable working environment, job dissatisfaction, lower occupational grade, and high job demands-these are said to cause depression. However, those with high occupational grade, job satisfaction, and low job demands at work did not indicate depression and physical health.

The study further reveals that employees that were subjected to unfavorable working environment, with low pay, and job dissatisfaction showed improved health after they took retirement. According to the findings of the study, retirement lead to a significant reduction in both physical and mental disturbance. This was observed for about 8 years before retirement and the retirees maintained a good health-as their level of mental and physical wellness stayed much lower for about 10 years after retirement.

This clearly indicates that there exist a negative correlation between a person’s mental health, physical health, and retirement. In other words, as workers are relieved off their duties, their mental and physical well-being got better compared to those who continued working especially under circumstances where they did not get satisfied with what they got engaged in. This significant improvement in health could be attributed to the fact that most of the retirees get more time to be close to their families and friends which makes them happy, eliminating the use of antidepressant to ease depression.