He's out of the dip
Age: 65
Occupation: Retail assistant
Optimism level: High
Idris studied to be an accountant but when he qualified, he found the routine quite restricting. He didn’t like sitting down all day and being tied to his screen. He knew it made his parents proud, but his heart wasn’t in it. After a few years he decided to become a taxi driver. He was able to support his family while doing something he enjoyed. However, it meant that he was away from home a lot, working long nights and weekends. Idris didn’t want to stop working but the traffic, especially in London, was starting to affect him. So, he applied to work in his local supermarket and has been working there for the past five years. He’s recently reduced his hours to three days a week.
‘Personal satisfaction and fulfilment’ becomes a key career goal from our 50s onwards, rising sharply until reaching a peak of 84% of the over 65s.
Idris has three children and four grandchildren. He always felt like he missed watching his kids grow up because he was working so much. Now that he’s a grandfather, he feels like he’s got a second chance and wants to be around them as much as possible. He’s been saving up to surprise his family with a trip to Disneyland Paris. He can’t wait to see the look of excitement on their face when he can book it.
Idris has always wanted to give his family everything that he didn’t have growing up. His parents did their best and he saw how hard they worked so that he could have opportunities that they didn’t. Being able to travel, support his kids through university, and now be there for his grandchildren, is what motivates Idris.
Idris has never been one to want to work a desk job, he’s always enjoyed being on the go. But over the last couple of years, he’s started to struggle with pain in his knees, hips and back. He has to climb ladders and kneel a lot for his job and he’s noticing that the pain is getting worse. He’s thought about asking his employer if he can have lighter duties for a couple of weeks, but he doesn’t want his manager to think that he isn’t up to the job. He wants to work for as long as he can, but the pain is starting to impact him.
We’ve created some useful tools and resources to help navigate some of the challenges Idris may be facing.
Our quick quiz helps employees find out where they are on the curve and start their journey towards greater control and wellbeing.
Share it with your team and spark meaningful conversations.
WeCare is your health and wellbeing app designed to support insured employees through all stages of the Curve of Life.
To help you and your employees get the most out of WeCare, we’ve created a range of toolkits, guides and more.
*These stories have been created to show how the curve of life can impact people at different stages of life. They are not real-life stories.
