Perspectives on the quality of life of the elderly who work

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

ROCHA, Felipe Queiroz Dias^[1], PICCIONE, Marcelo Arruda^[2]

ROCHA, Felipe Queiroz Dias. PICCIONE, Marcelo Arruda. Perspectives on the quality of life of the elderly who work. Revista Científica Multidisciplinar Núcleo do Conhecimento. Year 06, Ed. 11, Vol. 10, pp. 82-100. November 2021. ISSN: 2448-0959, Access link: https://www.nucleodoconhecimento.com.br/psychology/perspectives-on-the-quality, DOI: 10.32749/nucleodoconhecimento.com.br/psychology/perspectives-on-the-quality

ABSTRACT

Aging has numerous biopsychosocial consequences in the elderly and in their relationship with other people. Within Social Psychology, the satisfaction index is the main indicator of a subject’s experience with regard to their quality of life. The interest in the area of ​​old age has increased, in view of this, the present article, questions about the quality of life of the elderly who work, conducting a survey with a group of elderly people who work. The objective was to observe the quality of life of the elderly who work according to their perspective. Data were collected from 36 elderly people aged between 65 and 87 years, ± 5.4, mean 71.5 and median 71 who currently work; for this purpose, 36 identical WHOQOL questionnaires were used. The non-parametric chi-square test was applied to verify if there is a statistically significant difference. Among the results, it is highlighted that 80,55% Totally Agree with the premise that suggests being fully realized when they are in intimate communion with God; 72,22% of the volunteers Totally Agree with the hypothesis of being satisfied and fulfilled with their lives, x_o²=15,54 and x²_c=7,81, with a statistically significant difference; 50% say that life has a lot of meaning, x_o²=8,30 and x²_c=9,48, with no statistically significant difference; 47,22% reported having Medium access to daily information, x_o²=11,40 and x²_c=9,48, with a statistically significant difference; 41,66% classify as Medium the leisure opportunities they have, x_o²= 4,41 and x²_c=9,48, with no statistically significant difference; 38,88% Totally disagree with the premise that they do not find satisfaction when they pray alone, x_o²=7,59 and x²_c=11,07, with no statistically significant difference and 36,11% Totally agree with the hypothesis that they feel there are many conflicts and unhappiness in life, x_o²=6,09 and x²_c=11,07, with no statistically significant difference. It was noticed that the elderly workers tend to have different perspectives, but more prone to positive responses, regarding the various investigated facets of their lives, which, in turn, denotes their level of quality.

Keywords: aging, biopsychosocial, satisfaction, old age.

INTRODUCTION

Quality of life is a multifaceted attribute in the various professional fields that study it. Within Social Psychology, the satisfaction index is the main indicator and major reference of the value of a subject’s experience. Interest in the area of ​​old age has increased in the meantime (TRENTINI; XAVIER and FLECK, 2006), in view of this, the present article asks about the quality of life of the elderly who work, conducting a survey with a group of workers aged equal to or above to 65 years.

There are three distinct ways in which an individual can reach old age. The first is called old age with pathology and is characterized by the presence of one or more illnesses that limit the subject’s tasks too much, to the point that the functions that he once performed have disappeared (TRENTINI; XAVIER and FLECK, 2006).

The second is the usual or normal old age and it is the aging process accompanied by physical or psychological dysfunctions in a mild proportion, which cause fractional changes in the common life of the elderly (TRENTINI; XAVIER and FLECK, 2006).

The third is successful or optimal old age and concerns the process of maintaining full health as at the time of the peak of vigor, also reproducing a satisfactory condition tangent to well-being (TRENTINI; XAVIER and FLECK, 2006).

Thus, it is understood that aging results in biopsychosocial transformations in each individual and, therefore, it is incorrect to understand this phenomenon as a pathology, since it is a cycle in which the human being is more predisposed to illness. It is a time when people get sick more (ZIMERMAN, 2000).

Aging also transforms the status of the elderly and their relationship with other people due to: change in family and social attributions, termination of working life, reduction of interpersonal interactivity, financial issues and the risk of suffering some act of violence (ZIMERMAN, 2000).

