While many people worry about finding their identity after their work life is over, Charlie actually found it refreshing to be able to 'be more himself' in retirement.

By Maddie Southall

For the entirety of his career, Charlie Nightingale (66) went by “Charles” at work and “Charlie” at home. He lived the double life that many of us are familiar with – having a distinct work persona, and a more relaxed, off the clock “real” identity reserved for home life.

We sat down with one of our Chief Customer Officers (CCOs) Charlie Nightingale to find out more about how this dynamic changed when he retired.

Charles vs Charlie 

The Charles/Charlie persona-shift started in his early career in Birmingham, England, when Charlie started working for his father. His father called him Charles at work, but to his friends, he was always Charlie. After making his way to Australia and adopting the more casual attitude that fitted his new country, Charlie wanted to ditch his double identity and just be Charlie everywhere. 

“I wanted to change back to Charlie in the workforce, [but] It just didn't work. For some reason it didn't translate very well,” he tells Citro. Professional “Charles” proved more difficult to switch off than he first anticipated, so when it came to his work, Charles it always was. 

What made Charlie, Charles?

His “Charles” identity was a lot more “professional” and didn’t always feel like his most authentic self. He was a bit more reserved and couldn’t always have a laugh when he wanted to. Also, since his role was heading up a large corporate division, there was pressure to represent the company in a business-like way. “I was dealing with a large number of corporates, and it was more appropriate to be called Charles in both of those instances,” he notes.

It was pretty rare when both his identities were in the same room, but when Charles would attend corporate events with his wife, Helen, people would often ask, “Where’s Charles?” She’d smile and reply, “Who?” because to her, he will always be Charlie.

Shedding his work persona

When retirement was on the horizon, Charlie was determined to transition out of his work life as seamlessly as possible. In the lead up, Charlie watched many of his colleagues retire and struggle to adjust to life without their work identity and structure – especially those who had tied their self-worth to their work.

So when his own time rolled around, he decided to slowly transition out of work over 5 months, and took this time to mentally step back from his work identity. This slower time period allowed him to adjust and build up other areas of his life beyond work that mattered to him. So when Charlie finally stepped out of the workforce altogether it felt like a manageable change.
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The moment he fully embraced "Charlie" in retirement was a turning point. He felt more authentic and comfortable in this new identity, and enjoyed being able to prioritise family, particularly spending as much time as possible with his father before he passed away earlier this year.

During the time they had together, Charlie drew a lot of wisdom from his father: “I've had a really very helpful mentor in my dad, he retired at 60 after having his own business. My dad lived 33 years past his retirement so that was a model for me to focus on – retirement doesn't mean I stop learning as an individual.” 

Observing his father showed Charlie that there is still a huge chunk of life to live after retiring – and it’s worth prioritising this valuable time.

Does Charlie miss working?

When Charlie reflects on his work life, there are some things that were relief to leave behind, like the constant pressure to perform. “[You] can’t rest on your laurels, you always have to be innovating. You always have to come up with new ways to satisfy a customer,” Charlie tells us. He doesn’t miss the commitment of having to strive for more day in and day out, and instead has relaxed into seeing what the day brings.

Building up life after work

Now, spending time doing something fulfilling and enjoyable is the name of the game. For Charlie this looks like taking a financial management course and managing his family’s investments, as well as being a regular volunteer guide at the Sydney Jewish Museum. Charlie guides tours through the museum every couple of weeks, and he loves contributing to the history teachings of the 55,000 people who visit the museum every year.

Family is also a big priority for Charlie, spending time with his wife Helen, visiting his kids, and making the most of time with his dad up until his passing. He feels so lucky to have his dad for so long (he lived just shy of his 94th birthday).

Charlie warmly told us, “I’ve got this much of my life left and I want to enjoy it for as long as I can and hopefully live as long as my dad did.”

Fast-faves

We asked Charlie our rapid-fire fast-fave questions to find out his favourite:

Person: David Bowie

Destination: Egypt

Hobby: Playing guitar

Food: Italian

Movie: Blade Runner

Book: How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie

Life advice: Explore your passions, but ensure you're in an environment that supports them. If you can't find such an environment right away, make do with the current one until you can, but never stop searching for the right fit.

Money tip: Start saving early and start understanding the ability to delay gratification through compound interest.

Find out more about Citro’s CCO program:

^{Feature image: supplied by Charlie Nightingale}

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