How to Work—and Love It—Into Your 80s and Beyond
The secret to staving off burnout from those who work six or more decades: a passion for what they do and an ability to reset after late-life setbacks. Charles Munger, the billionaire vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway who died in November, attended a daylong Zoom board meeting at the age of 99, telling a reporter “you don’t call it work when you enjoy it." Rosalynn Carter, who recently died at the age of 96, shook off the loss of her husband’s re-election bid to become a fierce advocate for mental health and caregivers. Their ability and the ability of others to actively work later in life offers potential lessons to those older people who want to continue working and younger ones who already feel burned out.
Nearly half—48%—of workers under the age of 30 say they feel burned out at work, compared with four in 10 of those 30 and up, according to one recent survey. Dr. Gladys McGarey, 103, continues to consult, give talks and podcast interviews after nearly eight decades in the medical field.
This year, she published her memoir and started an Instagram account, which has nearly 47,000 followers. “If you burn out, relight the fire," says McGarey. She ran a clinic while raising six children and had to start a new one when her husband and clinic partner left her when she was 69 and married one of their colleagues.
Workers ages 75 and older are the fastest-growing age group in the workforce, more than quadrupling in size since 1964, according to a recent study from the Pew Research Center. The trend will continue: Workforce participation among people 75 and older will reach 11.7% by 2030 from 8.9% in 2020, according to projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dr.
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