When chatting with a group of third age women recently I was struck by how few had consciously planned how they would leave the workforce. Indeed, some were struggling to deal with the reality of being physically or emotionally unable to continue in their roles and adjusting to premature retirement.

Work isn’t for the faint-hearted!

One woman had the misfortune to literally fall flat on her face, or rather her chin, causing significant damage to her cervical vertebrae and making it impossible to work (severe loss of balance, pain, some memory loss, anxiety).

Another said that she just come to the end of her tether as a gift shop owner.

A third was a cheerful, ebullient early primary school teacher who clearly loved her job, until one day recently when she walked into school and was seriously upset by the actions of an administration staff member.  At the principal’s suggestion, she took two weeks’ leave, and then decided never to go back. [Read more…]