After a long time of work, marriage is a valuable factor in the construction of the subject’s social status. When the loss of the consort occurs, the senior feels loneliness and sadness, and also has no predictions about the future, which generates suffering due to the absence of meaningful communication and special care, in addition to the elimination of social function and the emergence of feelings of worthlessness and lack of purpose in life (SIMKUNAS and ANJOS, 2001).

To get rid of loneliness, the alternative they resort to is the search for collective practices, such as physical activities, as a way of staying in action, moving away from the solitary state (SIMKUNAS and ANJOS, 2001).

With greater access to information and participation, the elderly have had opportunities in the most diverse areas, including in the context of leisure, to express their existence, their learning, their importance as citizens with legal rights and guarantees, their aging and the levels of of their effective contribution within society (DE GÁSPARI and SCHWARTZ, 2005).

Thus, the stereotypes of inertia, sedentary lifestyle, accommodation, sadness, indisposition, fatigue, constant pain, isolation, depression and lack of perspectives throughout this stage of life gradually fade to the progressive participation and adherence to the countless opportunities that are offered to the subject elderly in different areas of society. This fact has been drawing attention because in each place of attendance or social coexistence one can observe the presence of seniors who are increasingly aware of their ability to change the current situation of social exclusion that stigmatizes them to the condition of second-class citizens and modify the levels of their quality of life (DE GÁSPARI and SCHWARTZ, 2005).

Significant emotional experiences in the scope of leisure include a series of radical human needs that can corroborate the development process throughout the entire vital period, as well as for the elevation of the qualitative levels of life of the population, especially those concentrated in the urban centers of the region contemporary society (DE GÁSPARI and SCHWARTZ, 2005).

However, the research by Colalto (2002) indicates that only 25% of the elderly have a lot of leisure opportunities, 50% have a medium opportunity, 20% very little and only 5% have this opportunity completely. The same author also says that only 40% of the elderly are satisfied with the health service they have.

Another aspect of great weight in this period is religiosity. What happens is that professing a faith makes it easier for seniors to overcome this last stage of life (ARAÚJO, 1999).

Thus, religiosity can be regarded as a facet that favors well-being in old age, since cooperation in constructive activities and the presence of places of good stimulation, associated with beliefs, have been essential in this period. Spirituality may be related to higher resilience in seniority (MARGAÇA and RODRIGUES, 2019).

In other words, co-participation in religious works, as well as adherence to doctrines and dogmas, can be connected to happiness by significantly inducing the composition that the senior creates about the world, between good or bad. Thus, religion can unravel the purpose of life and enable well-being (PANZINI et al., 2007).

Religion is an attribute that shapes the individual through a particular faith, which symbolizes the personal encounter with the divine entity (DINIZ, 2003).

The acts (rites) and the sayings (myths) are basic in all sects and religions, and they are, therefore, the elements that corroborate the production of symbols of what is sacred in us. Thus, religion can be defined as the attribute that verifies the vital realities that the conscience is unable to assimilate, which causes the feeling of unity and full human wholeness when it reaches the state of full psychological fruition (BAPTISTA, 2003).

There is indistinction between the different lifestyles led by seniors regarding spiritual deprecation. Most of them say prayers for obtaining love, health or peace, for dilemmas within the family, to thank the divinity, among other causes (ORLANDO et al., 2008).

Thus, 15,53% of the elderly say they are dissatisfied with life. This phenomenon is associated with those who are female, illiterate, have up to four years of schooling and have an income of less than two minimum wages. However, this prevalence is considered low, despite highlighting the need for actions in favor of gender equality and seniors’ access to education (REINERS et al., 2020).

In the case of elderly people living in multi-generational households, those living in single- or bi-generational arrangements showed greater satisfaction with life than those living in tri-generational households, which, in turn, are associated with female sex, widowhood and more children (OLIVEIRA et al., 2020).

