Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)1 shows that almost 40% of seniors above the age of 55 are either working or are actively looking for work. Longer lifespans and medical breakthroughs allow for a fuller life in old age. Hence, many seniors continue to work beyond retirement. In this article we will be focusing on some of the reasons behind this phenomenon and look at some of the easy work from home jobs for seniors.
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Even though, in general, the trend of older people continuing to work is getting stronger, it is the better educated white-collar workers who are more likely to continue to work beyond retirement, due to the nature of their work. Indeed, easy work from home jobs are increasingly common for white collar workers.
Blue collar jobs require a lot of physical activity which may not be possible beyond a particular age and obviously. These job profiles require their physical presence and will not be possible from the comforts of their home.
Why Seniors Opt to Work Post Retirement?
- Less retirement savings: Progressively fewer employees have been opting for pension benefits to have more disposable income in their hands during their working life. The concept of retirement savings is not that strong anymore as it used to be. As a result, workers do not find themselves in as financially strong a position as they would like to be in, post-retirement.
- Longer lifespans: Longer lifespans and advancement in healthcare allow people to work for much longer and keep themselves mentally active.
- Changing job dynamics: You may opt to work because you simply can because of the changing job dynamics and the prevalence of inexpensive computing resources and high-speed internet. A lot more jobs are now remote-friendly and can be completely done from the comforts of your home, saving you precious travel time.
- Volatile stock markets: If you are somebody who is significantly invested in the stock markets, volatility often makes your investments look smaller and you may have to take up work to not liquidate your investments when their value has been diminished
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Why Seniors Should Continue Working Post Retirement?
With increasing life spans and decreasing retirement savings, more and more seniors are working past retirement. Learn ways you can start over at 60. Having said that, even if you do not have a compulsion to continue to work post retirement, it is better you stay involved in a meaningful engagement due to the following reasons:
- Continue to work helps to keep your mind actively engaged. A sedentary lifestyle with no intellectual exercise may become the breeding ground for many physical and mental conditions and diseases.
- Staying in work and interacting with people helps you to stay in touch with society and remain positive throughout your day
- Even if you are an expert, you still can learn new things everyday while working and that can be a mentally stimulating experience, preventing cognitive disabilities that are linked with old age
What are some Easy Work from Home Jobs for Seniors?
Below are few examples of easy work from home jobs for seniors that you can take up post retirement.
#1 Consulting / Advising
You can think of doing consulting work in your area of expertise and continue to engage clients that you have handled during your formal work tenure. The treasure of knowledge that you have amassed throughout your career is still valuable to potential clients.
You can also sign up as a volunteer advisor if you are financially secure and continue to benefit clients or partners by advising them on your topics of specialization and expertise. This work profile can be easily achieved from your home; however, you need to be at the top of your mental abilities to add value to your advisee.
Potential employers: Companies or individuals in your network and working in your domain
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#2 Trainer or Tutor
High speed internet and inexpensive computing hardware have massively benefitted the remote training or tutoring industry. Now, personal computers have considerable resources to support video calls and video streaming capabilities, which could not have been thought of even some years back.
This has been a great facilitator in allowing trainers and teachers to teach online, either live or through pre-recorded videos. If you have thorough knowledge on a subject, you can try this option without needing to step out of your home.
You can either get associated with an organization that supports training in your subject of interest or you can start a teaching practice of your own with the support of basic digital marketing tools to have better reach.
Potential employers: This is mainly a work-on-your-own model and if you planning to use pre-recorded videos, you may want to check out companies like udemy or coursera.
#3 Accountant / Tax Filer
An accountant or tax filer’s role is to assist in the preparation of a company’s financial statements and examine it’s financial records. The profile also includes checking the validity and correctness of taxes paid and returns filed.
The work is mainly software based tallying work and you will be able to accomplish it with working knowledge of Microsoft Office tools. Once again, this role is totally remote-work friendly.
However, a potential hurdle may be that these roles often require the completion of a professional license like that of a chartered accountant (CA) or a chartered professional accountant (CPA). If you have the professional license you also set up your own practice of filing tax returns for your corporate or private individual clients.
Potential employers: You may want to contact your local accounting firm and check for any openings which can be filled with a work from home profile. Or you may want to register on a freelance work marketplace and pick up accounting assignments.
