Meanings of talk about the transition to retirement: Connecting macro and micro discourses

ABSTRACT

This study integrates the normative theory of social support and organizational discourse perspectives to examine the meanings of baby boomers’ talk about changes associated with the transition to retirement, and how this talk connects to societal Discourses. Analysis of interviews with 43 participants (21 couples) revealed that talk about changes associated with money and time implicated multiple task, identity, and relational meanings. Drawing connections between talk and Discourse about finances was relatively straightforward, whereas there was more disjuncture regarding time. Results suggest that participants were easily able to talk about financial issues, perhaps because of more prominent Discourse, but found discussing identity and relational aspects of spending time in retirement more difficult, perhaps due to a lack of Discourse.

KEYWORDS:

• Normative theory of social support
• normative rhetorical theory
• discourse
• retirement

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Steve Wilson, Patrice Buzzanell, Melanie Morgan, Melissa Franks and Steve North for their guidance and insight throughout this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributors

Patricia Gettings’ (Ph.D., Purdue University) research explores how individuals communicatively negotiate the intersections of their personal and professional lives, and how these negotiations are associated with individual, relational, and/or organizational outcomes. A specific area of focus is how couples transition into retirement.

ORCID

Patricia E. Gettings http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9276-0423