Curiosity never retires
The 553 members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are finding new ways to enjoy their lives and time. They are being challenged to stretch their minds in new ways that are stimulating and satisfying. Classes, special events and travel are successful as long as these provide a variety of subject matter that is rich in content.
Eighteen years ago, the founding members of the lifelong learning institute within the Continuing Studies program at UNL (formerly known as SAGE) were mostly retired. Change is taking place now. It is suggested that the 21st century will be one of changing working patterns, incorporating lifelong learning and increased leisure.
A study conducted by Drs. Kidahashi and Manheimer stated, “Although retirement used to mean simply stopping work both ‘working after retirement,’ and ‘continuing to work without retirement’ are becoming increasingly common. In fact, a number of studies and surveys conducted in recent years consistently show that a majority of people in the baby boomer generation and others in their 60s plan to keep on working beyond ‘normal’ retirement age. …Their motives, in rank order, include staying active and involved, keeping health insurance and other benefits, enjoying working, and wanting money to make ends meet.”
Retirement has a different meaning today that can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the recent changes in the financial world causing uncertainty and insecurity among the baby boomers. In addition, laws and initiatives have changed and encourage workers to stay in the workforce with increased availability of part-time and flexible forms of work. Gone is the idea of retirement being the “golden years” or the one-type-fits-all models. Diversity in options, interpretation and choices is redefining and changing the traditional retirement model. “There is no doubt that working after the traditional retirement age is quickly becoming a norm rather than an exception and a ‘new working life stage’ after midlife is being socially constructed,” reported Drs. Kidahashi and Manheimer.
By using key factors, the diverse approaches people use to balance work and leisure after middle-age can be identified and described. Kidahashi and Manheimer developed the following typology (systematic classification) based on analysis of sources such as market surveys, research studies, media reports, observation of social phenomena and interviews. “The typology is constructed around two axes as defining factors: ‘work-orientation’—the degree to which an individual finds significance in formal paid work, and ‘value-orientation’— the degree to which people are engaged in either exploring and aiming at a new focus and meaning of life or prefer to maintain tried and true values (existing/traditional value orientation),” stated Kidahashi and Manheimer.
There are five distinct life models that individuals might pursue after the traditional retirement age. Each life model is listed and followed by a simplified description: (1) Traditional Golden Years—a lifestyle in which leisure is highly valued; (2) Neo-Golden Years—emphasizes searching for meaning of life, pursuing self-development; (3) Portfolio Life—a balance between work for pay, family, travel, volunteering or other valued activities; (4) Second Career—has many possibilities but emphasizes a type of work that is a benefit to society; and (5) Extension of Midlife Career—a person wants to extend mid-life work activity for as long as possible, whether motivated by money, status and preservation of identify, the satisfaction of the work at hand, or a combination of all three. As individuals age, they will shift from one model to another influenced by various changes in their life as they age. Still others will find wide-ranging intermediate models along the axes.
Lifelong learning is very different today, and how institutes like OLLI at UNL and other programs serving the participants respond will experience tremendous change. The model developed by Drs. Kidahashi and Manheimer compels those of us engaged in providing these services to better understand our constituency and respond to different approaches for the period after mid-life.
Leaders in lifelong learning have been looking ahead and pondering how to best serve the needs of the baby boomers. This generation presents more recruitment challenges with the diverse life-model options available after retirement and a larger number remaining in the workforce. One way OLLIs and other lifelong learning programs might respond to the 50-plus cohort is to offer preretirement courses to help with retirement planning. Exploration of the options available in retirement during mid-life may lead to earlier identification with one of the lifestyle models and create more awareness of the value of continued engagement in learning across the lifespan.
“The scope of actions required to address the changes in the target population certainly extends beyond the changes in program contents. Delivery methods should also be re-assessed based on the diversity in learning goals and lifestyle of the target learners. More online learning, evening courses, short and narrowly focused courses, and age-integrated programs are some of the changes in course delivery that might be considered,” wrote Drs Kidahashi and Manheimer.
Now that the first of the baby boomers have reached retirement age, the future direction of lifelong learning institutions and programs like OLLI at UNL is in transition. Embracing the challenges presented by this diverse cohort and empowered by the insight and knowledge provided through continuing research, we are in a better position to determine how to attract and meet the needs of this group.
The research information contained in this article came from “Getting Ready for the Working-in-Retirement Generation: How Should LLIs Respond?” by Miwako Kidahashi and Ronald J. Manheimer in the fall 2009 issue of LLI Review, pages 1–8. The article is available at http://www.osher.net.
OLLI at UNL is part of the national network of 120 Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLIs) in 50 states, funded by The Bernard Osher Foundation of San Francisco. It is one of the fastest growing learning programs with a national membership of more than 80,000. For more information about OLLI at UNL, call (402) 472-6265, visit the Web site at http://olli.unl.edu or e-mail olli[at]unl[dot]edu. The University of Nebraska at Kearney has a Senior College program and the University of Nebraska at Omaha has the Lifelong Learning Initiative for interested lifelong learners in these areas.
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