The Reduction of Occupational Stress among Elderly Lawyers: The Creation of a Functional Niche

Abstract

The question of how older lawyers function in the context of what is generally a high stress occupation is examined from data drawn from a random stratified sample of 130 members of the legal profession. It is shown that elderly lawyers are able to reduce work stress (largely deriving from volume, responsibility, clients, and trials) by control over the quantity and focus of their work, as well as through client selection. Elderly lawyers are able to create a relatively stress free work role, which is in fact a functional niche for them within the profession. The result is high job satisfaction and low rates of retirement among elderly practitioners. Two factors: work role compensation and work role autonomy, are isolated from the legal data and proposed as important variables in a general theory of retirement behavior.