In fact, the feeling of positive meaning, of having a true purpose in life (which is subjective) and of tranquility regarding the future increases and transcends that of young people as the subjects live and mature (FREITAS, 2020).

The purpose and appreciation of life are questions that favor well-being and increase by one third the emission of actions and feelings related to: self-acceptance, healthy social relationships, personal progression, control of the environment and objective, although they increase very little to the satisfaction with life and the emergence of assertive emotions, as well as reducing the emancipation of counterproductive emotions very little, unlike tranquility about the future, which favors well-being and significantly increases assertive emotional agents and satisfaction with life, while counterproductive emotions are minimized in the presence of this serenity (FREITAS, 2020).

Those who place a reason for their lives have better-developed social skills and are more apt to discern and turn to needed support when needed – well-being or happiness comes from the existential purpose given to life. This reason is responsible for slightly and positively influencing psychological improvement and the way subjects face their challenges. It is valid that people expect an auspicious future in the eagerness to be motivated in the face of the typical mishaps of life and to decrease the rates of anxiety and other symptoms related to what may come (FREITAS, 2020).

In the meantime, one sees the value of having mature subjects in companies, such as seniors, who can collaborate with progress, with emotional balance and with finding the most appropriate response to organizational needs (FREITAS, 2020).

Thus, several questions are raised about how aging will be regarded by societies in the future (VELOZ; NASCIMENTO-SCHULZE and CAMARGO, 1999).

However, it was established as a general objective to investigate the perspective that the elderly who work have on their quality of life in some areas.

More specifically, we sought to:

• Find out how the elderly workers are doing when they continue to exercise work practices;
• Offer working seniors the chance to express their perspectives on the state of some aspects of their lives;
• Critically analyze the general life situation of the elderly who work according to their own perspectives.

METHODOLOGY

PARTICIPANTS

Data were collected from 36 individuals of both sexes (88,90% men and 11,10% women) aged 65 years or older (which is the official age for cessation of work activities, according to the WHO) and who are currently working. The mean age obtained is 71,5 years, the age range is 22 years, the median is 71 years and the standard deviation is 5,4.

MATERIALS

It used 36 WHOQOL questionnaires exactly the same to assess the quality of life of seniors, since this material is internationally recognized as a tool conducive to achieving the aforementioned objectives.

The aforementioned questionnaire had three phases: the first was a brief characterization of the participant; in the second phase, there were closed questions about various aspects involving the lives of the elderly, which should be answered according to the level of appreciation of that question; the last part contained affirmative and negative propositions that level the volunteer’s perspective regarding that same proposition.

PROCEDURES

Data were collected from an accidental sample in the months of January and February, that is, the elderly who were in the aforementioned conditions were personally interviewed and approached in any feasible circumstances when encountered occasionally. All volunteers were found in the city of São Paulo, so that 15 were in Mooca, six in Brás, another six in Sé, five in Zona Cerealista, three in Vila Mariana and one in Cambuci.

At the beginning, we introduce ourselves and explain the purpose of the research. Then, if the person approached fit the profile defined for the defined objectives and agreed to participate, we would send him the Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido (TCLE)[3] and the questionnaire to be filled out, in addition to clearing up any possible doubts.

This project was submitted to and approved by the Comitê de Ética e Pesquisa (CEP)[4] No. 017/2005 and CAAE[5] 005.0.237.000.05.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results obtained through data collection with the material used (WHOQOL) were tabulated and will be presented and discussed below based on the literature consulted and relating to each other.

Table 1 – Extent to which life has meaning

Source: author.

Table 1 shows that the variables most voted for by the participants were the alternatives Quite and More or less, with 50% and 25%, respectively. Still regarding the measure of the meaning of life, 13,88% of the participants chose the Extremely option, 8,33% chose Very little and 2,77% Nothing.

With the intention of verifying if there is a statistically significant difference, the non-parametric chi-square test was applied. It was obtained x_o²=8,30 and x²_c=9,48 were obtained, with no statistically significant difference. It is worth noting that n.g.l.=4 and α=0,05.

