Continuing to work in the third and fourth age
For many people, work has not merely been a source of income. It has been a place of identity, belonging, and recognition. Through work, individuals have built a sense of personal value, a place in the world, and a continuity between who they are and what they do. When retirement arrives, this bond can be abruptly severed. However, the desire to work does not fade for everyone.
When work remains a need
Some individuals feel the need to continue working, albeit in a different way than in the past. This is not always due to financial necessity, but often stems from a need to feel active, useful, and present. This desire does not indicate an inability to “let go.” Rather, it suggests that work has had, and continues to have, a significant identity-related and emotional function.
Work, value, and shame
In a culture that associates advanced age with withdrawal and inactivity, continuing to work can generate shame. One may feel judged, as if they were unable to stop,
as if they were occupying a space that no longer belongs to them. This shame arises from cultural models, not from actual inadequacy. From an emotional perspective, work can continue to be a source of regulation, meaning, and dignity.
Work that changes form
Continuing to work in the third and fourth age does not necessarily mean maintaining the same pace, responsibilities, or performance levels. The body changes. Available energy may decrease. Recovery times become longer. From an evolutionary standpoint,
this phase requires adaptation, not performance. Work can be transformed: becoming more flexible, more selective, more oriented toward transmission and meaning, and less centered on productivity.
Between continuity and trauma
For some people, the interruption of work can be experienced as a traumatic event.
This is not so much due to the loss of the activity itself, but rather the rupture of identity continuity. When work has been one of the primary emotional regulators, its disappearance can leave a void that is difficult to integrate. From a constructivist perspective, the goal is not to eliminate the need to work, but to understand its personal meaning.
Awareness and choice
A central aspect concerns the possibility of choice. Continuing to work can be a resource if it arises from a conscious desire and not from an escape from emptiness or fear.
Awareness and the ability to live fully in the present help create a space of listening and presence where it becomes possible to observe the emotions accompanying the desire to work—such as fear, shame, a sense of value or utility—without immediately acting upon them.
In this way, work can remain a place of presence rather than sacrifice.
At Spazio FormaMentis, clinical work with individuals who continue or wish to continue working in their third and fourth age is not oriented toward dictating what is right to do. It is oriented toward exploring the meaning of work within one’s personal history.
In this space, it becomes possible to:
- distinguishing between identity needs and the fear of emptiness
- regulating emotions such as shame, anger, or sadness
- integrating bodily changes without self-devaluation
- finding sustainable forms of continuity
Continuing to work can be an evolutionary resource. Not to remain who you were before, but to become yourself in a new phase of life.
