The Identity Shift That Happens When You Retire

Retirement changes your life in a lot of ways. Life outside the workforce is definitely different than life within. The working world has titles, hierarchies, and specific roles, duties, and goals. Things are a lot less structured when you retire.

This shift is perhaps the most present in former executives and high achievers. They’ve gone through their careers and reached a very high point. To anyone on the outside, their retirement is a reward for their years of hard work, saving, and managing their lives. However, when you work in a role for a long time, you form a strong sense of identity with it. Your job isn’t just something that you do, it’s something that you are. 

Especially when you reach a higher level, your work becomes a significant part of your identity. It’s the reason why most interactions start with “why do you do?” and why you often introduce yourself with your title before you talk about anything else. 

Why Retirement Can Be Challenging

A lot of the time, working at a job doesn’t just give you an income you need to survive, it also provides structure and meaning to your life. Your work goals become intertwined with your personal goals. You decide how to structure your life based on finding success at work.

On a more basic level, work sets your schedule. The time you set your alarm for each morning is, at least in part, because of your work. So is when you run errands, when you socialize, and even when you rest and relax. 

Leaving the workforce can feel liberating. It can be an exciting new chapter and an opportunity to live with more freedom. It can also be disorienting and difficult. 

Life without work leaves a lot open and this openness can be tough to navigate, especially if you’re not sued to it. In retirement, you’re free to set your own schedule and structure things your own way, but you’ve been living a structured world for so long that you may have trouble with this. 

Work also provides pretty consistent feedback. This helps guide your decisions, but it also helps you feel good about yourself. Achieving a goal or getting a positive review is validating. It helps you easily place yourself in the world.

There’s also the socialization of it. Each day, you have colleagues that you interact with. Even if you don’t ever see one another outside of work, these connections strengthen over time due to proximity. You see the same people regularly and, thus, you form bonds with them. You feel comfortable. 

Retirement is a difficult transition for exactly these reasons. It’s not uncommon to feel like you’re moving without direction. You don’t know what you’re working towards. You’re not sure what you’re trying to achieve. It doesn’t feel comfortable. It feels like you’re lost. 

These thoughts frequently happen with retirees from across the spectrum, no matter what job they’re retiring from or what position they once held. However, there are other significant psychological factors in play for people who were previously leaders or executives. 

What Executives and High-Level Performers Experience

While a lot of people struggle adjusting to retirement, leaders and executives face their own set of issues. They spent large portions of their careers managing complex situations and making critical decisions that affected not just their own lives, but the lives of many people. In retirement, this all goes away. As a result, the whole thing can feel low stakes in comparison. When your job was making life-changing choices for hundreds of people, deciding how to manage your own daily life can seem relatively mundane.

The same is true for people who managed teams and interacted with many different people regularly. When you’re no longer at work, you’re no longer a “leader”. You only have yourself to answer to and you don’t have anyone else coming to you for guidance or direction. That can seem empty in comparison. You’re used to having people count on you and rely on you. This gives you purpose and helps you feel good about what you’re doing. Leaving the workforce means leaving that behind. 

There is also the title. Whether or not you’re a person who cares about titles, there is a psychological connection to them. They create a hierarchy that is easy to understand. They also show status, not just in terms of monetary status, but also in terms of accomplishment. Whenever you hear your title, it’s tangible proof of what you have accomplished. Leaving the workforce leaves that behind, making it much harder to see what you’ve achieved.

As a result of all these factors, a lot of former executives struggle when they retire. Life is very different in retirement than it was when you were working, and that can take a while to get used to.

How to Handle Retirement as a Former Executive

Entering retirement is a process. That doesn’t just mean preparing yourself financially, making a budget, and ensuring that you have enough to make ends meet. It also means preparing yourself mentally and emotionally for the different life you are stepping into. 

One of the best things you can do is find something new in your life to give you a sense of purpose. For a lot of retirees, this comes from hobbies. Whether it’s a hobby you’ve always been involved in, but didn’t have time for, or a new hobby that you’re only picking up now, embracing interests can give you a strong sense of purpose and accomplishment. You can set goals for yourself and feel good about yourself as you achieve them.

Volunteering is another way to give your life purpose and structure. It’s also a chance to apply your expertise and leadership skills in a meaningful way. Find an organization that is doing work you care about and offer to volunteer. You’ll be able to contribute your skills to a cause that matters to you while also giving yourself a strong sense of purpose and achievement.

Many nonprofits also have boards or advisory committees you can join. This will let you use your strategic and management skills to help a good cause. 

A lot of former executives and leaders continue to do some work even in their retirement. This includes consulting or part-time work. If you still feel like you want to do some work while leaving the full-time commitment behind, this might be a good option for you. 

However, don’t feel like you need to fully book or schedule every moment of every day. Retirement should be a time to relax and chase your passions. You might be tempted to fill 100% of your time with tasks and activities but just know that retirement doesn’t have to be about replicating the work week or making every minute productive. 

This change can be hard for many executives, since they are used to seeing productivity as the main way to judge success. To get yourself out of this mentality, make sure to leave some time in your weekly schedule for things that you enjoy, but that don’t necessarily have a tangible outcome. This might include taking a longer lunch than usual with a friend or going for a walk with no destination in mind. The lack of structure and goals can be tough at first, but it will become easier over time. Start slowly and build up until you’re comfortable with your new retirement lifestyle.