Are You Ready to Retire? A New Perspective on Satisfaction at Work

A couple of weeks ago, a former colleague stopped me on campus. Several years ago we worked together in my role as a department chair. I recall her bubbly personality and bright smile. In our conversation, she appeared worn. When I asked how she was doing she declared that she was ready to retire—in exactly twenty years and six months.

As someone closer to the end of my career than the beginning, I wanted to question her or offer her boilerplate language to change her negative tone. But the practical side of me understood her sentiment. In my 30s, I too, felt ready to leave academia after my first position at a Big Ten university.

This desire for retirement has been a recurring thought, especially after the pandemic. So much so that I created a Stop Playing Diversity? episode about it over two years ago.

I imagined what it would feel like to leave higher education and my academic job, to wake up daily feeling joy and peace instead of worrying about workplace politics or being undermined by others seeking promotions at my expense. I envisioned a life free from the silent bystanders who overlooked harm in the workplace. In this life, I wouldn't have to fight for HR responsiveness, cover gaps left by ineffective ethics offices trying to find their way with humans as their test subjects or tolerate well-meaning diversity offices with no power to enforce real change.

Yes, retirement would be my Eden.

Preparing for the Future: Financial Plans and Reality Checks

In anticipation of that final work day, I consulted my financial advisor, calculating when I could retire. I wanted to identify the age and likelihood of meeting my financial goals.

I continue to review those projections unapologetically even when people around me try to police my enthusiasm for retirement by saying, "Oh, I’d be really bored if I didn’t work."

But I see retirement differently. It’s not that I don’t enjoy working—I do. I love collaborating with meaningful people and engaging in projects that matter. As a professor, I value contributing to knowledge and challenging people to think critically. I adore teaching inquisitive students and advising dissertation processes.

What I don’t appreciate, however, is enduring environments that are harmful or unsupportive. I hate not being the recipient of a solid mentoring plan simply because I refuse to bow down to rigid systems with people who can’t critically and equitably respond to my questions about their inconsistent implementation of workplace processes and their placement of power in the hands of people who are rewarded heartily for upholding the status quo.

If today’s work culture fails to uplift diverse groups—especially marginalized people—why should I pretend that a place has been healthy for me, especially if in that environment, I was broken down and ignored? My gifts are too precious to squander until I'm old and gray.

Capitalism and the "Retirement Elephant"

Let’s address the retirement elephant in the room: capitalism. That is the number one reason I am still employed in my organization. I have bills to pay, and I appreciate the security it offers, allowing me to build my retirement savings. I value that sense of stability too.

I recognize the space for what it is though. Like a liar who can't tell the truth or become something it isn't, this place has proven to me it's rotten and doesn't represent the "shared values" it professes and wants like a carrot to evaluate its employees. This higher education place of business is a place of hypocrisy and opportunism, a breeding ground for status quo thinkers and puppets who care more about learning how to operate performatively than demonstrating values that center humanity and people.

If I could walk away today from that, I would. Nothing in me wants to be tethered to a workplace plagued by lack of accountability, weak policies, ignorance of the execution of those policies, blatant cronyism, fear of retaliation and isolation, and superficial diversity efforts.

Some might say I’m dreaming of entrepreneurship and should leave my place of employment to pursue my entrepreneurial endeavors full-time. While that’s part of my plan and overall brand strategy, my goal is to find formal and informal spaces in and out of higher education where I can contribute intellectually and in environments that align with my values and treat me with consistent respect.

We all deserve workplaces where people’s words hold weight, where we can thrive, prosper, and enjoy our roles. When I speak of retirement, I’m envisioning a place free from the burdens that have historically oppressed so many. I don’t want to be constantly misunderstood, assumed incompetent, or held responsible for educating others about diversity, equity, and inclusion—there are other in-house experts and resources for that.

I simply want to go to work, do my job, and return home. I don’t want to be burdened with fixing an environment that’s not my responsibility to change. I don’t want to fight a system that promised me community and wellness as I pay for therapy resources from my pocket, just to enter that system and function every day.