In Table 1, it is evident that most of the answers refer to the positive evaluation. In this regard, it is understood that the meaning of life is directly related to a series of characteristics related to several tables presented throughout this work, which concern leisure, daily feelings, personal fulfillment, religiosity, among others.

Regarding the family, studies carried out by Simkunas and Anjos (2001) indicate that a lot of work time, marriage is a valuable factor for the construction of social status and in the loss of one of this factor, the subject feels alone, without future expectations, so that they suffer from the absence of appreciable communication and special care, even losing their social function, and thus they are exposed to feelings of worthlessness and lack of purpose in life. However, more detailed information about this facet was not collected among the participants.

On the other hand, according to Panzini et al. (2007), religion is a question that can unravel the purpose of life and enable well-being. We can see in Tables 4 and 7 that the participants were quite receptive to this facet, since in the first table mentioned 63,87% disagree to some degree of being dissatisfied when praying alone and, in the second, 80,33% Totally Agree that he has full satisfaction in intimate communion with God, which configures a consensus between these premises.

In this way, the meaning attributed to the life of the elderly must pass through the sieve of their religion. In the words of Margaça and Rodrigues (2019), religiosity is regarded as an element conducive to well-being in old age, so the beliefs adhered to have been essential in this period. Spirituality may also be related to higher resilience in seniority. Araújo (1999) corroborates when he says that professing a faith makes it easier for the elderly to overcome this last stage of life.

Furthermore, Freitas (2020) says that the feeling of positive meaning, of having a true (subjective) purpose in life and of having tranquility about the future increases throughout life and maturation and transcends that of young individuals.

Freitas (2020) also says that the meaning and appreciation of life are influential substrates in well-being and raise by one third the emission of actions and feelings related to: self-acceptance, healthy social relationships, personal progression, control of the environment and objective, despite having little increase in satisfaction with life, unlike tranquility about the future, which influences well-being and still significantly increases assertive emotional factors and satisfaction with life, in addition to reducing counterproductive emotions.

Freitas (2020) concludes by saying that those who find a reason for their lives have better developed social skills and are better able to discern and resort to the necessary support when they need it, since well-being or happiness comes from the existential purpose given to life. This reason is responsible for slightly and positively influencing psychological improvement and the way subjects face their challenges.

Table 2 – Availability of daily information

Source: author.

It can be seen in Table 2 that regarding the availability of daily information, 47,22% of the elderly classify their access to it as Medium, 16,66% say it is Very little and another 16,66% say it is Completely, in addition to 13,88% who rate it as Very. Only 5,55% for the Nothing alternative.

To find out if there is a statistically significant difference, the chi-square test was applied. It was obtained  x_o²=11,40 and x²_c=9,48 were obtained, with a statistically significant difference. It is also considerable that n.g.l.=4 and α=0,05.

Regarding the table, opinions are divided and are well balanced with regard to the availability of daily information, despite a slight prevalence of access to them.

Zimerman (2000) says that the aging process transforms the status of the elderly and their relationship with other people due to: changes in family and social attributions, termination of working life, reduction of interpersonal interactivity, financial issues and the risk of suffer some act of violence in the streets. The occurrence of these transformations requires obtaining information to be carried out. What can be asked is: where does this information come from (or should it come from): from your autonomous search, from the support of family members or from another side? It is unclear whether volunteer participants receive or expect to receive support in this regard because they possibly have difficulties using more modern means of communication, such as computers, to obtain general information about their most varied needs, or if they can do it themselves.

Still, it is also necessary to discuss the possibility of this theme being generalist and not including more specific aspects regarding the opinions and individual analysis of the interviewees. Thus, it would be interesting to detail this information as being related to actions both in life, in general, and in the performance of functions, including professional ones, and regarding issues related to health and opportunities for leisure or education.

However, De Gáspari and Schwartz (2005) assume that there is greater access to information for the elderly, in order to enable them to participate in opportunities for activities in the most diverse areas, which deconstructs the stereotypes of inertia, sedentary lifestyle, accommodation, sadness, indisposition, fatigue, constant pain, isolation, depression and lack of perspectives to the detriment of progressive participation and adherence to the countless opportunities offered to the elderly in the most varied spaces of society.

