Two kinds of retirement

Practically everyone grows up thinking that someday each of us will be able to retire and not have to work anymore. That means we'll have to have saved up enough money to do that, because there no longer will be a salary check coming every two weeks.

There is another type of retirement that will be threatened more than ever today: on-the-job retirement. You know, the person that has effectively quit but is still showing up getting a paycheck.

On-the-job retirement will be exposed during recessions because everything will be scrutinized including the guy or lady who has been a mystery to many employees but has somehow skated through for years.

It's easy to be resentful toward that person, but they aren't alone in the problem. The company has allowed it and the other employees have looked the other way, which has clouded the situation, even to the person who has retired on the job. He or she may not fully realize it, so there's always the chance they could wake up to it and try to contribute.

Maybe from time to time we all retire on-the-job for a day or two. But a vibrant company can't allow valuable resources (people or money) to be squandered. On-the-job retirement may need to be retired.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com