Disengagement Process for Workers in Nigeria: The Role of Employers and the Government

Abstract

This study seeks to examine the level of preparedness of employers and employees for disengagement from work in Nigeria. It applied the use of questionnaires and structured interviews to probe the challenges faced by retirees during this phase of life. The study observed that the issue of pensions is just one of the many problems confronting those who have disengaged from work. Other issues which are usually neglected include: reduction in income, loss of the camaraderie offered by colleagues in the work place, sudden availability of more time for leisure, declining health due to old age and finding relevance in a society that determines a man's worth by his work. Ostensibly, the issue of pension is what the government, as an employer, addressed. This appears rather inadequate. What the society needs is a concerted programme that takes care of the key concerns of life after disengagement. These include issues of housing, finances or sustenance, time and health management, finding meaning and relevance in the society as well as coping with the ageing process. Arising from the findings of the survey and analysis of data, it was recommended that workers be sensitized continually to the inevitability of disengagement even at the point of entry into the world of work. It is also necessary for the employer to create an environment for the worker to be multiskilled and thus able to cope with various jobs in a globalized world with high technology and fast, unrelenting pace of change. Importantly, pre-retirement training should be institutionalized to enable workers re-orientate themselves to life after the active work years. Above all workers should take responsibility for their own lives by acquiring multi-skills, which will stand them in good stead for the world of work and retirement.