Continuers, adventurers, easy gliders, searchers, and retreaters - which one are you?

Retirement - are you a continuer, adventurer, easy glider, or a searcher?

As summer draws to a close, and we return from holiday, many a reflection will have been had during the down time, with some in their 50s, 60s and 70s deciding to take a step back from full time work, and embark on some form of retirement.

Recent research classifies the behaviour of retirees as continuers, adventurers, easy gliders, searchers, and retreaters (Maggiori et al., 2014).

Continuers prefer to maintain a pattern; they retain their occupational identity, may continue working at reduced hours and/or use their skills in a voluntary capacity.

Adventurers enjoy the boon in time and use this resource to learn new skills and take on new projects. Adventurers may experience heightened life satisfaction in the joy of knowing what time is available to them to pursue rewarding activities.

Easy gliders take a moratorium on commitments and leave all their options open.

Searchers explore all that is available to them, try new opportunities, and frequently change their commitments. As a result searchers may experience a dip in satisfaction until they begin to choose and then engage in rewarding activities.

Retreaters, meanwhile, tend to disengage and arguably represent the all or nothing retirement ethos of the 20th century. Retreaters do not work again.

The continuers, adventurers, easy gliders, and searchers may return to work but for very different reasons. And if pitched to in a targeted fashion, the working environment they re-enter is both flexible and receptive to these four groups.

Which one are you? Or would like to be?