14 Stress-Free Jobs That Help Retirees Stay Busy

Gabrielle Reeder

Published:

Happy Old man
credit: depositphotos

Bored in retirement? In retirement, bored? Overwhelmed by newfound endless freedom? Searching for a low-key job to fill your time with to lessen the ample free time populating your life? We become so accustomed to a work schedule that once we move away from the routine, we grow flustered, unaware of what to do on a daily basis in order to fill time. Luckily, retiring doesn’t mean you have to quit working forever. Instead of clocking in at the high-stress, mind-consuming job you followed as a career, you can move toward a simple, stress-free line of work.

1. Delivery Driver

‎Delivery man
Credit: Depositphotos

Delivery drivers keep the economy afloat by transporting various goods and services. All you need to pursue a career in driving is a license and a clean background, as most companies run a background check prior to the hiring portion of the job. Drivers transport food, water, oil, and all kinds of necessities that power communities. 

For smaller community deliveries, companies like Uber and DoorDash are always looking for their next ideal fit. If you prefer to branch out into driving semi-trucks longer distances, you need to pass a health exam and a background check. No age is too old to become a truck driver.  Drivers spend the majority of time in their vehicles, listening to music or basking in the scenery during the drive. The straightforward job consists of driving, picking up goods, delivering said goods, and sometimes interacting with customers. 

2. Dog Walker

Senior woman walking with a dog on a leash.
Image Credit: fotokostic/Depositphotos.

Anyone with a fondness for animals, specifically dogs, finds easy money through dog walking gigs. Typically, the dog owners instruct the walkers on what time to show up at the house and how to best care for the dog. 

I know a couple of dog walkers who communicate with their boss through text messages, and they receive their payments through Zelle. The minimal person-to-person contact appeals to them because they’d rather spend their time around dogs than people. 

3. House Sitter

The Tavern Hotel Dog House
Image Credit: The Tavern Hotel

House sitters look after houses or apartments when the people who live there go on vacation. Even if the homeowner has no pets, other home areas require checkups over long periods of time. 

I housesat for a family obsessed with the flowers bordering their home and the garden in the backyard. Once a day, I tended to the vegetation and floral arrangements, keeping the plants (and the parents) happy. The family communicated with me a few times a week and paid a generous wage for the simple task of maintaining the home’s appearance.

4. Editing

Senior editor on her working table.
Image Credit: Milkos/DepositPhotos.

As a kid, did you win every single spelling bee? Did you get 100% on each spelling quiz despite never hearing the words questioned on the quiz? In high school, did other kids come up to you, pleading for you to look over their paper and mark any mistakes? 

Use your proofreading skills to earn supplemental income later in life. Editors work on manuscripts, newspapers, online blogs, and for marketing firms, making the companies appear literate and educated in their language. Many editors keep communication with higher-ups to a minimum, decreasing their stress levels.

5. Tutor

Senior Tutor teaching kids.
Image Credit: racorn/Depositphotos.

Spread your infinite algebraic knowledge to others who aren’t so lucky. Share that unwavering confidence in reading comprehension with a student who struggles to understand plots. When searching for a job, post-retirement, pan over the subjects that held your interest. Or focus on the subjects you aced during your high school career. Are you still well-versed enough to relay that knowledge to another person? 

Numerous online companies, such as Tutor.com, Varsity Tutors, and Tutor Me, keep applications open for potential tutors. Define your niche while the website does the rest. 

6. Tour Guide 

Group Tour
Image Credit: Shutterstock.

Showcase your extensive knowledge of a particular place as a tour guide. Most people stick to their obsessions or keen interests when becoming tour guides.

Location also plays a major role in this profession. For example, when I lived in London, I met a tour guide who followed a lifelong passion for decoding the Jack The Ripper mystery. Since childhood, he pored over every writing, video, and information entry about the unsolved case, leading to his eventual position as a Jack the Ripper tour guide. 

7. Coach

Senior soccer coach referee with kids.
Image Credit: ProShooter/DepositPhotos.

