Norm Fisher has died!!!!!
Norm was the well-loved and respected Director of the Canberra Institute of Technology. He died within two weeks of retiring. It was a shock for most of us but in those days, such an event was not unusual. The phenomena of leaders and senior managers, in high profile challenging jobs, dying soon after retirement, was not an uncommon tragedy at the turn of the century. Since then much research, advocacy and strategic intervention has sought to create, in many workplaces, a more sustainable work life balance. Yet there are still pockets where long work hours or poorly managed shift work rosters impact significantly on physical and mental health.
Data in a recently released report showed that 20 per cent of Australian men and 7 per cent of women worked 50 hours or more per week in paid employment in 2015. This was down from 26 per cent and 8 per cent respectively in 2004. Despite the reduction in hours, Australia is still among the bottom third of OECD countries when it comes to working long hours.
I was not a senior manager. I enjoyed my job as a middle manager combining management and teaching but I did live with the stress of managing both roles. I loved the teaching, especially at night to mature-age students. At one stage though, I had responsibility for thirty full time, part-time and casual teaching staff. The financial pressures on the TAFE at the time and the fatigue I had accumulated meant that when the opportunity came for early ‘retirement’ at 60, I enthusiastically said ‘yes please’.
Although too old ‘to retire to stud’, I was much too young to turn to a life of bowls and bingo. A number of friends I discovered, freed from the 40-50 hour burden of full employment, undertook courses, particularly through TAFE or local community organisations. I developed an interest in horticulture and began a Certificate IV. I enjoyed the nature of applied learning and found great satisfaction in propagating plants from seeds, cuttings or grafts, successfully selling all of them at our annual Spring fair.
I also discovered that the skills I had gained in my various workplaces, I could access successfully in casual and part-time employment. I worked on three national Census’, two as an area manager. I worked as a Bureau of Census and Statistics interviewer for their monthly statistics and as an administrator for an Eco community. I have been an enthusiastic participant in a number of national health research projects and a regular polling booth worker for local, state and federal elections.
I am not alone in acknowledging that a post ‘retirement’ period can be the most satisfying and enriching period of life. I do also recognise that many in our community do not have the luxury of stable and secure living arrangements or a steady and secure retirement income that offers a buffer in times of economic stress. I am both humbled and grateful for the opportunities I have been given.
Graham Jensen
August 2023
Norm was the well-loved and respected Director of the Canberra Institute of Technology. He died within two weeks of retiring. It was a shock for most of us but in those days, such an event was not unusual. The phenomena of leaders and senior managers, in high profile challenging jobs, dying soon after retirement, was not an uncommon tragedy at the turn of the century. Since then much research, advocacy and strategic intervention has sought to create, in many workplaces, a more sustainable work life balance. Yet there are still pockets where long work hours or poorly managed shift work rosters impact significantly on physical and mental health.
Data in a recently released report showed that 20 per cent of Australian men and 7 per cent of women worked 50 hours or more per week in paid employment in 2015. This was down from 26 per cent and 8 per cent respectively in 2004. Despite the reduction in hours, Australia is still among the bottom third of OECD countries when it comes to working long hours.
I was not a senior manager. I enjoyed my job as a middle manager combining management and teaching but I did live with the stress of managing both roles. I loved the teaching, especially at night to mature-age students. At one stage though, I had responsibility for thirty full time, part-time and casual teaching staff. The financial pressures on the TAFE at the time and the fatigue I had accumulated meant that when the opportunity came for early ‘retirement’ at 60, I enthusiastically said ‘yes please’.
Although too old ‘to retire to stud’, I was much too young to turn to a life of bowls and bingo. A number of friends I discovered, freed from the 40-50 hour burden of full employment, undertook courses, particularly through TAFE or local community organisations. I developed an interest in horticulture and began a Certificate IV. I enjoyed the nature of applied learning and found great satisfaction in propagating plants from seeds, cuttings or grafts, successfully selling all of them at our annual Spring fair.
I also discovered that the skills I had gained in my various workplaces, I could access successfully in casual and part-time employment. I worked on three national Census’, two as an area manager. I worked as a Bureau of Census and Statistics interviewer for their monthly statistics and as an administrator for an Eco community. I have been an enthusiastic participant in a number of national health research projects and a regular polling booth worker for local, state and federal elections.
I am not alone in acknowledging that a post ‘retirement’ period can be the most satisfying and enriching period of life. I do also recognise that many in our community do not have the luxury of stable and secure living arrangements or a steady and secure retirement income that offers a buffer in times of economic stress. I am both humbled and grateful for the opportunities I have been given.
Graham Jensen
August 2023
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