Supporting and engaging late and post career stage psychologists in APA

Joann Montepare, Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging), writes about “Putting Age-Friendly Principles into Practice: Supporting and Engaging Later Stage Career Psychologists in APA,” which received a grant of $5,750.

Division leaders are encouraged to submit an Interdivisional Grant Program proposal by the September 1 deadline.

Our populations are aging nationally and locally at dramatic rates as we experience extended longevity, with significant implications on many fronts. Professional organizations whose members are affiliated with higher education may be uniquely affected by these demographic trends. Indeed, compared with the general workforce, more tenure-track faculty are aged 55 or older. Thus, campuses have become natural environments where long-time faculty members are “aging in the workplace.”  For APA, a significant number of its members are 60 years of age or older and identify as being in their late or post career stages (APA Division Dashboard). 

Support from a 2022 CODAPAR grant, Putting Age-Friendly Principles into Practice: Supporting and Engaging Later Career Stage Psychologists in APA, offered the opportunity to explore older members’ perceptions of age inclusivity and how APA could better support and engage them as a professional organization.

Beyond the historic demographic transformation in motion, this project was motived by research and theory in the adult development and aging literature showing that whether one refers to this phase of professional life as a period of 'renewment', 'revitalizing retirement', or ‘re-envisioning’, the nature, timing, and appearance of retirement has changed – warranting a closer look at how individuals are navigating this phase of their careers, and how professional organizations can support and engage them. 

Aligning with its endorsement of the pioneering Age-Friendly Universityopens in new window (AFU) initiative, the project also allowed Division 20 to extend the AFU philosophy to APA organizational practices. Specifically, this project drew on AFU Principle #9 that advocates for engaging actively with one’s retired community.

Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging), in collaboration with Divisions 12 (Section 2: Society of Clinical Geropsychology), 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology), and 18 (Psychologists in Public Service), designed an on-line survey for APA members which was distributed via APA Division presidents. The survey explored members’ attitudes toward retirement, their sense of belonging in APA, and their interests in various opportunities for engagement and support.  

Responses were assessed from 391 members who were 52 years of age or older—and revealed that a good number of these members did not believe that APA valued age inclusivity, offered apt opportunities for dialogue and professional/career development, or sought to engage retired members. The study also found that many late and post career members indicated that they participated a few times a year, or rarely, in APA activities. Some others were more active, participating weekly or monthly in activities. Although the majority of respondents reported that they felt connected to APA, about 10% reported feeling very disengaged. The observed variation in sense of connectedness can be taken to suggest that opportunities exist for APA to engage its older members and to increase their sense of being connected to APA. 

Based on a deeper dive into the responses and the suggestions offered by respondents, the following recommendations emerged as ways APA can better support and engage its late and post career stage members: 

• raise greater awareness about the value of age inclusivity, develop more age-friendly opportunities for dialogue and professional development, and improve its communication with members about late career stage transitions, retirement, and continued engagement;
• appraise APA language around age and older members (see Reframing Agingopens in new window);
• tailor new age-friendly efforts and resources more broadly to specific groups of older members in various settings;
• develop dialogue and related programming around career transitions and retirement planning that speak to financial challenges and physical or medical concerns, as well as sustaining professional contributions and maintaining social and emotional connections with colleagues and community;
• increase older members’ sense of connection by expanding networking and lifelong educational opportunities, as well as providing advisory opportunities on APA committees and special initiatives;
• rather than increasing convention programs, develop other opportunities for late career stage and retired members that include opportunities for teaching, sharing experiences with APA peers, and exploring encore professional development and career-related activities;
• consider developing more intergenerational mentorship opportunities, as well as advocacy training and opportunities for older members;
• to address concerns about membership cost for late career stage and retired members, publicize more to members about the option of lifetime memberships and how to achieve that status as an age-friendly way to keep members connected to APA throughout their lives; and,
• to address concerns about institutional affiliation needs and interests, develop “age-friendly” programs for leaders in higher education that provide information about supporting late career stage faculty and engaging retired faculty.  

Lifespan psychological theory and research has given new impetus to continuing development across adulthood and into older adulthood. We as psychologists need to support each other by providing creative opportunities to further our professional and personal growth.