Those Who Retired and Found a Position in Higher Education

Öz

The definition of retirement, which marks the end of working life, has changed over time. In fact, retirement today does not mean the end of working life in a single sense. In both Western countries and in Türkiye, it is observed that working life continues even after retirement for reasons such as increasing life expectancy and retiring at a young age. In this respect, bridge employment, which refers to continuing to work after retirement and which has recently been introduced in Western countries, is an issue that can also be examined in Türkiye. This study seeks to understand what motivates people who continue to work in academia after retiring from state universities along with different sectors. In this context, the study was conducted with 17 participants (7 female and 10 male) through semi-structured interviews, one of the qualitative research techniques. The findings from the study show that most of the participants joined bridging employment primarily for economic reasons. Moreover, the participants engaged in bridge employment in academia for reasons such as still being at a younger age, gaining professional satisfaction, getting out of the house, getting involved in social life, feeling useful, having dependents, and flexible working conditions. Participants stated that working was good for their physical and mental health; although they had problems adapting to technology, they received support from young academics in this regard. At the same time, the participants think that they may benefit students and young academics in terms of experience and knowledge transfer. In this respect, it can be predicted that bridge employment can eliminate the problem of the shortage of qualified staff in foundation universities and relatively newly established state universities and increase intergenerational contact.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Retirement
• bridge employment
• academia
• universities
• working life

Kaynakça

1. Ang, A. & Mehta, K. (2021). The psychosocial meaning of bridge employment. Asia Pacific Career Development Journal. 4(2), 13-26. https:// asiapacificcda.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/A0004_2_03.pdf google scholar
2. Armstrong-Stassen, M. (2008). Organizational practices and the post-retirement employment experience of older workers. Human Resource Management Journal, 18(1), 36-53. https://doi.Org/l0.111l/j.1748-8583.2007.00057.x google scholar
3. Atchley, R. C. (1974). The meaning of retirement. Journal of Communication. 97-100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1974.tb00414.x google scholar
4. Atchley, R. C. (1982). Retirement as a social institution. Annual Review of Sociology, 8(1), 263-287. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2945996 google scholar
5. Beehr, T. A. (1986). The process of retirement: A review and recommendations for future investigation. Personnel Psychology 39, 31-55. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1986.tb00573.x google scholar
6. Beehr, T. A. & Bennett, M. M. (2014). Working after retirement: Features of bridge employment and research directions. Work, Aging and Retirement, 1-17. google scholar
7. Cahill, K.E., Giandrea, M. D. & Quinn, J. F. (2007). Down shifting: The role of bridge jobs after career employment. The Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College, 1-11. https://dlib.bc.edu/islandora/object/bc-ir:100087/datastream/PDF google scholar
8. Çakır, Ö., Çınar, E. & Denizli, U. (2013). Phenomenon of working after retirement and its relationship with quality of life in Turkey. European Journal of Research on Education, 2014, 2(2), 45-54. google scholar

