Retirement is the time of life when a person finally leaves the workforce. In the US, the common age for retirement is 65, and so does in many developed countries. They usually receive a monthly pension and benefits in place for their income when they are still working. However, the pension is not necessarily equivalent to their previous salary.
Some people live a satisfactory life after retiring, while others do not. Scientists from Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand, believe that one major factor for satisfaction in retirement is one's personality.
Extroverts Have Harder Time Coping With Retirement: Here's How Personality Could Affect Satisfaction Post-Retirement
Big Five Personality Traits
The Big Five personality traits are known by the acronym OCEAN: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. According to Simply Psychology, the Big Five Model is also known as the Five-Factor Model and is the most widely accepted personality theory. Each of these traits is characterized by the following:
- Openness to Experience - describes the degree of a person's creativity, intellectual curiosity, and preference for novelty.
- Conscientiousness - tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully and refers to planning, organization, and dependability.
- Extroversion - sociable, fun-loving, and has a tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others.
- Agreeableness - the tendency to be compassionate and cooperative.
- Neuroticism - anxious, pessimistic, and describes negative emotions like depression and anger.
The Big Five Model asserts that each personality trait is a spectrum and individuals are ranked on a scale between the two extreme ends. For instance, measuring extraversion would mean determining their level of extraversion and not as purely an introvert or extrovert.
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Personality Dictates Satisfaction of Post-Retirement Life
Very little research is available on how personality affects satisfaction with post-retirement life. In the new study, researchers analyzed data from over 2,000 British adults aged 50 to 75, MailOnline reported.
The questions in the survey were designed to assess the levels of the Big Five personality traits in each respondent. The survey questions asked about their exit path from their job, their life satisfaction after leaving, and their plans to work again.
Results showed that people who score high on conscientiousness were more likely to cope well with life after retirement. In contrast, those who score high in extroversion were more likely to report dissatisfaction with their life, income, and leisure post-retirement.
Researchers suggest that being conscientious may act as a psychological buffer. This trait describes them as being more proactive at finding novel ways of fulfilling their lives even after leaving the workforce. On the other hand, extroverts might miss the social interactions at work, which is why they find it hard to cope with retirement.
The team hopes that their findings could help develop interventions and policies that will boost the well-being of aging adults.
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