RETIREMENT & MENTAL HEALTH: RECOMMENDATIONS
Retirement is stepping aside from one's position or occupation after working for a stated period of time. It implies withdrawing from ones active working life.
Semi Retirement is when a person reduces their work hours or work load.
Because of its nature, Retirement usually takes place when someone has passed their prime, is elderly and incapable of doing their job due to health or other personal reasons This is also when they are eligible for pension benefits.
Some are also forced into retirement when they are no longer productive or have become an occupational hazard to the environment.
Most developed countries have working and sustainable systems to provide pension and retirement plans in old age funded by the employer or the state because retirement is considered a right of the worker.
In Nigeria, it is believed that there is little or no support system for the elderly beyond provision from their families especially in the area of healthcare. There is also low life expectancy, lack of social security, and low pension arrangements from both government, public, and private employers.
These beliefs about the neglect of the well-being of retired persons creates intense fear and, in some cases, phobia in their work life and productivity. It has also pushed a lot of workers into negative pathways as they strategise and execute settlement plans for their retirement, such as stealing of public or private funds, acquiring properties through dubious means, blackmail and a host of other self-help schemes.
Furthermore, the ever present reality of future loneliness, abandonment, hunger, deprivation and inability to feed well after decades of service have fuelled this intense emotion affects their productivity and loyalty while actively in service because they spend more time taking care of their exit plans.
Some employees who accessed some loans during their active service were not able to finish paying back the loans before retiring, and this has created worry and anxiety disorder which affects their mental health.
Some workers are faced with the constant fear of losing the accommodation provided to them by their employers upon their retirement because they have nowhere else to shelter with their spouses and other dependants apart from going back to their villages.
This results in many of them retiring as disgruntled, sad, miserable, depressed individuals, full of regrets because they retired into nothing.
This feeling of hopelessness, coupled with many other negative emotions, makes them vulnerable and a ready tool in the hands of perpetrators of crime, which also poses security threats and challenges in the society if not addressed. This has not only created suicidal thoughts for some individuals but has actually led some into committing the act.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Government, public and private organisations should have and provide sustainable retirement plans for employees which will cater for their mental, physical, emotional, spiritual ie wholistic wellbeing after retirement.
2. Health care services should be provided for employees while in active service and should also continue after retirement.
3. Governments, public and private organisations should work with NGOs that advocate for and champion mental health counselling / therapy for the elderly to keep assessing their mental health.
4. Retired individuals should be encouraged to engage in multi sports activities to help build resilience and thereby enhance their health.
5. They should be consulted or included in decision-making at some level of governance or leadership because of their acquired years of experience. They can become coaches, mentors, and educators in various spheres of life. This will help to occupy their mind and give them a sense of belonging and a new lease of life.
6. Pension fees should be raised and be enough to cater for and sustain the basic needs and well-being of individuals that have retired, especially shelter, food, and health care.
#treasureyourmentalhealth
- Mrs Uzoamaka Nwachukwu is the Co-Founder of Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation. She is an Administrative Assistant to Bishop Amaechi Nwachukwu(PhD), an Entrepreneur, a Certified Child Psychologist, Teacher, Microbiologist, a Certified Grief & Bereavement counsellor, a Certified Depression counsellor, a Certified Emotional Intelligence Life Coach and a Certified Mental Health & Wellness Life coach. She is also an Ex-Intelligence Officer.