Passion and Retirement

This chapter reviews theories and perspectives, such as role theory, the life course perspective, and the resource perspective, pertaining to retirement and how passion for work relates to the main theoretical background used to study retirement. An extensive review of the research that has examined the role of passion for work in retirees’ psychological adjustment is presented. Results show that harmonious passion for work is positively associated with retirees’ psychological adjustment, whereas the opposite if found for obsessive passion. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research in this important area as well as with practical implications aimed at organizations, workers and retirees to facilitate a smoother life transition and to experience a more fulfilling retirement.