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#4 Customer Service Representative
Recently, we have seen a massive push towards remote work, and the profile of a customer service representative has seen a major shift towards work from home. With basic hardware like a good headset and computer, you should be ready to receive calls and resolve issues of your employer’s customers.
Most of these job profiles do not require prior work experience in the field and companies would provide the initial training for you to be able to handle customer queries.
One drawback of this role may be the fact that you would have to deal with dissatisfied and angry customers day-in and day-out. If you are a patient individual with good ability to understand your customer’s problems, this work profile is for you.
Potential employers: A whole range of software and technology as well as manufacturing companies hire for customer service representatives for their products – from the likes of Microsoft, Amazon to small scale companies with niche products.
#5 Executive Assistant (Virtual)
The job of an executive assistant is one more profile which is progressively moving towards a remote-only role. As an executive assistant, you will be tagged to a senior executive of a company and will help in organizing her day and facilitating her work.
From being able to remotely access calendars, schedule meetings, attend them over video conferencing and booking flight tickets and hotels, there is hardly anything in the work profile of an executive assistant which cannot be done from home. If you have prior experience as an executive assistant chance are more that you will be able to land a job pretty quickly.
Potential employers: This is one of the few job profiles for which all major employers hire for. Keep your resume updated on Monster.com, Indeed.com and LinkedIn to increase your chances of getting hired.
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#6 Rent out an Extra Room Through AirBnb
This is a new avenue for making extra income for a lot of retirees. If you have a big enough house with some extra rooms, register on Airbnb as a rental option, quote your price per night, upload some well taken pictures and you are good to go.
If your house is well-located, near the town center or a major historic landmark, you should be having enough guests round the year to keep you busy. Mind you, maintaining an Airbnb place and keeping it stocked with all essentials is not easy. It does involve a fair bit of work.
If you are really gung-ho on this idea, you can consider listing on multiple sites. An Airbnb alternative is VRBO or Vacation Rental By Owners.
Potential employers: You can be your own boss!
#7 Content Writing / Content Editing
If you are a good writer and have knowledge about a product or service, the content that you can create over the internet may be sought after by many.
If the information that you are presenting is not to be found easily on the internet or is not well written, your web page can quickly become the go-to content for many people seeking that information. If you have prior experience in content development and have skills in search engine optimization, you may be able to expand the role of content writing to content editing.
This work profile is an excellent way of sharing your knowledge and experience and earn at the same time.
Potential employers: Any new companies looking to create a good website for digitally accessing customers or existing companies trying to revamp their existing content can be employers in this space.
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#8 Blogging
Blogging is a lot similar to content writing, however, it does not have to be necessarily about a single product or service or theme, rather, it can also be about your experience. If you can generate enough interest in your blog, your blog can generate income through affiliate marketing schemes and digital advertisements.
The drawback is that with so much content on the internet, blogging really takes time and effort to create the content that will attract enough visitors for you to be able to make any income out of it. But, if you are financially secure, this is by all means a great way to share knowledge and experience and communicate with the outside world.
Potential employers: While there are companies that will pay you to write on their blogs, that falls within the realm of content writing. Blogging is more likely to be your personal pet project.
#9 Data Entry
Before going into the profile of a data entry job, you must understand that there are myriads of fraud data entry jobs on the internet and in your local area, from which you should steer clear.
You should be extremely selective in your search for data entry jobs and I would suggest you go by any friend or acquaintance’s recommendation, who has already tested the employer.
As some general rules, never share your banking passwords or credit card details with anyone, and insist on getting your first paycheck in a week’s time so that you don’t end up working a lot and never getting paid for it.
The data entry profile is a complete work from home profile, where you may be asked to enter data given to you on a specialized software, or to duplicate data across different databases. You need basic computer knowledge, Microsoft office (word or excel) skills, attention to detail and a moderate to fast typing speed to excel in a data entry job.
Potential employers: There are a lot of data entry jobs on the internet, but there are many more fraud jobs as well. So, take your time and choose wisely. You may also like to check with your local employment office for data entry jobs.
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Conclusion
The above list is by no means exhaustive. Progressively, with the advancement in new technology, more and more job profiles can be worked out remotely and from the confines and safety of your home. So, whatever your motivation is, if you have the will to work, switch on your computer and let the world know that you are once again up for some work.
If you are interested in reading more about seniors and their lifestyle, you will enjoy reading our articles on thoughtful gifts for seniors and best places to travel in a wheelchair.
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