The end of one's professional career is a key moment in life. How does the transition to retirement unfold for senior executives in Japan or the United States? How this transition is experienced depends largely on cultural contexts and the support people receive. Progress could be made in this area.
In ‘Unbecoming a Professional: The Role of Memory during Field Transitions in Japan and the US’, we examine how retired partners from audit firms in Japan and the US view their personal lives after their careers. These firms are highly structured environments where individuals develop deep connections to their work, skills and routines. Based on interviews with 48 retired partners in these two countries, we studied how individuals ‘cease to be professionals’ after decades spent in a career.
The study highlights that, although cultural and societal contexts influence how former partners experience this transition, nostalgia and memories of their professional past also play an important role in their adaptation.
To understand this moment of departure from professional life, we draw on key sociological concepts from the work of Pierre Bourdieu, notably habitus, capital, hysteresis and field transitions. Over time, professionals develop deeply ingrained habits, skills and ways of thinking, in line with the norms and expectations of the audit firm environment.
Work, a question of habitus
The habitus formulated influences the way partners behave and navigate their professional world. In addition, throughout their careers, professionals accumulate different types of resources or forms of ‘capital,’ whether cultural (skills, knowledge), social (relationships, networks) or economic (wealth). These forms of capital are highly valued during individuals' working years. But when retirement comes, their meaning can change.
To explain this discrepancy between habitus and new circumstances more generally, Bourdieu put forward the concept of hysteresis: the incompatibility of habitus with new circumstances. To varying degrees, some of the professional skills, knowledge, social manners and networks developed during their long careers no longer correspond to the circumstances of their retirement.
Retirement as a graduation ceremony in Japan
Our main findings suggest that cultural values profoundly influence how these partners live and adapt after leaving an audit firm. Former Japanese partners often view retirement as a ‘graduation’ or ‘sotsugyou’. In other words, it is a transition to a new phase rather than a complete end to their professional life.
In terms of economic capital, many former Japanese partners continue to serve on boards of directors and retain their professional qualifications, leveraging the knowledge, skills and social networks they have acquired. This phenomenon reflects the concept of ‘ikigai’: having a purpose in life, which often includes continuing to work and actively contributing to society.
From a social capital perspective, strong professional relationships and loyalty to former colleagues endure for retired Japanese ex-partners. They continue to interact with their professional network, which helps them find post-retirement roles and maintain a sense of belonging. Our study highlights that this continued work aligns with the expectations of Japanese society and family structures, which value ongoing contribution to the household as part of a legitimate and commendable life goal.
Retirement as a well-deserved reward in the United States
Conversely, former US partners tend to view retirement as a time to detach completely from professional life and invest in other areas of life. For many, retirement is seen as a reward for decades of work, in line with the ideal of the “American Dream” or the promise of achieving success and prosperity through hard work.
In terms of economic capital, former partners shift their focus to leisure, family and personal interests. For them, retirement is less about maintaining ties to their professional past and more about a life of comfort and enjoyment, often describing retirement as the ‘deserved’ fruit of their working lives. In terms of social capital, professional relationships often diminish after retirement; they face the challenge of building new social networks outside of work, although they maintain close ties with some former colleagues.
Different adaptations from one country to another
Former Japanese and American partners all experience ‘hysteresis’, a disconnect between their long-standing professional roles and their current life situations. Former Japanese partners, for example, find that although their professional skills and titles have social value, they do not always translate easily into their new roles on boards of directors. They are confronted with different professional expectations and standards. This gap can create a sense of disorientation as they strive to reuse their professional experience to adapt to new responsibilities.
For former partners in the United States, on the other hand, hysteresis takes the form of a sudden break with the professional networks and structured environments in which they were integrated. It is often more difficult for them to build new social circles outside of work, as their previous relationships – transactional in nature – were primarily career-focused.
The role of nostalgia
Our study also shows the role of nostalgia as a ‘tool’ used by former partners to bridge the gap between their past and present professional activities in line with the change in context (from working life to retirement) they are experiencing. Japanese partners often feel nostalgia for their role within audit firms, valuing the social connections and prestige that their position brought them.
Many continue to associate their self-esteem with their professional role, which encourages them to remain involved in professional activities. Nostalgia helps them adapt their accumulated cultural and social capital to new positions, such as their roles on boards of directors, thus preserving a sense of continuity with their former lives at audit firms.
In contrast, former partners in the United States tend to channel their nostalgia into appreciation for the fruits of their labour, valuing the freedom that retirement brings after decades of commitment to audit firms. Although they express nostalgia for the camaraderie and professional life they left behind, they generally view retirement as an opportunity to redefine themselves. While they may be nostalgic for their professional successes and social connections, they are primarily seeking fulfilment through family activities, travel, and new hobbies, rather than continuing to devote time to activities related to their professional lives.
Understanding the dynamics experienced by retiring associates can help organisations and society better support professionals in their transition to retirement, taking into account both psychological and cultural factors. Although our participants mention the support of retirement programmes aimed at facilitating the transition of retirees, these programmes tend to focus solely on financial aspects. Beyond financial planning, the specificities related to national culture, profession and individual circumstances (e.g. family status, ambitions, etc.) must be taken into consideration.
Given that professionals generally come to view their company and their job as a comprehensive support system, not only for achieving their financial and professional ambitions, but also for meeting their social and psychological needs, our findings highlight that other aspects of retirement could be taken into consideration, including, in particular, the integration of social and psychological support tailored to the realities of each cultural context.
This article has been originally published in French in The Conversation
Photo by bruce mars via Unsplash
