THE END OF A CAREER: TIME FOR THE NEXT PHASE

Much has already been written about retirement. In this magazine, we feature a number of employees on the verge of retirement and how they experience the end of their career.

Eric Loveniers retired from IBM at the beginning of the year after 34 years. A restructuring presented a good opportunity to retire a little sooner than planned. “I actually hadn’t planned to retire just yet. I had noticed that I suffered from a kind of mental fatigue for a while. But it wasn’t that bad that I wanted to leave. But the restructuring presented me with the perfect opportunity. I didn’t have to think about it for too long.”

“Completely different from what I did before”

Eric won’t stop working just yet. He thinks it’s too soon for that. And his wife has a couple of years to go before she can retire. “I graduated as an architect. I have never worked as an architect, but an old class mate recently told me that his architectural firm was looking for an operational manager. I’m very interested in such a position. It’s something completely different from my job at IBM, but I’m excited.” It hasn’t been finalised yet, but the talks are going in the right direction. “And if it should come to nothing, we’ll see. I have the luxury of having a financial safety net. The mortgage has been paid off and the kids have moved out.”

Eric is now becoming self-employed. “I want to have a certain level of flexibility. Keep my hands free. And honestly, it’s also interesting from a fiscal point of view. I have already gathered some information from United Freelancers, the ACV service for self-employed people. They have helped me really well. I’m ready!”

Luc De Brier is a Carrefour department manager. He will have worked 43 years in two years, and will take early retirement at the age of 61.

“After I turned fifty, the job became really tough. Being able to reduce my hours as soon as I turned 55 was a godsend. Not only did I struggle with keeping up physically, but the job also became more complex. It was more exhausting than it used to be. Back then, I put everything in my job and career. But now that I’ve reached those goals, my outlook on work has changed. It doesn’t have to be like that anymore. It’s time to enjoy life more.”

“My outlook on work has changed”

Still, he keeps his job as a secondary occupation. “Aside from my job at Carrefour, I’ve been teaching at the hotel and catering school for years. I’ll probably continue to do that for a while longer. Because I’ve been doing it for so long, I’m able to combine it with early retirement. I have much more freedom in that job than at Carrefour. It’s also less stressful and more workable. Carrefour management doesn’t really understand that the pressure becomes more difficult to handle for older employees. Workability remains a difficult issue. The result is that everyone who can leave, does so – but the generation after me will have to wait a little longer.

I can take early retirement at 61, but that’s going to be 63 and even 65 in the coming years. A couple of years ago, I was too young. The generation before me was able to leave after a restructuring and I couldn’t. I’m glad that I’m eligible now.”

Mimi Hermans is responsible for the central purchase department of Z.Org KU Leuven, a psychiatric hospital with close ties to the UZ Leuven academic hospital. As of this year, she will be working one day less. And in May 2023, she will retire.

“Mixed feelings”

“I’ve always wanted to work until I was 65. So I have mixed feelings about taking a step back,” she says. Her husband’s passing last year is one of the reasons she has decided to work less. “His death was a big blow for me. Privately, but also at work. I suffered from fatigue, which had never happened before. It’s a little better now, but I’m still completely exhausted at night.” But that isn’t the only reason why she decided to take it easier. “It’s the work itself as well. The policy is bothering me more and more. It annoys me. I realise that young people want things to be different. I’ve been young myself. But since my husband’s passing, I find it more difficult to follow in that new direction. And then you have to be honest. To yourself and to the organisation.”

So Mimi is slowly making way for the next generation. She has a very good colleague, whom she sees taking over. “It remains a little unclear how management sees things.” Mimi will remain in the same position for the time being. “I will not push my limits, though,” she says. “Because otherwise, the tasks will keep piling up, like they used to. But that isn’t for me anymore.”