Canvas and paints are a good way to fill the free time of a Swiss pensioner
The broadcaster RTS followed the events in the lives of three Swiss people who were about to retire for several months. Viewers saw what the heroes did in their last days at work, how they felt when saying goodbye to colleagues, and what activities they found for themselves after retiring.
After working for more than 40 years at the University Hospital of Geneva, Mireille Balaoski did not retire at 64 (although she had every right to do so by law), but worked within the walls that had become familiar for another year. A few days before the end of her career, she had not even started packing her personal belongings, as she was busy finishing up last-minute tasks. She said this about the upcoming changes: “I will feel like I am doing nothing, because I won’t have a stressful job, but perhaps I will be able to appreciate that.”
Reporter Jacques-André Schneider from RTS’s Vaud bureau often traveled around the region with a camera. Passionately devoted to his work, he asked to extend his employment contract upon reaching retirement age, but was refused. During his last shoot, Jacques-André did not fully realize that his career was almost over. “Physically, I could have worked for a few more years. But I think you have to know when to stop.”
Jean-Claude Schnüli had been managing the greening and transportation department in the town of Villars-sur-Glâne (Canton of Fribourg) for decades. By nature very active and organized, Jean-Claude could not imagine what his new life would be like shortly before retirement. He planned to maintain professional connections and occasionally help former colleagues. “At thirty, I thought I’d be a millionaire at fifty,” the former manager admitted, and at 65, in his last days at work, he was haunted by a sense of unreality, as everything “happened quickly—very quickly!”
When retiring, people sometimes experience mixed feelings. On one hand, relief and joy that they can finally rest after a long journey; on the other, anxiety about what to do without work that has filled almost their entire life.
Jacques-André Schneider admitted that he had been feeling tired lately, which made his departure easier. “If I had to go film something again, I just wouldn’t want to,” the journalist confessed as he sorted through hundreds of business cards that had accumulated over his career. Saying goodbye to colleagues, he climbed onto a chair in the restaurant where the farewell dinner was held and said: “I will not be a pensioner who comes to the office to say hello. We will see each other again only if we really want to. Today I am very happy to see you, and at the same time sad, because I love you all…”
Our hero’s colleague Guy-Olivier Chappuis, with whom he had often discussed his impending retirement, shared his fears: “I often think that at work you are always up to date with the latest news, you interact with people, you live in the present, and suddenly all that will end.” As for Jacques-André, on his last day, as he was packing his things, he passed on ideas for possible reports to a colleague and even laughed about the red jacket and quirky tie he used to wear.
During the farewell lunch, where he and his colleagues celebrated the end of his career, Jean-Claude Schnüli struggled to hide his emotions. “I’m no longer on the employee list; I’m stepping into the unknown,” he explained his state of mind. Wearing a T-shirt that read “Retired but not exhausted,” he happily pointed out his successor, with whom he had been in daily contact for the past two weeks, carefully familiarizing him with the “work front.” At the lunch, many spoke highly of our hero, and the mayor of Villars-sur-Glâne gave a farewell speech. Unaccustomed to such attention, Jean-Claude could barely hold back tears, and his wife hardly recognized him, so difficult it was for him to compose himself.
“Yes, it’s touching, but I don’t feel sad,” noted Mireille Balaoski as she left the hospital. “I’m handing you the keys to the kingdom,” she told her successor. In her last days at work, she hardly thought about the upcoming changes, as she was extremely busy, but in free moments she realized that she could finally do things she had long put off due to a tight schedule. “You should always keep a notebook handy, because you often have to plan something,” she instructed her successor. Later, they loaded Mireille’s boxes into her car together, and most of the newly retired woman’s personal belongings turned out to be gifts from colleagues.
Soon it turned out that everything is not as sad as it seems before taking a leap into the unknown. Jacques-André described his state at work and in retirement as follows: “At work, there is not a single free minute. In retirement, there is not a second.” The father of four children is busy with five grandchildren and photography. Echoes of professional life often reach him in the form of phone calls. His number is still known to many acquaintances who, unaware of the changes in his life, call and suggest story ideas. His wife Francine noted that Jacques-André is now home almost all the time, and since their apartment is small, they have to relearn how to give each other personal space.
Jean-Claude found a cozy spot in an alpine meadow, where he learned about the specifics of working as a mountain herder and painted a picture. While chopping wood, he remarked: “Before, I sharpened pencils, but logs have a much larger diameter, and I’m fine with that.” The former manager has no intention of repeating his father’s fate, who decided to do nothing and just rest after retiring. Our hero is convinced that his father died because of this, as “only work, active activity keeps the heart beating, prolongs our days.”
Returning to his town, he happily gave unofficial consultations during the construction of a football stadium. He has big plans for the future: Jean-Claude wants to become a politician. This decision can be called successful, as there are no age restrictions in politics.
Despite the fact that a week after retiring, Mireille lost her husband, who supported her in everything, she maintains a positive attitude. “I'm not afraid of death. I think my job now is to help my daughter raise her children, as my husband would have wanted.” During her working life, she was used to getting up at six in the morning, and now, seeing 7:30 on the clock, it seems to her that she has overslept a lot. Mireille, like both gentlemen, also has a busy schedule, and she is also a member of various medical associations. Probably, the former doctor is not afraid of death also because a centennial birthday is not uncommon in her family.