Table 3 – Leisure opportunities

Source: author.

It can be seen in Table 3 that the majority (41,66%) of the elderly interviewed assess the access to leisure as Medium. Thus, 19,44% chose the option Very Little, as well as Nothing (another 19,44%). On the other hand, 11,11% and 8,33% chose the options Very and Completely, respectively.

The nonparametric chi-square test was used to find out if there is a statistically significant difference; x_o²=4,41 and x²_c=9,48 were obtained, with no statistically significant difference. It is also noteworthy that n.g.l.=4 and α=0,05.

In relation to this context, a certain balance between the interviewees’ opinions is clear, but there is also evident some dissatisfaction regarding the few leisure opportunities. It is possible that this lack of leisure time is related to work activities, which demand time, but this detailed information could not be investigated by the questionnaire.

Be that as it may, De Gáspari and Schwartz (2005) say that with greater access to information and social participation of the elderly, they have had opportunities in the context of leisure to express their existence, their learning, their importance as a citizen with rights and legal guarantees, their aging and the levels of their effective contribution within society.

This, according to De Gáspari and Schwartz (2005), gradually deconstructs the stereotypes of inertia, sedentary lifestyle, accommodation, sadness, indisposition, fatigue, constant pain, isolation, depression and lack of perspectives throughout this stage of life for the progressive participation and adherence to the countless opportunities available to the elderly in the most varied social spaces.

In their research, Simkunas and Anjos (2001) report that all the subjects interviewed mention that participation in collective practices, such as physical activities, are ways to keep themselves lepid and keep them away from the state of loneliness.

Significant emotional experiences in the microcosm of leisure contemplate a series of human needs that can support the development process throughout the entire vital period, as well as for the elevation of the population’s qualitative levels of life, especially those concentrated in the urban centers of society current, according to De Gáspari and Schwartz (2005).

In turn, Colalto (2002) says that only 25% of the elderly have a lot of leisure opportunities, 50% have a medium opportunity, 20% very little and only 5% have it completely. These data are similar to those in Table 3, with the exception of the variable Very, which accounts for 11,11% of the responses in that table and 25% in the cited work.

Within this framework, the questioning of Veloz; Nascimento-Schulze and Camargo (1999) on how old age will be seen in the future has relevance, since work can assume the condition of occupying the idle time of the senior subject at this stage despite the supposed access to this type of activity mentioned by De Gáspari and Schwartz (2005).

Table 4 – Dissatisfaction when praying/praying alone

Source: author.

It is noted in Table 4 that most of the elderly who participated in the survey said that they Totally Disagree (38,88%) that they do not find much satisfaction when praying or praying alone, 16,66% Partially Disagree, 13,88% Partially Agree, another 13,88% Totally Agree, 8,33% Agree more than disagree and another 8,33% Disagree more than agree.

It is also known that x_o²=7,59 and x²_c=11,07; since to verify if there is a statistically significant difference, the non-parametric Chi-square test was applied; it turned out that such a difference does not exist. It should also be noted that n.g.l.=5 and α=0,05.

Baptista (2003) says that acts (rites) and sayings (myths) are basic in all religions and are the elements that corroborate the creation of symbols of what is sacred in every human being. Thus, considering the practice of prayers as a rite, Orlando et al. (2008) say that the elderly usually ask in their prayers for purposes such as family blessing, obtaining peace and love and for their health, in addition to thanking for the favors achieved.

Diniz (2003) says that religion is an attribute that shapes the individual through a particular faith, which means a personal encounter with the divine entity worshiped; that is, it is an individual experience.

Araújo (1999) says that the cause for the well-being of the elderly in practicing a religion is because they feel helped to overcome this last stage of life more easily.

Thus, according to Margaça and Rodrigues (2019) and Panzini et al. (2007), religion can be considered a favorable aspect of well-being and resilience in old age, as it influences the way the subject interprets the world.

