When retired husbands become ‘wet fallen leaves’
The plight of ‘salaryman’ retirees offers a cautionary tale about the challenges of post-retirement adjustments.
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A review of different studies found a small increase in depressive symptoms following retirement, with a more pronounced increase among those who retired involuntarily.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
There is a Japanese term, nure ochiba, which literally means “wet fallen leaves” and is used to describe retired salarymen with no friends, hobbies or life beyond work. Adrift and disconcerted by the discovery that family life has settled on a rhythm without them during the decades they spent at work, in retirement they hang around the house, disrupting the lives of their wives with their need for attention.
For women who have grown used to a life with absentee husbands, it can be an unwelcome change, hence the comparison with fallen foliage. Like leaves plastered to the pavement after rain, they are difficult to shake off when they stick to the soles of one’s shoes.
