Marrying Purpose and Productivity: Catalyzing Meaningful Ageing Through Social Networks

Staying productively engaged in later life profoundly impacts older adults' physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being. However, current employment opportunities for seniors frequently focus on low-skilled, physically demanding roles with limited remuneration, potentially diminishing rather than enhancing overall well-being. To truly foster purposeful and productive ageing, we must rethink how opportunities are identified and structured – moving beyond simply providing generic employment or leisure activities.

A promising approach lies in leveraging the social capital inherent within older adults' existing social networks. Interventions can more effectively enhance meaningful engagement by first identifying and tapping into older persons' established social connections. By helping older adults recognize and strengthen these personal networks, interventions can serve as catalysts, opening pathways to opportunities genuinely aligned with their skills, passions, and social preferences.

Community-based initiatives exemplify how social networks can be effectively utilized. Initiatives such as community kitchens, librarian programs, peer-to-peer haircutting services, or errand-running both reinforce and leverage older adults’ existing relationships and enable meaningful participation in community life. When older adults engage in activities alongside peers with whom they share positive relationships, this sense of comfort provides an additional layer of purpose and satisfaction.

Recognizing that some older adults have limited social networks, interventions must proactively bridge these individuals to suitable community nodes. These nodes can include dependable local business owners such as barbers or food stall holders, neighbours encountered during regular activities like grocery shopping, social workers, or even familiar law enforcement officers. Such nodes act as connectors, holding valuable information about resources and opportunities. Their existing rapport and connection with older adults provide both the incentive and capability to facilitate meaningful interactions, encouraging older adults to pursue these opportunities due to established relationships.

Methodologies like narrative-based approaches and community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) further enhance this social network-focused strategy. These methods help uncover individual stories, aspirations, and connections, ensuring interventions authentically resonate with older adults’ lived experiences. By placing social capital at the heart of intervention design, older adults can actively co-create meaningful, sustainable opportunities for purposeful engagement.

Ultimately, harnessing the power of social networks to identify and nurture meaningful productivity offers a powerful pathway for Singapore to support purposeful, dignified ageing in the community.

Further Readings

Woolrych R, Sixsmith J, Fisher J, Makita M, Lawthom R, Murray M. Constructing and negotiating social participation in old age: experiences of older adults living in urban environments in the United Kingdom. Ageing and Society. 2021;41(6):1398-1420.

Bakhshandeh Bavarsad M, Stephens C. Social network type contributes to purpose in life among older people, mediated by social support. Eur J Ageing. 2024 Jan 17;21(1):5.