The job market for older people

I guess it depends on what sort of job he wants? If he's happy to work in a supermarket then I think he'd be OK as many supermarkets seem happy to employ older people.

Thanks - I think he might be ok with that. The job he’s in now isn’t very well paid so I don’t think he has particularly high expectations. But I do worry about him if he can’t find anything at all as he also has many autistic traits and isn’t great at coping with stress and worry. At the same time i also think it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and not truly live life if we never change our life situation out of fear - so I can see both sides. 

I've been accused of being stuck in a rut before, when I feel I'm ploughing my own forrough, some people live to work and other work to live. I've always been a work to live person, being less concerned about material rewards and status than getting home and enjoying myself doing things I like, reading, gardening, studying etc. These two ways of being are poles apart and those who live to work get very frustrated with those of us who work to live who in turn get fed up at being hassled to do "more and better". My son and DiL are like this and they've semi split up over it, he can't stand her need to climb the greasy pole of wordly success and she can't understand his disengagement with it, that's not to say he dosen't go for promotions when offered or anything like that, its just not his primary motivation.

If your cousin wants to work a bit so as he can be the best grandad he can be then thats a good thing surely? Small and not so small children need time and love more than piles of xmas presents and trips to disneyland. I think a lot of men feel they missed out on their children being young, having to work all the time etc and want to see the small milestones of a childs life.

I imagine that possibly if your self esteem is being held up by achievements at work then ‘stopping’ might feel very unsettling. I think a lot of people throw themselves into work as a way of avoiding other difficult emotions they might be having. Maybe work can be a form of ‘escape’ just like addictions like alcohol or gambling? Actually working in the City literally is gambling in many respects! 

I think it's habit that makes so many people keep working, even when they could retire comfortabley, Maybe they've been on their hamster wheel for so long they don't know how to get off? Maybe they just have a different value system, personally I've never seen the point of being the richest person in the graveyard, but each to thier own.

I can relate to this. I was never an ambitious person career wise, and I’m not overly materialistic. At the same time I do worry a lot about not being to pay bills etc - I like to be able to keep the wolf WELL away from the door! When my children were younger we had so little money and I found it so scary - I darent open the post etc - it made me feel genuinely ill.I have another relative (in her late 50s)who has climbed really high professionally and married someone who started a business and became genuinely rich - and they’ve had to make different kinds of sacrifices in terms of time and not spending time with their children. Having said that they could stop work tomorrow and never worry about money - but they carry on working because they seem to want to. Maybe they like the challenge of it? Like you say - time with your children and grandchildren is so precious - and worth prioritising. 

I can relate to this. I was never an ambitious person career wise, and I’m not overly materialistic. At the same time I do worry a lot about not being to pay bills etc - I like to be able to keep the wolf WELL away from the door! When my children were younger we had so little money and I found it so scary - I darent open the post etc - it made me feel genuinely ill.I have another relative (in her late 50s)who has climbed really high professionally and married someone who started a business and became genuinely rich - and they’ve had to make different kinds of sacrifices in terms of time and not spending time with their children. Having said that they could stop work tomorrow and never worry about money - but they carry on working because they seem to want to. Maybe they like the challenge of it? Like you say - time with your children and grandchildren is so precious - and worth prioritising. 

I imagine that possibly if your self esteem is being held up by achievements at work then ‘stopping’ might feel very unsettling. I think a lot of people throw themselves into work as a way of avoiding other difficult emotions they might be having. Maybe work can be a form of ‘escape’ just like addictions like alcohol or gambling? Actually working in the City literally is gambling in many respects! 

I think it's habit that makes so many people keep working, even when they could retire comfortabley, Maybe they've been on their hamster wheel for so long they don't know how to get off? Maybe they just have a different value system, personally I've never seen the point of being the richest person in the graveyard, but each to thier own.