For five years cultural anthropologist Caitrin Lynch  immersed herself in the working environment of Vita Needle Company in Needham, Mass., a family-owned business that makes a practice of hiring older workers, so many in fact that the median age of their employees  is 74.

Vita Needle is a small company, employing 45 people that makes needles, stainless steel tubing, pipes and custom-fabricated parts. 

Lynch’s observations, some of which she shared in the Sun Journal’s Perspective section, (Sunday, Jan. 19) made for an enlightening look into what may be a new kind of “retirement,” where people hold jobs, work mostly working part-time hours — and well into their 70s and 80s. And a new kind of business model where a company hires retirement-age workers (called “eldersourcing”) who, thanks to Social Security, pensions and Medicare, aren’t looking for benefits. 

Lynch acknowledges that the Vita Needle business model prompts questions about the potential for exploitation. But she urges readers not to think in black-and-white terms. Eldersourcing can be positive for both employers and employees, she said. “In the end, the Vita Needle case leads us to think in new ways about work.” 

As an anthropologist, the focus of Lynch’s work was to “learn what, on top of a paycheck, Vita Needle provides to its employees” and to “understand American values about retirement and work.”

What she found was a factory with an unusual business model that benefited the business and its predominantly older workforce, mutually. After spending parts of five years working alongside and getting to know Vita’s workers, Lynch concluded the company is doing a good job meeting the needs of its retirement-age workforce. It’s employees weren’t only looking for a paycheck but for ways to “feel meaningful to others as well as to themselves and doing it with others.” 

But the bigger conclusion she reached is something that will affect us all: “the life-stage called “retirement” could use some rethinking.  

With a “booming” elder population that is commonly living 20 years past the traditional retirement age of 65, it’s time we all start rethinking what we mean — and really want — and what’s truly possible, in our so-called “retirement years.” 

In 1950, 15 years after the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935, about 28 percent of the American labor force was 65 and older, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And for the next 35 years, that percentage steadily declined, reaching an all-time low of 10 percent in 1985. Since then, the percentage of the American labor force 65 and older has climbed back to nearly 20 percent, an increase that shows no signs of slowing.

What “to do” about retirement is an enormous societal and personal issue facing our country, one that’s made exponentially more complicated by the uncertain future of Social Security and Medicare.  

But about this, we are certain: There are big changes ahead for people and businesses. What kinds of jobs will there be for this growing pool of older people who want — or need — to work, in a world where change is constant and even entry-level jobs require maintaining or upgrading technical skills?

Will this trend pit older people against young workers competing for the same entry-level jobs, which is already happening to a degree?

The questions, many without answers at this point, seem endless. 

But what Catrin Lynch has done through her thoughtful writing and research is to get us thinking about this new stage of retirement.

Thank you, Ms. Lynch, for making us think. 

(Caitrin Lynch is a professor of anthropology at Olin College of engineering in Needham, Mass. Her book, based on her research at Vita Needle, is called “Retirement on the Line, Age, Work and Value in an American Factory.” For more information, go to www.retirementontheline.net)

hmccarthy@sunjournal.com

The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and the editorial board.

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