Surveys show that old- er Canadians are spending more time at work and less time taking it easy than they were in the late 1990s. Many older people say they are satisfied, but 40% of those aged 55 to 74 say they are not content with their lives overall and don’t feel healthy.

A new Statistics Canada study has some interesting figures that advisors may want to bring to the attention of their older clients.

For instance, individuals don’t necessarily have to be in good health to be satisfied with their lives, and good health doesn’t guarantee a high level of satisfaction. A person’s health does, however, greatly determine the time spent on various activities.

The study, written by Susan Stobert, Donna Dosman and Norah Keating, says healthy people spend more time on paid work, unpaid work and active leisure. As well, healthy men and women who were satisfied with their lives spent slightly less time on paid work and had more balance between work and other activities than those who said they were less satisfied.

Using data from StatsCan’s 2005 General Social Survey, the authors set out to see whether older Canadians are “aging well” by looking at how they spend their time. There is no clear recipe for aging well, they note, but one widely accepted interpretation is that it entails finding meaning and purpose in the activities a person undertakes.

Some people continue in paid work because it’s both fulfilling and important to their sense of well-being. Others must continue because of retirement policies, societal expectations or economic necessity.

Then there are people who find that unpaid work, such as volunteering, gives meaning to their lives. Involvement in these activities can be a coping mechanism for those making the transition from worker to retiree, the authors say.

Looking at surveys from 1992, 1998 and 2005, the authors found the way in which people spend their time has shifted — in some cases, significantly.

Both women and men were spending about an hour a day more on paid work in 2005 than in 1998. Among men aged 55 to 64, the increase in paid work was accompanied by a decline in the time they devoted to both unpaid work and active leisure (see table, left).

Among women of the same age, the biggest impact was a decline of almost half an hour a day in the time they devoted to active leisure such as physical activities, reading, hobbies and attending educational programs. Women in the age group spent most of their time, about 4.8 hours a day, on unpaid work — exactly the same as in 1992 and 1998.

Reflecting other data from StatsCan’s Labour Force Survey, the social study showed employment for older workers aged 55 and over has increased in the past 13 or 14 years. For example, 51% of women aged 55 to 64 were in the workforce in 2005, compared with only 36% in 1992. Men are working longer, too. In 2005, 68% of men aged 55 to 64 were in the workforce, compared with 64% in 1992 and back up after declining to 59% in 1998. And among men aged 65 to 74, workforce participation jumped to 23% in 2005 from 19% in 1992, after a drop to 14% in 1998.

Economic conditions may explain some of the changes, the authors say. In the mid-1990s, older male workers experienced a number of negative occurrences, such as downsizing or forced early retirement, as a result of a downturn in the economy. “Some of these workers may have welcomed this forced disengagement from paid work, while others may have suffered from it,” the study says.

Aging well is not just about levels of engagement, the authors emphasize: “Older Canadians who age well are able to find a balance or fit between their current activities and their life situations and resources.” The ideal balance will probably differ for women and men, the authors say, and for older seniors and younger seniors. The differences became clear when Canadians were asked to indicate overall satisfaction with their lives.

Overall, women have a higher level of satisfaction with their lives than men across all age groups, the study found. But both men and women experience their lowest level of life satisfaction in mid-life.

@page_break@“This is understandable,” the authors say, “given this is the age when Canadians spend large amounts of time at work advancing their careers, while trying to juggle the demands of a household, children and personal activities.”

But older Canadians had a much stronger sense of life satisfaction than other groups, the study found. Men older than 65 reported the highest level of life satisfaction of all groups. The study also found that, after age 65, Canadians spend more time on passive leisure activities, such as watching television and videos or listening to the radio. Among women over 65, only the less healthy and less satisfied with their lives spent more time on passive leisure than healthy women in the same age group.

Active leisure may well be correlated with aging well, the authors say. But there is no clear relationship between physical activity and level of satisfaction with life.

The authors say there is no single set of leisure activities that benefits everyone. Rather, it is an individual pursuit. IE