Post-Work Socio-Cultural Life System ^†

Abstract

Many people think that retirement life will turn into a worrying situation. The reality of retirement is not as bad as imagined. On the contrary, many positive things can be done in retirement. Some make retirement a beautiful form of further service in old age, especially with financial problems that are no longer stable. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to find out how the system of post-work socio-cultural life functions. Lifestyle changes render time and financial efficiency a priority along with healthy thinking.

1. Introduction

Post-work or retirement, more commonly called retirement, is a necessity for everyone whose routine in fulfilling their life needs involves a job. Many people think that when they retire, life will turn into a worrying situation. It is very reasonable to assume that you can no longer meet with colleagues in activities, no longer wear a uniform with its provisions, lose authority, and be classified as an unproductive person. Additionally, your health condition will probably diminish, which is influenced by the psyche.

Based on the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 43 of 1999 concerning Amendments to Law Number 8 of 1974 concerning the Principles of Employment, Article 10, pensions are old age guarantees and compensation for civil servants who have devoted themselves to the state for many years [1]. In essence, everyone must try to guarantee their old age, and for this, every civil servant is obliged to become a participant in a social insurance agency established by the government. Because retirement is not only a guarantee for old age but also a reward, the government makes its contribution to civil servants [2].

The reality of retirement is not as bad as imagined. On the contrary, many positive things can be done in retirement. Some make retirement a beautiful form of further service in old age, especially with financial problems that are no longer stable. This kind of understanding affects a person’s way of thinking, which results in being over-sensitive and subjective, so that one becomes sickly in one’s retirement. When entering retirement, it is undeniable that there will be changes in daily routines; therefore, the early retirement period is a time to reorganize life patterns. Thus, this paper seeks to answer the following research question: how far has the preparation been undertaken in dealing with the post-work socio-cultural life system?

2. Methodology

The design of this paper uses a qualitative descriptive approach to find out how the post-work socio-cultural life system works. It is done by collecting information from both informants and literature studies and available library materials, mass media, electronic media, electronic books, and other open sources [3]. On the other hand, the inclusion and exclusion criteria are based on previous study of [4,5,6]. The selection of articles is based on (1) relevance to the context of the study, (2) contribution to a body of knowledge, (3) being based on empirically proven research, and (4) in English only.

To guide the selection of the articles, we utilize several reputable online databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, Emerald, EbschoHost, and IEEE Explore. The search term is “post-work socio-cultural life system”. To improve the search results, we omitted non-research articles, patents, and review papers.

3. Finding and Discussion

For most people, the word “retirement” is something to worry about as they become increasingly aware that it is getting closer and closer. Various kinds of feelings and thoughts began to appear, such as feelings of sadness because they would no longer experience work that was loved and colleagues. The feeling of losing a job greatly impacts not only physical health but also psychological health. The activities that have been carried out so far require concentration and the requirement for responsibility along with an emphasis on the ability to think critically, focus, and analyze. These habits always have social aspects and require emotional intelligence. This factor often triggers a decline in mental and physical health psychologically.

According to the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 1992 concerning Pension Funds, pensions are distinguished, among others [7]:

• Normal Retirement. Pensions are given to employees whose age has reached the retirement period set by the company. In Indonesia, the normal retirement age is usually 55 years.
• Expedited Retirement. Pension is given due to certain conditions, such as a reduction in the number of employees in the company. This pension allows employees to retire earlier before reaching the predetermined retirement age. Usually, there must be a clear reason for applying for an accelerated retirement.
• Postponed retirement. Deferred retirement is an employee who stops working before reaching the normal retirement age so that the payment of pension funds is postponed until the employee reaches the normal retirement age.
• Disability Pension. A pension is given due to an accident such that workers are considered no longer able to be employed at the company. A disability pension is not related to age and will be given if no longer competent or unable to do the job.

As for pension contributions, according to the Human Resources Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, civil servant pension contributions and government contributions are fostered and managed by the social insurance agency for employee pension rights (Law Number: 11 of 1969 article 9); employees who are respectfully dismissed are entitled receive a pension, as follows:

• Has reached the age of at least 50 years and has a working period before retirement of at least 20 years.
• Has a working period of at least 4 years and an agency/official appointed by the Ministry of Health has declared them unable to work in any position due to physical or spiritual conditions that are not caused by or because of carrying out their duties based on the regulations on health testing of civil servants.
• A civil servant who, after carrying out state duties, is not re-employed as a civil servant is entitled to receive an employee pension if he is honorably discharged as a civil servant and is a civil servant at the time of his dismissal, having reached the age of at least 50 years and a period of service before retirement at least 10 years.

