Work It Podcast: Forget retirement - your most meaningful work can start in your 50s
For many professionals, retirement is far from their mind and they want seek work that is fulfilling. Lim Kai Ning, co-founder of The Courage Chapter, shares how they help seniors return to the workforce, and why age can be a big asset.
Here is an excerpt from the conversation:
Gerald Tan, host:
I've seen so many of such examples of people not having work, and struggling to find that identity. They lose something. It's not just the salary. I think they lose themselves.
Tiffany Ang, host:
With the people that you work with, Kai Ning, what is the top reason that they say motivates them to keep working?
Lim Kai Ning, co-founder of The Courage Chapter:
So it depends on where they are in their stage of life. People in their early 50s would have a different requirement from people in their mid-60s or late 60s. Due to the nature of what we put out to the market, the people that we attract are people who are looking to contribute in their second chapter.
But they are really here to say: "I have so much experience. I don't want to sit at home and do nothing ... Since I have the knowledge in my brain, don't let it go to waste."
Gerald:
Many of the seniors, as Kai Ning mentioned, want that next chapter of their lives to fulfil what they didn't get to fulfil. It's a question of legacy. Did I leave behind something for the next generation?
It's also a question of purpose. Did I fulfil what I needed to do as a person? I spent my whole life listening to somebody in the workplace, fulfilling a job responsibility, but what is the thing that I need to do (now)?
I think a lot of these questions are coming up ...
Tiffany:
I'm thinking that some of these seniors who are coming to you, probably left their last job either in upper management, even in a C-suite level. So with the jobs that you are trying to match them to, are they overqualified for these roles?
Kai Ning:
That's a very interesting point. I would say that (in) Singapore and the rest of the world, the market is still very new to this concept. Right now, I think the people are moving towards this space where they say they will still want to contribute, but the market hasn't fully warmed up.
So if you were to leave it to free market forces, you will realise that it actually spirals to blue-collar or food and beverage (or) admin (jobs). And that's the struggle. There's this huge chasm between what people want to do and what organisations think they can do.
So then, how do we bridge the gap? ... We call it skill-based, project-based arrangements. In the past, (senior professionals) will be considered overqualified because they have this huge 20, 30 years of experience, while the role is just small.
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