Would You Rather Retire or Redesign Work?

“What if we stopped thinking about careers as full-time or retired, and started thinking about contribution on our own terms?”

A recent article in The Senior highlighted a growing trend among older Australians taking on roles as school bus drivers, pet sitters, exam supervisors, Bunnings team members, election and Census workers, as well as Uber and delivery drivers.

The phenomenon has been dubbed “unretirement” — ie people stepping back into paid work, not necessarily out of necessity, but for purpose, connection, flexibility and extra income. According to a 2025 KPMG analysis of ABS data, workforce participation among Australians aged over 65 has more than doubled since 2001, rising from 6.1 per cent to 15 per cent. So, which of these roles appeals to you?

For me, it raises an interesting question.

Rather than leaving our careers and finding something new, why aren’t more workplaces adapting to help people stay in the roles they already love?

Who decided that 9-to-5, five days a week, was the ideal model for everyone?

With workplace flexibility increasingly possible, perhaps the challenge isn’t retirement at all. Perhaps it’s that we’re holding onto outdated thoughts or assumptions and we need to look at more than ‘work from home’ and ‘work share’ as our only solutions. I came up with some titles …

• Work Snacking
• Career Bites
• Work in Waves
• Purpose Pockets
• Life-Fit Work

and even “Silver Shifts” roles.

I can see it now as I transition into my silver shift one day a week … in 10 years time…

What would make work more sustainable and appealing for you as you get older?

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Reference
https://www.thesenior.com.au/story/9287940/the-senior-gig-economy-meet-the-modern-aussie-unretirees