Coaches oversee teams or single-sport athletes, helping them understand a sport and turn into better players. A lot ofcoaches spent their youths immersed in a select sport, graduating to varsity or college-level teams. Some coaches move on to professional leagues, but sadly, sports don’t favor older individuals. If you spent the brunt of your life studying a sport, you can turn that expertise over as a coach. 

Working as a coach can be a stress-free or low-level stress job, depending on how you let it affect you. Like anything, a job that consumes aggravates stress levels; a job viewed as a way to supply, a lighthearted way to give back to the community, lightens stress. 

8. Nanny

credit: depositphotos

Turn your free time into a glorified babysitting gig. The dictionary definition of a babysitter describes the job as someone watching over children for a shortened time period. A nanny describes someone who forms a relationship with the kids given their extended time with the family. I would argue a babysitter still forms a relationship with children despite the length of their stay. 

Families, especially ones with two full-time working parents, need nannies to look after their children or drop them off and pick them up from school. My nannying gig is low-stress since the parents established their relationship with me years ago, and I’ve earned the kids’ trust. Plus, nannying gigs tend to follow a routine, decreasing stress levels by making the nanny repeat the same tasks every day. 

9. Cleaning

cleaning ceiling
Credit: Depositphotos

Anyone who cleans up a mess wherever they spot one or enjoys organizing unorganized spaces without being asked should look at work as a cleaner. A lot of people despise cleaning as a part of their daily schedule, which makes the side gig a profitable and valuable one. 

People pay for what they don’t want to do. Work for a company, or start a solo operation offering cleaning services around your city. 

10. Stockers

Senior looking at th eprice of milk.
Image Credit: Wavebreakmedia/DepositPhotos.

Stockers reshelve and replace depleting items in stores. Whether they work in grocery stores, retail shops, or even rare vintage stores, stockers all follow the same basic job description: to stock. Night owls fall in love with this job, as it allows them to pass the time and get paid while performing a simple operation. 

Employed stockers report their fondness for the job lies in the little interaction with outside forces. Stockers throw on a pair of headphones, drown out extraneous noise, and stack their shelves. 

11. Security Guard

security guard
Credit: Depositphotos

Security guards post up at an entrance office, clearing each person and car wanting to access the safeguarded space. In some cases, the guards sit behind CCTVs, patrolling any rare or unusual activity on the screens. 

Every couple of hours, security guards get up from their posts to prowl around protected premises, searching for trouble. A security guard’s main focus is reporting suspicious activity, not acting on it, so the job resides on the low-stress spectrum. 

12. Massage Therapist 

Massage therapist
Credit: Depositphotos

Requirements for massage therapists differ between states, but most must complete a 500-hour program and obtain certification. Masseuses claim their jobs offer a low-stress environment, placing them in a dark room with lit candles or burning incense and relaxing music soothing the customer. In addition to the relaxed ambiance, clients enter a deep relaxation state, or sleep, which in turn eases the therapist, too. 

Communication stays at a minimum: the therapist speaks with the patient about their body, then they move forward to the practice. A patient might intervene if a technique hurts them or they want more pressure, though massage therapists face far less conflict than an office job. 

13. Interpreter 

Senior woman translator listening to the conversations on her laptop.
Image Credit: yacobchuk1/DepositPhotos.

When you know multiple languages, you can share your skills for monetary gain. Interpreters are needed everywhere, from customer service desks in airports to theme park guides to service workers and those employed in the retail industry. The market needs interpreters. 

Language barriers can prevent families from valuing experiences to the maximum capacity, which could lead to dissatisfaction. Multilingual workers help provide that family with a great experience by simply talking to them in their native tongue. Get paid to yap!

14. Translator

Translator
credit: depositphotos

Another way multilingual people can make money is translating written text into another language. Translators work in translating subtitles, which bring the pleasant movie or TV watching experience to a wider audience in event settings,in office settings where they translate books or newspapers, and anywhere needing written text in a different language. 

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