9. Çınay, M. K. (2023). Türkiye’de emeklilik yaşı sonrası çalışma: Yaşam seyri yaklaşımından niteliksel bir analiz. Reflektif Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi. 4(2), 309-329. https://doi.org/10.47613/reflektif.2023.107 google scholar
10. Davis, M. A. (2003). Factors related to bridge employment participation among private sector early retirees. Journal of Vocational Behavior 63, 55-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-8791(02)00016-7 google scholar
11. Dingemans, E. (2012). Bridge employment after early retirement: A bridge to better postretirement well-being of older adults?. (Unpub-lished Master’s Thesis). Netherlands, Tilburg University. google scholar
12. Dingemans, E. & Henkens, K. (2013). Involuntary retirement, bridge employment, and satisfaction with life: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35, 575-591. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1914 google scholar
13. Emiroğlu, V. (1995). Yaşlılık ve yaşlının sosyal uyumu. Ankara: Şafak Matbaacılık. google scholar
14. Feldman, D. C. (1994). The decision to retire early: A review and conceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 19(2), 285-311. https://doi.org/10.2307/258706 google scholar
15. Frankl, V. E. (2019). İnsanın anlam arayışı. (Çev: S. Budak). İstanbul: Okyanusus. google scholar
16. Gobeski, K. T. & Beehr, T. A. (2009). How retirees work: predictors of different types of bridge employment. Journal of Organizational Behavior 30, 401-425. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.547 google scholar
17. Higher Education Law (Law No. 2547). Accessed on 6.10.2024 from address https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuatmetin/1.5.2547.pdf google scholar
18. Hill, S. C., Snell, A. F. & Sterns, H. L. (2015). Career influences in bridge employment among retired police officers. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 81 (1-2), 101-119. https://doi.org/l0.1177/0091415015614947 google scholar
19. Hofman, P. (2012). Yeni bir başlangıç: Emeklilik (Keşifler, imkânlar, fırsatlar). İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları. google scholar
20. Kalafat, T. (2023). Çalışma yaşamı içerisinde yaş ayrımcılığı. In M. Avcı, Z. Tekin Babuç (Eds). Yaşlılara yönelik yaş ayrımcılığı: Çok boyutlu bir bakış. İçinde 55-80. Ankara: Nobel. google scholar
21. Kerr, G. & Armstrong-Stassen, M. (2011). The bridge to retirement: Older workers’ engagement in post-career entrepreneurship and wage-and-salary employment. The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 20(1), 55-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/097135571002000103 google scholar
22. Kim, S. & Feldman, D. C. (2000). Working in retirement: The antecedents of bridge employment and its consequences for the quality of life in retirement. Academy of Management Journal. 43(6), 1105-1210. google scholar
23. Kohli, M. & Arza, C. Political economy of pension reform in Europe. In R. H. Binstock & L. K. George (Eds). Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. (in 251-264). (7th Edition). Elsevier. google scholar
24. Marshall, G. (1999). Sosyoloji sözlüğü. (Çev: O. Akınhay, D. Kömürcü). Ankara: Bilim ve Sanat Yayınları. google scholar
25. Mazumdar, D. (2018). Outcomes of bridge employment: A mixed method examination of retirees' expectations and experiences. (Unpub-lished Doctoral thesis), Canada, Memorial University of Newfoundland. google scholar
26. Midanik, L. T., Soghikian, K., Ransom, L. J. & Tekawa, I. S. (1995). The effect of retirement on mental health and health behaviors: The Kaiser Permanente Retirement Study. Journal of Gerontology: SOCIAL SCIENCES, 50(1), S59-S61. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/50 B.1.S59 google scholar
27. Moen, P. (1996). A life course perspective on retirement, gender, and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1 (2), 131-144. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.1.2.131 google scholar
28. Özgen, M. (2018). A phenomenological study of retirees’ experiences and their reasons for employment after retirement: Implications for the military sector. (Unpublished Master’s Thesis). Ankara, Atılım University. google scholar
29. Öztuna, B. (2017). Köprü istihdam ve sosyal güvenlik destek priminin emekli üzerine etkisi. Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 1-5. google scholar
30. Palmore, E.B., George, L. K. & Fillenbaum, G. G. (1982). Predictors of retirement. Journal of Gerontolog. Vol. 37, No. 6, 733-742. https://doi. org/10.1093/geronj/37.6.733 google scholar
