OUR LIVES | SENIOR LIVING
How The Pandemic Changed The State Of The Older LGBTQ Adult In The Workplace BY RANDY STERN | PHOTOS BY RANDY STERN The challenge of living well into your best years has been compounded by the COVID-19 Pandemic. As workplaces were shut down – even some have closed for good – that caused a number of older adults to either stop working or working with reduced hours. In December of 2021, the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) conducted a survey of 3,685 people over the age of 50 to see how the Pandemic has changed the way they worked. According to the survey, “the results suggest that while the pandemic has had a broad impact, ?proximity to planned retirement age may have played a bigger role in older adults’ decision-making.” The AARP found five themes that their research found as trends among older adults. They found that many older adults have stopped working altogether. In some cases, that lent to retirement from their long-term jobs. That decision was also driven by the fact they were close
to retirement age to be able to do so. Similar to many families and couples living under one roof, older adults also found that finding a work-life balance was tricky while working from home. According to the AARP, “while people 50 and older generally find the possibility of remote work appealing, they recognize there are some challenges that come along with it.” The survey stated that 36 percent of remote workers said that it “was either somewhat or very difficult to really end work each day, since work and home life are happening in the same place.” These findings did not single out any specific group of older adults. No matter the circumstances facing all groups, there was no distinction made for older LGBTQ adults. Yet, there are some distinctions. Resource centers, such as SAGE, and other reports from various sources, including the AARP, point to Continue on page 152
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