The Virus Made Your Job a Bummer. Should You Retire? Not So Fast

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Are you thinking of retiring because your job in Covid-19 times isn’t what you signed up for? Maybe you’re a teacher whose classroom is now on Zoom. Perhaps you’re a salesman who might never fly in business class again. Either way, you’re not alone. But before you do anything rash, read what a few experts have to say. To sum up their advice: Not so fast.

Accept that your old job is gone. “We’re not going back to the way things were. That’s just not going to happen,” says psychologist Michael Kahn, author of Mastering the CEO’s Greatest Challenge: Strategies for Staying Cool in the Executive Hot Seat. Come to terms with this; attachments to the old days will prevent you from being open to new opportunities. Say to yourself: My career has just taken a turn, and it’s not going to go the way I thought it was. This may stir up some grief and provide fodder for more than a few therapy appointments.

Hit pause. “Be very thoughtful and not reactionary,” says Ben Marks, chief investment officer at Marks Group Wealth Management in Minneapolis. “Nobody knows what things will look like 12 or 24 months from now, so don’t make a decision just because you don’t like Zoom. I would encourage people to wait it out and see how this evolves.”

Research your financial realities. Much of the economy is a dumpster fire, and retirement-age workers face ageism, even in the best times. “If you try to reenter the work world, you’re never going to replace that salary again,” Marks says. See what consulting gigs are available before you jump ship.

Trust the process. Retirement shouldn’t be something you wake up and decide to do. Kahn suggests taking these steps before making a final decision. Keep in mind that no matter what you settle on, your choice is likely to bring up even more feelings—sadness, say, or disillusionment—that you’ll need to attend to.

• Clarify your goals. Don’t obsess over making the “right” or “correct” decision; your aim is to look back 10 to 20 years from now and be content with how you handled it.
• Write down how you feel about your job. Take a deep breath. You want to look at your work with “a rational perspective,” Kahn says, before making major decisions.
• Assess specific challenges. What skills would you need—and what changes would you need to make—to rise to the challenge of your current job and enjoy it? Is that feasible?
• Do a pros and cons chart. Forecast the highs and lows of staying on the job vs. retiring.
• Reassess. Give yourself at least a month, if not longer, to decide.

If you decide to call it quits, check out our tips for retirement in the pandemic.

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