Those Who Retired and Found a Position in Higher Education

The definition of retirement, which marks the end of working life, has changed over time. In fact, retirement today does not mean the end of working life in a single sense. In both Western countries and in Türkiye, it is observed that working life continues even after retirement for reasons such as increasing life expectancy and retiring at a young age. In this respect, bridge employment, which refers to continuing to work after retirement and which has recently been introduced in Western countries, is an issue that can also be examined in Türkiye. This study seeks to understand what motivates people who continue to work in academia after retiring from state universities along with different sectors. In this context, the study was conducted with 17 participants (7 female and 10 male) through semi-structured interviews, one of the qualitative research techniques. The findings from the study show that most of the participants joined bridging employment primarily for economic reasons. Moreover, the participants engaged in bridge employment in academia for reasons such as still being at a younger age, gaining professional satisfaction, getting out of the house, getting involved in social life, feeling useful, having dependents, and flexible working conditions. Participants stated that working was good for their physical and mental health; although they had problems adapting to technology, they received support from young academics in this regard. At the same time, the participants think that they may benefit students and young academics in terms of experience and knowledge transfer. In this respect, it can be predicted that bridge employment can eliminate the problem of the shortage of qualified staff in foundation universities and relatively newly established state universities and increase intergenerational contact.