Jayne Burns, Bob Rohloff and Melba Mebane are part of a rapidly growing share of the workforce: Americans over 75 years old.
Photos courtesy of Jayne Burns, Bob Rohloff and Terry Mebane
More Americans over 75 are working today than ever before.
This shift is occurring as the oldest baby boomers approach 80 and better health care is allowing many older adults to extend their working lives.
Although this group only makes up a fraction of the workforce, it is the fastest growing part.
In 2002, about 5% of people over 75 worked in the United States – by 2022, that share had risen to 8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Ministry of Labor assumes that one in ten people over 75 will continue to work by 2032, even if the proportion of younger workers remains the same or decreases slightly over the same period.
Many Americans are working into their 70s and 80s — or longer — due to longer life expectancies, changing attitudes toward retirement and inadequate savings. Others simply say that they enjoy what they do and have never thought of giving it up.
CNBC Make It recently asked three people who worked into their 90s to share their best advice for building long, happy careers. This is what they said:
Jayne Burns at her 100th birthday party last summer
Photo: Elizabeth HusVar
Jayne Burns, who turned 101 in July, has had the same part-time job as a fabric cutter at the Joann Fabric and Crafts store in Mason, Ohio, for 26 years.
The centenarian tried to retire from her accounting career several times throughout her 70s and 80s, but retired just months later and took part-time jobs at veterinary practices and accounting firms.
“I like routine, I like to keep moving,” she says.
Burns, who has sewn most of her life, started as a customer at Joann’s. She quickly developed a relationship with the store’s employees and was happy to recommend different fabrics to other shoppers.
In 1997, just a few months after her husband Dick died, a fabric cutter position opened at the store. Her daughter, Donna Burns, worked part-time at the store and recommended her for the role, thinking it might be a welcome distraction from grief.
Donna was right.
For Burns, her job is less of a chore and more of an opportunity to learn more about a hobby she loves and meet “interesting, friendly” people.
“I enjoy what I do, so I want to keep doing it,” she says. “I’ll work as long as I can or as long as they have me.”
Plus, she adds, “If you stay busy, you won’t be able to focus on your pain. That makes it easier to keep going.”
Melba Mebane, 91, recently retired from a job she held for 74 years at Dillard’s department store in Tyler, Texas.
Photo: Terry Mebane
Melba Mebane, 91, retired from her job as a saleswoman at Dillard’s department store in Tyler, Texas, in July, leaving behind a career that spanned more than seven decades.
Mebane began working as an “elevator girl” at the Mayer & Schmidt department store in 1949 when she was just 17 years old as part of a work-study program at Tyler High School. The store was acquired by Dillard’s in 1956.
She moved to the men’s clothing department and later to the cosmetics department, where she remained until her retirement.
To be happier at work, “it’s important to invest in your relationships,” says Mebane, so you can tailor your job to your interests and create a more fulfilling career.
Mebane leveraged her close relationship with the chain’s founder, William T. Dillard, to adapt her job to her changing needs and desires throughout her career.
When she turned 65, she thought about retiring, but Mr. Dillard convinced her to stay – only after Mebane got him to adjust her schedule so she didn’t have to work after 5 p.m. or on Sundays.
A few years ago, she also convinced her manager to replace the hard linoleum on the floors behind the beauty counter with soft carpets because standing most of the day was becoming uncomfortable.
During her time at Dillard’s, Mebane had several opportunities to become a manager, but she always declined the offers.
“Nobody likes management because they have to make difficult decisions,” she says. “I liked my friends at work and wanted to keep them, so I just focused on being the best salesperson I could be.”
These friendships, Mebane says, made working at Dillard’s “the best job I ever had.”
Bob Rohloff, 91, cuts his wife Marian’s hair in his new hair salon.
Photo: Mark Karweick
Bob Rohloff has been a hairdresser for 75 years – and at 91, he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
The Wisconsin native began cutting hair in 1948, learning from his father, Erv, who was a barber. Back then, a haircut cost 75 cents.
“Believe it or not, we made a lot of money every week and got great tips,” Rohloff says. “Plus, my dad was my best friend, so working with him was really fun.”
He owes much of his success to his father, who introduced him to other hairdressers who would employ him and always gave him honest advice about “what it really takes to be a hairdresser and how I can improve my work.” he says.
Rohloff’s career so far has taught him the importance of working with people you love, he says, be it your boss, your colleagues or the customers you interact with.
Rohloff tried to retire 15 years ago, but “didn’t retire” just a few months later because he missed the camaraderie and conversations at the barbershop.
“Retirement is not that easy,” he says. “You have to stay active in something, be it a hobby or a job, and I happened to really enjoy my job… it’s fun to come to the store, I enjoy doing it and I feel good, so why stop?”
In June, Rohloff and another local barber, Mark Karweick, opened Bob’s Old Fashioned Barbershop in Hortonville, Wisconsin, a 20-minute drive from his hometown of Black Creek.
According to Rohloff, the best thing about running your own store again is meeting new people.
“They’re not just customers, they quickly become friends,” he says. “We have customers who bring us maple syrup, people who bring us vegetables from their farms, even homemade sauerkraut…you can’t get that in a big city.”
What Erv would think of his son continuing to cut hair at age 91: “He wouldn’t believe it,” Rohloff says. “But he worked until he was 85, so I think he would be proud.”
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