Life goes on with gap years for Grumpies

May 2 2008 by Nicholas Craig, The Journal

I’VE been reading about Gaps for Grumpies. The ethos suits me down to the ground. It’s a volunteering and holiday package from which the under-40s and Peter Stringfellow wannabees are banned.

If that isn’t enough to start the applause, it also blends time getting involved with projects in countries such as Ghana, Peru or Fiji, with an obligatory week or so having a well-earned break yourself.

As I’ve become more mature and distinguished, I’ve felt less like joining the throngs on beaches, book in hand, handkerchief on head, and more inclined to experience what’s actually going on in countries I’ve visited, from Sri Lanka to China.

This enterprising venture recognises our inability to stand on the sidelines, and sorts out community and environmental projects which give us something useful to do before we reward ourselves with a bit of rest and recreation. Perhaps guilt and fidgeting increases with age. Whatever the reason, I think it’s a great idea.

Grown-up gapping has soared in popularity in recent years. As we are likely to be working in some way for most of our lives, it is easy to understand the attraction of a grown up gap project, holiday, or even gap year to see the world and come back refreshed and inspired to carry on working.

There’s a sense that we’re less prescribed by convention than previous generations. Very few people now believe that you work for 45 years and then collect a gold watch. The ‘nifty over-50s’ also believe you don’t have to stop having fun just because you’re getting older. These days, you’re almost as likely to find a pair of 60-year-olds trekking in the Andes as you are to pass them on a stroll in the Lake District.

By taking a chunk out of our working lives to pursue a different agenda, we can jolt ourselves out of long-established routine, and fulfil a wish to travel and perhaps work abroad.

After all, dramatic changes are predicted at work, with the abolition of compulsory retirement and people continuing employment into their 70s and 80s. With home working, electronic communication, satellite work centres and flexible working arrangements, even the frailties of old age become less of a problem to employers.

Good luck to Gaps for Grumpies. Life may begin at 40, but it can still sizzle at 60.

Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton LLP