Fading to black: end-of-career storytelling and retirees’ mental health

In this article, we introduce a three-part exploratory framework to examine the role of career narratives in shaping retirees’ post-retirement mental health. Drawing upon insights from human resource management and social psychology research on narratives, this framework provides an initial conceptualization of career narratives—stories that recognize a retiree’s contributions to an organization—and considers their potential influence on mental well-being during the transition to retirement. The second part of this framework outlines a preliminary process model that integrates conventional and novel human resource management practices to facilitate end-of-career storytelling, with the goal of enhancing psychological benefits for retirees. In the third part, we discuss how these practices may also offer broader organizational advantages, highlighting directions for future research on their implementation and impact. By formally examining end-of-career storytelling as a retirement ritual, this framework serves as a foundation for further inquiry into the intersection of retirement management and mental health. It also contributes to public health research by identifying a socially derived, employer-driven approach that may support retirees’ psychological well-being. Given the emergent nature of this topic, we call for empirical studies to explore and refine the theoretical mechanisms proposed in this framework.