Workforce Meaning and Identity for Baby Boom Women Retirees
As the “leading edge” of the baby boom generation enters the “retirement years”, research on retirement has been focused largely on men’s retirement. A new research agenda focusing on female retirement is now underway. To further this focus, this mixed methods, exploratory study examined the subjective meanings of work identity and work satisfaction among retired baby boom women. The research here asks two questions of the workforce experience of these women: 1) What were the sources of meaning, and of satisfaction, in the workplace for female boomer retirees? 2) How do these female boomers view their identities through their years spent in the workforce and now post-retirement?
Methods
After reviewing labor force data from the 1950s to 2010, we delineate labor force trends for women in the workforce. Next, using a qualitative approach, this research explores the progress of thirty female members of the “leading edge” baby boom cohort, those born between 1946 and 1954, from their early years, then into the workforce, and finally, in retirement. A case-centered research design with a sample size of thirty cases (N=30) was used. Interviews were conducted either face-to-face, or by long-distance telephone using a guided interview schedule incorporating open-ended responses. Tape recordings were transcribed and subjected to analysis according to the precepts of narrative inquiry and narrative analysis using a coding scheme related to domains of interest.
Results
Domains identified included work as a source of identity, work as a source of self-esteem, and work as a means of helping others. Participants in the present study not only expressed a clear identity with the workforce role, they also spoke of it as contributing to one’s sense of self. In a related dimension, a number of participants acknowledged that others had recognized or perceived them in terms of their work or career roles, and that such that recognition served to contribute to their self-esteem.
Further, the workforce identity many espoused was not simply that of worker, or even that of (generic) career woman. Rather workforce identity was also closely associated with the type of work they were engaged in. Both the type of work, and the ability to help others in that work, ranked closely to identity among the chief sources of meaning and satisfaction in the workplace. For many participants, the strong identification with their career roles persisted well into retirement. Many also valued productivity, and expected to continue to contribute to their families and/or communities.
Conclusions and Implications
This research helps us understand the little-explored area of the meaning of work for baby-boom women currently in the workforce, as well as those recently retired. Further research with practice implications might investigate the role that workforce participation has played in the lives of baby boom women and how the feelings of loss and isolation that sometimes takes place on retirement can be ameliorated. Regarding policy research, one area of interest could be to investigate how public policy might encourage the continued usefulness of the growing boomer retiree population.