Ah PILLOW, but why? Did they perhaps, work beyond retirement because they couldn't afford to retire?
The question here concerns the apparant tendency for engineers to either not make it to retirement or die soon after retiring. There seems to be definite evidence that engineers, (and others too!) tend to have shorter than average lives. Personally, I think that the root causes are disturbed circadian rythyms induced by bad shift systems combined with demanding tasks completed against tight deadlines. The stress level in our job is very high but the effects are not immediately apparent. As young men and women we adopt a tough "we can take anything they throw at us" attitude. The damage doesn't show until we get older. By then it is too late. Pilots, especially on long haul, also have to cope with disturbed circadian rhythms but they have the advantage of mandatory rest periods and earlier retirement. Although they also appear to suffer shorter than average lives, at least they get to enjoy a proper retirement before they check out permanently.
The people who have the greatest longevity are those in low stress occupations. Both my grandmothers lived well into their 90s despite having worked up to 14 hours a day "in service" as they called it. Whether they owed their longevity to low stress and regular (if long) hours or continuous medium levels of physical activity would need scientific investigation. On the other hand, both my grandfathers (their husbands, I'm legit!) worked in engineering. One died in his sixties without making it to his pension, the other died aged 82 but after twenty years of poor quality life suffering from chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The least we can do is demand investigations to find out if our jobs include risk factors that tend to shorten our lives.
If investigations show that 24 hour shifts and tight deadlines are life threatening experiences then we may move on to demand action to correct the situation. We are told that closing factories (or airports or hangars) at night is not possible. Work MUST go on round the clock, against the clock, non-stop. Shutting down overnight would cost too much. Costly, yes. But to whom?
What price are WE paying today and how long must we go on paying it? We don't send children up chimneys any more, nor do we deliberately expose workers to mercury or phophorous. But it only stopped when the dangers were identified and pressure was brought to bear for parliament to legislate. It is astonishing to realise that it was only legal intervention that lead to corrective action, otherwise people would still be dying from "Phossy Jaw" and the like.
Are we dying prematurely in the interests of cheap air travel for the masses? Maybe its time we found out...
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Through difficulties to the cinema