31. Quine, S., Wells, Y., de Vaus, D. & Kendig, H. (2007). When choice in retirement decisions is missing: Qualitative and quantitative findings of the impact on well-being. Australasian Journal on Aging, 26(4), 173-179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6612.2007.00251.x google scholar
32. Ranzijn, R., Patrickson, M., Carson, E. & le Sueur, E. (2004). Independence and self-provision in old age: How realistic are these goals? Australasian Journal on Aging, 23(3), 120-124. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6612.2004.00016.x-i1 google scholar
33. Richardson, V. & Kilty, K. M. (1991). Adjustment to retirement: Continuity vs. discontinuity. Aging and Human Development, 33(2), 151-169. https://doi.org/10.2190/6RPT-U8GN-VUCV-P0TU google scholar
34. Sarı, A. (2022). Malul ve emekli olanlar yeniden çalışabilir mi?. Accessed on 07.09.2023 from address https://www.engelsizk ariyer.com/YaziYazdir.aspx?id=326#:~:text=Emekli%20memur%20ve%20i%C5%9F%C3%A7i%2C%20kendi,%C3%A7al%C4%B1%C5%9 Fmaya%20ba%C5%9Flarsa%2C%20emeklilik%20maa%C5%9Flar%C4%B1%20kesilir. google scholar
35. Schellenberg, G., Turcotte, M. & Ram, B. (2005). Post-retirement employment. Statistics Canada. 14-17. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n 1/en/pub/75-001-x/10905/8622-eng.pdf?st=RjAV7-5g google scholar
36. Sevim, Y. & Şahin, J. (2007). Toplumun yeni yoksulları: Emekliler (Şanlıurfa ili örneği). Sosyoloji Araştırmaları Dergisi. 10(1), 187-207. google scholar
37. Shultz, K. S. (2003). Bridge employment: Work after retirement. In G. A. Adams & T. A. Beehr (Eds). Retirement: Reasons, processes, and results (pp. 215-241). New York, NY: Springer. google scholar
38. Smaliukiene, R. & Tvaronaviciene, M. (2014). Bridge employment: An opportunity for aging society. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 156, 388-391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.11.208 google scholar
39. Smith, D. G. (2023, 13 April). What is the ideal retirement age for your health? The New York Times. Accessed on 23.09.2023 from address https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/03/well/live/retirement-age-health.html. google scholar
40. Şahin, J. (2006). Emekliler ve sorunları üzerine sosyolojik bir araştırma Şanlıurfa örneği. (Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi). Elazığ, Fırat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. google scholar
41. Şahin Baltacı H. & Selvitopu, A. (2012). Öğretmenlerin emeklilik dönemine ve emekliliğe hazırlık eğitimine ilişkin görüşleri. İlköğretim Online, 11(3), 800-812. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/90569 google scholar
42. Talaga, J. A. & Beehr, T. A. (1995). Are there gender differences in predicting retirement decisions? Journal of Applied Psychology. 80(1), 16-28. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.80.1.16 google scholar
43. Tanğ, Y. (2013). Köprü istihdam olgusunun incelenmesi: Bir meta-analiz çalışması. (Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi). İzmir, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. google scholar
44. Tufan, İ. (2002). Antikçağdan günümüze yaşlılık. İstanbul: Aykırı Yayıncılık. google scholar
45. Ulrich, L. B. (2003). Older workers and bridge employment: An exploratory study (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis). ABD, Virginia Tech. google scholar
46. Von Bonsdorff, M. E., Shultz, K. S., Leskinen, E. & Tansky, J. (2009). The choice between retirement and bridge employment: A continuity theory and life course perspective. INT’L. J. Aging and Human Development 69(2) 79-100. https://doi.org/10.2190/AG.69.2.a google scholar
47. Wang, M., Zhan, Y., Liu, S. & Shultz, K. S. (2008). Antecedents of bridge employment: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology. 93(4), 818-830. https://doi.Org/l0.1037/0021-9010.93.4.818 google scholar
48. Yıldırım, Y. Z. (2021). Emeklilik sonrası toplumsal hayata uyum sorunları. (Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi). İstanbul, İstanbul Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. google scholar
49. Zhan, Y., Wang, M., Liu, S. & Shultz, K. S. (2009). Bridge employment and retirees’ health: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(4), 374-389. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015285 google scholar
50. Zhan, Y., Wang, M. & Yao, X. (2013). Domain-specific effects of commitment on bridge employment decisions: The moderating role of economic stress. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 22(3), 362-375. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X. 2012.762763 google scholar