Table 5 – Achievement and life satisfaction

Source: author.

It is possible to observe in Table 5 that 72,22% of respondents chose the variable Totally Agree with regard to fulfillment and satisfaction with life. Another 19,44% also Partially Agree; and 5,55% Agree more than disagree. Only 2,77% said they Strongly Disagree. The other variables, Partially Disagree and Disagree More Than Agree, were eliminated as they were not mentioned by any of the subjects.

It is also noteworthy that x_o²=15,54 and x²_c=7,81; once, to verify if there is a statistically significant difference, the chi-square test was applied; it turned out that there is such a difference. It is also considered that n.g.l.=3 and α=0,05.

These results are consistent with those in Table 7, which shows that 80,55% Totally Agree with the premise that says they are in full realization when they are in intimate communion with God. This congruence denotes that religiosity is a facet capable of bringing fulfillment and satisfaction to the elderly, which is also in line with what Araújo (1999), Margaça and Rodrigues (2019) and Panzini et al. (2007).

Reiners et al. (2020) say that 15,53% of the elderly are dissatisfied with life. The prevailing demographic characteristics of subjects who report such dissatisfaction are being female, illiteracy, having up to four years of schooling and having a monthly income of less than two minimum wages. It is worth mentioning that this prevalence is considered low.

These data are totally antagonistic to those in Table 5, but it is easy to see the reason for this incompatibility: the demography of the samples is different, since the elderly workers are mostly men (88,90%). More detailed information was not obtained on the income and level of education of the participants, but it is reasonable to assume that it is enough for their professional and economic satisfaction given the prevalence of 97,23% of responses that agree with this premise. Considering this, the data obtained by Reiners et al. (2020) corroborate those in Table 5 and vice versa, since the samples contrast with each other.

Freitas (2020) says that the appreciation of life is a question that influences well-being and increases by one third the emission of actions and feelings related to: self-acceptance, healthy social relationships, personal progress, control of the environment and objective, despite of increasing very little satisfaction with life; different from tranquility about the future, which influences well-being and still significantly increases assertive emotional factors and satisfaction with life, while counterproductive emotions decrease when there is this serenity and feelings. It is worth noting that Trentini, Xavier and Fleck (2006) say that the degree of satisfaction is the mediating concept of quality of life in Social Psychology.

Oliveira et al. (2020) conclude by saying that elderly people living in single- or bi-generational households show greater satisfaction with life than those living in tri-generational households, which, in turn, are associated with female sex, widowhood and more children. The sampling of dissatisfied individuals is compatible with the study by Reiners et al. (2020).

Table 6 – Feeling that there are many conflicts and unhappiness in life

Source: author.

It can be seen in Table 6 that with regard to the feeling that there are many conflicts in life, 36,11% of the elderly Totally Agree, 30,55% Partially Agree and 13,88% Totally Disagree. There are two groups of 8,33% that Agree more than disagree and Partially Disagree. Only 2,77% disagree more than they agree.

The chi-square test was applied to verify if there is a difference of significance, resulting in x_o²=6,09 and x²_c=11,07. It is also noted that n.g.l.=5 and α=0,05.

It is noted that 75% of the voluntary participants agree that there are many conflicts in life, this information is at odds with the information on religious issues obtained in Tables 4 and 7, since the elderly are mostly satisfied and happy.

These results are also inconsistent with those in Table 5. These indicate that 72,22% of the elderly volunteers Totally Agree with the premise that they are fulfilled and satisfied with their lives.

It is valid to quote the words of Panzini et al. (2007), who say that religion can unravel the purpose of life, enable well-being and that participation in activities of this nature can be related to happiness.

Perhaps this contrast is due to the fact that the elderly recognize that there are inherently moments of turmoil and difficulty in long life, despite considering themselves fulfilled and satisfied. However, this hypothesis could not be investigated further, as well as other possible reasons for this opposition.

Table 7 – Full realization in intimate communion with God

Source: author.

