Aug. 12, 2010

Chicago Tribune

How to Take Less Stress Along When You Retire

One way to successfully transition into retirement is cultivating new passions in your final working years, said Anita Madison, vice president of Training and Consulting for ComPsych, which provides employee assistance programs to companies.

That’s no small task given today’s workplace, where strapped employees are working longer hours to complete the work of their laid-off colleagues. In a ComPsych survey released in July, nearly one-third of HR managers said maintaining employee productivity and morale will be their biggest challenge in the next six months, ahead of dealing with health care reform and recruiting.

Even so, Madison said carving out time to develop new passions or find meaningful volunteer opportunities will help workers in their final career years to alleviate some of the carryover stress in retirement.