The above provisions form a regulation that must be obeyed and carried out by all (state) workers/employees. The next phase is to live a healthy and happy retirement. This has become a phenomenon in itself for some people, considering that not everyone is able or is complacent in preparing for it. Inevitably this condition makes a person depressed. According to the Large Dictionary of Indonesian (KBBI), the meaning of the word depression is a difficult and lethargic state of commerce. Another meaning of depression is a mental disorder in a person characterized by degenerate feelings (such as gloom, sadness, and depression).

Depression is a disorder of the feelings characterized by reduced enthusiasm, low self-esteem, self-blame, sleep disturbances, and eating disorders. People with depression tend to be sad because of a feeling of pressure that almost always involves loss, which can be in the form of losing a close person, losing things, or losing a position. Retirement is the end of an individual’s career path; it can be a significant loss event for some people who experience it and have a bad impact on their mental condition, as well as the demand to continue to work and be productive [8].

3.1. Socio-Cultural Life

Retirement is not the end of human life but is the next stage in navigating the phases of life. Yesterday’s routine made a beautiful personal life story to remember. Most individuals who have retired still have a strong motivation to return to work for various reasons. However, not all jobs can simply accept pensioners. From the other side, seeing retirees who are still working is a mistake in self-management.

This negative view arises because of the assumption that retirement, which consists of a lot of free time, should be used to gather with family or develop hobbies after dedicating oneself to a job for a dozen or decades. Individuals who work after retirement are also identified as a group that is not well prepared for retirement so their retirement period is considered less prosperous economically and they must continue to work to meet financial needs. Thus, working after retirement is only interpreted by the general public as a form of livelihood strategy to meet economic needs [2].

It is not easy for a person to change his daily routine from a structured pattern of activity to an unstructured one. The role of the family, including the people closest to one, is very influential in providing moral support in living a new life. Therefore, it is necessary to actively socialize to find a new culture of life to create a balance in behavior.

Changing one’s lifestyle is a key factor in facing new social and cultural life. Lifestyle is defined as a pattern of work and time as well as a financial pattern. This is important considering that influence and income are already very different. The priority scale for the policy of choosing primary, secondary, and tertiary goods is a necessity. A very big opportunity from the perspective of time, retirement can be used for self-healing with family (wife/husband, children, grandchildren, siblings), whereas previously this was a very rare thing and difficult to obtain because one’s time was occupied by activities. If there is still a difference in one’s savings, work culture can be continued by opening an independent business as an expressive activity (killing time) including managing hobbies.

3.2. Post-Working Life System

The important thing to do in preparing for retirement is to work positively. There are many ways to prepare yourself for retirement [9].

• Prepare physically and mentally. Accept with sincerity and with an open feeling that everyone in due time will enter retirement. Talk with your family and inform them that your financial condition may change so that your family can save more or change habits that were previously more consumptive.
• Apply a healthy lifestyle. Entering retirement, it is hoped that life patterns can change for the better. Diligent health checks, choosing foods that are suitable for body condition, and regular exercise are recommended.
• Do your favorite hobby. If when you are active, you rarely do your favorite hobby. Now is the time for you to do a hobby that you like and it is even better if that hobby can produce something useful.
• Plan finances before retirement. If you plan before your retirement arrives, you will not experience financial problems later. Try the financial methods offered by the office where you used to work or the bank where you currently deposit money. If possible, try to invest. It does not have to be in a big business, but only moderately so that the possibility of loss can be minimized.
• Keep in touch. Keep in good relations with office friends or with your peers. Sometimes, by maintaining good communication, you can still do activities that you used to often do together or just exchange ideas.
• Get closer to God. Getting closer to God and performing social and spiritual activities brings peace of mind. Increased gratitude and positive thinking will make it easier for us to live happier days.
• Positive thoughts and good physical and mental conditions, as well as family support in psychological and financial factors, will make it easier for someone to enter retirement. Enjoy retirement with positive things and be a happy retiree.

A psychologist from North Dakota State University, Jeremy Hamm, and his colleagues were curious. He also undertook research to observe certain personality traits that can predict who will thrive after retirement and who will wither. This is called trait goal disengagement, which refers to the tendency to attack easily when faced with a difficult job or task. Consider a statement like this [10,11]:

• When my expectations are not met, I lower my expectations.
• To avoid disappointment, I do not set my goals too high.
• I feel relieved when I let go of some of my responsibilities.
• Conclusions

Most people think that retirement may be boring. However, if planned properly, retirement will not hinder productivity or create stress. Retirement is a very big opportunity to realize dreams that have been stored for a long time. One’s lifestyle changes to make time and financial efficiency a priority, along with healthy thinking. Retirees need to find ways to stay mentally challenged so that mental health is maintained and moral decline is avoided.