A Phenomenological Study of Military Retirees: Reasons for Retirement and Post-Retirement Employment in Turkish Military Staff

Abstract

Recently, an increasing number of retired individuals decide to return to work and seek for post-retirement employment. Although research has already focused on individual and organizational based factors in retirement and post-retirement, the works are limited in some observable settings and well-known professions. The purpose of this study is to delve into the reasons for retirement and post-retirement employment and describe how human capital and social capital takes role in post-retirement employment. A qualitative approach was used with a descriptive phenomenological research design. Ten volunteer military retirees constitute the participants; in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. Findings indicate that social and human capital heavily affect the retirement process, and trigger the return to work. The higher the hierarchy of the military staff, the more the social factors are motivating them to post-retirement employment, contrarily. For lower hierarchy, financial issues are more dominant for returning to work. Additionally, the effect of social capital on the post-retirement employment varies according to individual differences such as dependents, beliefs, and passions. The study contributes to theoretical discussions related to retirement and post-retirement employment reasons that can be linked to existing explanations.