It can be seen in Table 7 that 80,55% of the subjects Totally Agree with the statement that they have a full realization when they are in intimate communion with God. Only 11,11% Partially Agree and 5,55% Agree more than disagree. The least mentioned option was I disagree more than I agree, by 2,77% of respondents. The Partially Disagree and Totally Disagree variables were eliminated because they were not mentioned.

It is noteworthy that x_o²=0 and x²_c=7,81; since the chi-square test was applied to find out if there is a statistically significant difference; it was found that there is no statistically significant difference. It is also worth noting that n.g.l.=3 and α=0,05.

These results are similar to those in Table 5, which shows that 72,22% of the volunteers Totally Agree with the premise of being satisfied and fulfilled with life.

Although with a curious percentage difference between the variables, it is noted that the results of Table 7 are compatible with those of Table 4, in which 63,87% of the participants say they disagree to some degree with the premise of having dissatisfaction when they pray alone. Only 38,88% say Strongly Disagree (which is the option that directly contrasts with the Strongly Agree alternative, plus in Table 7) of such a premise.

The reasons for this could be the lack of understanding of the question (which was elaborated in the form of a negative sentence by the WHOQOL questionnaire, which, in turn, is uncommon in everyday popular language) at the time of data collection or by the communion with God can be associated with practices other than prayer.

Orlando et al. (2008) say that, regardless of lifestyle, the elderly pray for various purposes, such as obtaining peace, obtaining love, gratitude for a favor achieved and for the family. All these requests are linked to the human being’s state of mind, albeit indirectly (such as the well-being of a family member), so it would be dubious to disregard the practice of prayers as a means of communion with God. Thus, either some participants really did not understand the question (possibly for the reasons mentioned above) or there is another unobserved circumstance that led the elderly to opt for a greater diversity of alternatives (perhaps due to the lack of depth provided by the data collection instrument used), considering that the question in Table 7 was less ambiguous because it was an affirmative sentence.

CONCLUSION

Responding to the guiding question about the quality of life of the elderly who work, it was noticed that the elderly workers have different degrees of satisfaction with the investigated aspects that involve their lives, according to their own perspective expressed in the material used. However, they present a greater tendency to be satisfied than dissatisfied in most of the investigated facets, since they showed greater appreciation with some of them (such as religiosity).

This amalgamation of satisfaction and dissatisfaction raises particular questions in each facet observed, which could not be investigated since we did not work with an open or semi-directed data collection method that could deepen the analysis of each area. However, doors were opened so that these problematic questions can leverage new research that continues or even completes this work (for example: The lack of daily information and access to leisure on the part of the elderly is due to a process of segregation practiced by the family or resulting from the hours dedicated to work?).

Thus, it is recommended that further research be carried out to investigate more deeply the quality of some facets of the elderly’s life (especially those that were ambiguous, undefined or outside hypotheses), including revealing the degree of satisfaction of some new aspects. The material used was accurate for quantitative data work, but inflexible for qualitative analysis, in order to leave loose ends in the prospection of tabulated information correlated with the consulted literature and with each other. It is also suggested that a similar research be carried out with elderly people who do not work to compare the results between those who carry out such activities and those who are already retired, as it may be possible to have significant differences in the answers in some areas.

Furthermore, it is estimated that this scientific contribution can corroborate so that there are questions about the reality experienced by many elderly people who work and invest in improving their quality of life, especially in the aspects addressed in which there was no prevalence of satisfaction.

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APPENDIX – FOOTNOTE

3. Brazilian Free and Informed Consent Term.

4. Brazilian Research Ethics Committee.

5. Certificado de Apresentação de Apreciação Ética – Certificate of Presentation of Ethical Appreciation.

^[1] Master in Educational Sciences from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP); Master in Adult Education and Training by FPCEUP; Psychologist and Bachelor in Psychology from Universidade São Judas Tadeu (USJT).

^[2] Specialist in Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity by Instituto Sedes Sapientiae. Psychologist and Bachelor in Psychology from Universidade São Judas Tadeu (USJT).

Sent: October, 2021.

Approved: November, 2021.