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Purpose, Meaning, and Work in Later Life

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Geropsychology

Synonyms

Meaning in life; Psychological well-being; Purpose in life; Well-being in retirement

Definition

The workplace often provides a prominent context in which one derives a sense of purpose or meaning to life. Research has begun to consider the role of aging and retirement on constructs like purpose and meaning, though clear directions remain for future research.

Introduction

When considering the prominent changes that occur during the adult years, many of those that immediately come to mind likely occur with respect to one’s work and career. Across adulthood, not only do individuals typically experience multiple changes in their specific occupations and workplaces, but also the functions that work serves tend to differ over time. For instance, the key normative tasks that confront individuals differ in the workplace during young, middle, and older adulthood (Hutteman et al. 2014). Broadly speaking, the early adult years are typically spent “getting started,” with respect to...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Carleton University, A515 Loeb Building, 1125 Colonel By Drive, K1S 5B6, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Patrick L. Hill

  2. School of Labor and Employment Relations, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA

    M. Teresa Cardador

Authors
  1. Patrick L. Hill
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  2. M. Teresa Cardador
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrick L. Hill .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Nancy A. Pachana

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Hill, P.L., Cardador, M.T. (2015). Purpose, Meaning, and Work in Later Life. In: Pachana, N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geropsychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_299-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_299-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-080-3

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