Retirement - The Beginning of a New Chapter in One's Life

Some of the projects done by the company

My better half has been working for his current company for over ten year looking after the electrical designs of the condo buildings in the greater Toronto area.









He worked for over forty years as an engineer and has had a rewarding career in Canada.
However, it is time for him to retire and enjoy some leisure time!

His company is one of the few companies that really cares for its employees.

Good bye to the 9-5 job after four decades of services!

I know some friends who worked for years for their companies giving them their dedicated services but when they left or retired, their employers did not show any appreciation or gave them a parting gift. I was really glad when I learned about the retirement party for S.











It is unfortunate that in North America, we seem to define ourselves by what we do and attach great significance to how much we earn in our jobs.

Many people feel a huge loss or even become depressed once they retire from their professional jobs.

S. has mixed feelings about his retirement

My neighbor, who was a school principal, became extremely depressed after he retired from his work.

 As he did not have much to do post retirement, we often see him walking past our house three or four times a day.

Stan. has wonderful colleagues at work!

Stan  has mixed feelings of his retirement because he loves his job as the senior engineer at his company.

What's more, he works with a great bunch of professional colleagues who pull their weight and work together as a team collaborating and supporting each other at work.

Everyone works as a team and tries their best to get along!

While I was working, I often went home and ranted my frustrations to my family regarding all the office politics at work, the interferences by the various powerful unions and the crazy decisions made by the top tier of the management.

I once was so unhappy that I had a sign hanging in our house  that
 read " It's hard to soar when you work with a bunch of turkeys!"

That expressed exactly how I once felt!

A former colleague made a special effort to attend the retirement party!

With my husband, it was a totally different story as he has been very fortunate to have worked with some great people!

Molly, normally not at the office also came to wish Stan well.

I have always been a little envious of the Stan's work environment as I rarely heard of my husband complaining about his colleagues or anything related to work at home.

Eric has created a positive company culture and a pleasant work environment

His colleagues are always very civil and nice to each other.  I think that credit goes to Eric P., representing the management of the company.

Eric's  respect and compassion for the company's employees filters down to everyone. He has created a positive culture within the company and a pleasant workplace environment for everyone.

This is the best company my husband for which he has worked in his career.

The company's caring and compassionate attitude was evident during Stan's illness last year.











 We received many emails, calls, text messages and visits from his colleagues and the management.

On his official last day of work last week, the company put on quite a spread for Stan. They ordered an Italian party size porchata, huge trays of suishi, fried chicken, fresh fruit, salad and various kinds of roasted vegetables.  They also invited staff members including those who left to join in this celebration.

Stan is not a flamboyant person and he is a little shy. He would not feel comfortable in a formal retirement dinner.

Celebrating and wishing him well on his last official day of work

Saying good bye and concluding his professional career surrounded by the awesome people with whom he has worked for the past decade and to a job he absolutely loved in this causal yet dignified setting was a perfect way to end a four decade career.

He was moved by the thoughtful messages and generous gifts he received and the presence of the people such as Molly, and former colleagues who made an effort to be there to wish him well. 

Happy Retirement, Stan!

 

As for his post retirement life, Stan  is looking forward to being a consultant working only one day a week.

However, he is not sure what he would do with his time at home. We will sit down and work out a schedule together so that he would have meaningful activities to fill his days and that his retirement would be a golden opportunity for us to share wonderful time together, to give back to our community and to serve God!

R.T.
Toronto