How Workplaces Can Improve: A Call for Accountability

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let me present my ask and offer advice. Ultimately, I want workplaces to step up so I and others like me don’t feel drained every day. What does this look like?

1. First, they must address the historical roots of oppression. This is the time for organizations to foster genuine conversations, enforce meaningful policies, and practice what they preach.
2. Stop seeing disruptors as your enemy. Value diversity in all its forms, even if it pushes the organization out of its comfort zone. That means placing people with divergent (but well-meaning views) at the table. I emphasize well-meaning since many leaders cannot differentiate between human rights and insubordination. Without that discernment, a leader’s insecurities will surface and employees who can advance the team will be penalized unjustly.
3. Acknowledge wrongdoing publicly and swiftly. The longer strife remains in an organization, the deeper the roots of toxicity become. Status quo environments operate from reactive stances, meaning they do nothing to restore the people they have harmed. Imagine those unresolved issues as seeds that are growing. Without a restoration plan, the fruit an organization bears will be rotten, at least in areas related to employees (e.g., human resources). If you are a leader, you have an opportunity to choose the fruit that will be produced in your workplace.

I know people who remain in their careers into their 80s or 90s in academia because they feel energized in their roles. Instead of spending time with their families, pursuing hobbies, or traveling, they choose to show up at work until they take their last breaths.

?Why?

They feel valued and celebrated in their spaces. When they come to work, they are listened to. They see visible changes without exorbitant amounts of stress. They are revered for their expertise. Environments like that don’t just tolerate them but empower them.

I can’t say the same. If I stayed in my workplace that long under the current conditions I see, I’d probably question my worth so much that people closest to me would no longer recognize the fire in me. The 2024 workplace hasn’t done enough for me and many others to offer almost blind loyalty to places that don’t acknowledge their contributions to harm and don’t present solid plans for us to offer our gifts and talents to them.

How can organizations create workplaces where those labeled as “the other” feel excited, respected, and fulfilled enough to stay until they choose to leave? Where are the workplaces that don’t require people to fight their own battles against harassment and discrimination or be driven out by stress or exhaustion??

Redefining Retirement: Walking Unapologetically in Purpose

Let me reiterate that when I talk about rushing toward retirement, I’m not talking about quitting my purpose. I’m talking about aligning with healthy workplaces and healed people who don’t project their unresolved childhood trauma and insecurities on their employees. I’m referring to working with and being led by people who don’t feel the need to uphold oppressive systems so they can remain in them.

My wish for everyone in the workforce is to experience the freedom to walk unapologetically and fully in what they are called to do. It’s about stepping away from oppressive systems and environments as needed.

This version of retirement is liberating because it centers the employees more than the workplace. It’s about wanting the best for the people in your organization, not focusing primarily on erecting buildings that memorialize people with enough money to tattoo their names on things.

Reflection and Affirmation

Today’s takeaway: reflect on your life and environment.

If you hold a leadership position and have the power to shape your space, ask yourself—are you creating an environment where people can thrive, feel valued, and want to stay until they choose to retire?

If, like me, you feel ready to walk away, consider why. That’s often a sign that the space doesn’t uplift you. And if you’re seeking a new environment, think critically about how you’ll know if it’s truly the right fit for you. If there is no possible alignment, step out in faith to create what you need to live life on your terms.

Say this out loud:

“I seek spaces that energize me until I am ready to depart those spaces on my terms.”

It’s about purpose, peace, and finding places that energize and support your growth. My hope is that step by step, you will reach that place one day at a time.

Dr. Monica Cox is a professor, entrepreneur, author, and disruptor who guides leaders to drive systemic change and offers prophetic insights for clarity and restoration from toxic workplaces. ?She uses fictional counternarratives in her novels and is the author of the Stop Playing Diversity series: Never Defeated, an institutional healing balm for people who've been harmed by work or for leaders who want to create safer, more equitable spaces for employees to thrive, and Excellence Expanded: 20 Ways to Become a Workplace Disruptor. If you’re interested in coaching or consulting with Dr. Cox, please complete this form.