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'Bridge' job is good for Baby Boomer health
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A lot of research these days focuses on the health -- physical and mental -- of the vast Baby Boomer generation. The healthier we are as a group, given the size of about 78 million, the less of a financial strain we'll be when it comes to future health care.
New research cited in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology recommends that Baby Boomers who are retiring take a so-called "bridge" job to help the transition from full-time work to possibly no work at all.
The article, "Bridge Employment and Retirees’ Health: A Longitudinal Investigation," advised that research related to retirees is becoming increasingly important as Baby Boomers reach retirement eligible ages.
It noted:
"...compared with full retirement, engaging in bridge employment either in a career field or in a different field was associated with fewer major diseases and functional limitations, whereas engaging in career bridge employment was associated with better mental health."
Other studies, according to the authors, have shown that working before so-called "full retirement" made people feel better about themselves, especially if there was a financial consideration.
But these researchers wanted to measure the physical and mental benefits of continued work and what type of work was best.
As for the mental benefit, they said that working in field related to their original careers -- what they called "career bridge employment" -- provided better mental health than working in an unrelated field. For example, an auditor at a company would want to engage in similar "career bridge employment" -- a tax adviser perhaps -- upon retiring from the company.
As for the physical health, the authors said their research showed the benefits of continued work ... of any kind.
They said: "if retirees fully retire after their career jobs, it may be difficult for them to achieve continuity in their lifestyles. Full retirement might lead to significantly less social contact and fewer daily activities for many retirees. In turn, they may be less able to resist the major diseases and the decline in daily functions accompanied with aging."
They also advised employers and policymakers to "encourage bridge employment to address the projected growing labor shortages due to the pending retirement of the baby boomers."
The article was written by Yujie Zhan, Mo Wang and Songqi Liu of the University of Maryland, and Kenneth S. Shultz of California State University, San Bernardino.
For more information:
Read the full report "Bridge Employment and Retirees’ Health: A Longitudinal Investigation" (pdf)
