In 1988, at the age of 58, my father was laid off from his job as a lighting engineer at GTE Sylvania. Thus began his forced retirement.
My mother worked two more years and left her job in the school system on her own terms.
Both had vastly different experiences exiting their jobs.
My father’s lay off came as a surprise. With a lump in his throat, he asked HR how long he had to finish up his projects. They told him there was no need, his job was done, and he could go. It was a tremendous blow. He had worked 21 years for the company, and this was not the way he expected to finish his work life. For the remainder of his days, he carried a sense of shame about the experience.