COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Women doctors, teachers and other professionals may have a tougher time adjusting to retirement than do women who hold jobs customarily considered nonprofessional, such as clerical positions and cafeteria help, reports a new study from Ohio State University.
Nearly 30 retired women -- about half of who had been employed in professional careers and half who had held nonprofessional jobs -- were asked about their retirement experience. Most of the women retirees in the study found the transition to retirement to be generally positive, and the majority spent a good part of their free time volunteering and taking care of their families.
But there were some fundamental differences between how women in the professional group and those in the nonprofessional group perceived retirement, said Christine Price, author of the study and an assistant professor of human development and family science at Ohio State.
For instance, women who worked in professional occupations reported feeling a sense of loss once they left their jobs, while women who held nonprofessional jobs felt relieved to retire.
Also, women in the professional group tended to base their decision to retire on pension eligibility and health concerns, while women in the other group based their retirement decision on family issues, such as being able to spend more time with grandchildren.
"Women in the nonprofessional group explored new interests with no feelings of loss," Price said. "In comparison, women in the professional group enjoyed the retirement experience overall, yet still felt a sense of loss." The research appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Women and Aging.
Price said she conducted the study because information on what happens to women during the transition to retirement and retirement itself is scant.
"More and more women are seeing employment as a lifetime commitment," she said. "It's likely that women do and will continue to identify more closely with their work roles, and the results from this study may show what future generations of women will face when they retire."
Price interviewed 29 women who had been retired for at least five years. She asked each woman to provide personal and occupational histories and to talk about her decision to retire, the transition to retirement and her life as a retiree. She also asked questions related to a woman's economic security, identity, retirement activities and family relationships.
Price put each woman into one of two groups, based on the woman's previous occupation. Women in the professional group included teachers, university administrators and medical doctors. The nonprofessional job group included women who had worked in clerical occupations, in school cafeterias and as telephone operators and seamstresses.
