Coronavirus and your last working day: what’s that like
Watch out for each other
Suppose you’ve been working at TNO for years. And then coronavirus strikes. Everyone is working at home, and it’s your last (online) working day. No leaving do, no meal with colleagues, no retirement party in your back garden. What’s that like? Two colleagues tell their personal stories.
John Makkus left TNO after 39 years of service
John worked full-time as research officer at Defence and Safety in the energetic materials department. He wasn’t planning on taking full retirement yet, as he was really enjoying things with great colleagues and challenging work. That’s why John was really pleased that he could continue working part-time after his retirement date on 12 February 2020. Partial retirement ‘I celebrated my retirement date on 12 February 2020 in a modest way. After all, I wasn’t really leaving. My departmental head suggested having coffee with my immediate colleagues and fortunately that was still possible then. Someone said nice things in a speech, we took some photos, and we reflected on my work at TNO. Then came lockdown. I still really enjoyed my work even then, but that work stopped unexpectedly on 1 August 2020. Due to the coronavirus crisis, temporary contracts were not being extended – including mine. Even though I understand TNO’s decision, as they needed to draw a line somewhere, I still had a tough time processing it.’
How did you say your goodbyes? ‘A small group of colleagues met outside the lab around a few garden benches for a beer. That was it. Of course I really enjoyed it, but you do have a lump in your throat afterwards. It would have been so great to have been able to go for a meal with colleagues or celebrate somewhere, or do that later if need be. If you’ve worked somewhere for 39 years, you build relationships with colleagues, and at TNO I always had such nice colleagues around me. It formed a huge part of my social life and suddenly that’s not there anymore. You can’t just call by the lab to visit colleagues for a coffee these days either, because of the coronavirus measures.’ Do have any tips for other colleagues? ‘I was so busy with my work that I never considered that my retirement was approaching. My tip for other colleagues is to think long and hard about how and when you want to retire. Make sure you don’t suddenly have to stop work. Try to do it gradually; it’s much nicer. And, certainly in these times, you need to give it more attention than usual. You need to take extra time to arrange farewells with your colleagues. You need to plan everything carefully, even to able to give someone an elbow bump or enjoy a coffee together. Also try to enjoy the time that you’re still able to chat with colleagues. You need to take the initiative.’
‘It’s not a great time to retire right now. It’s not nice for anyone, but I was lucky it was summer then.’
And retirement plans? John’s certainly got plans, he explained smiling. He was looking forward to visiting Canada for the third time and doing a road trip by campervan. But, of course, that was no longer possible. Neither was the fantastic road trip he had planned with his wife through Germany and Austria to go walking in the mountains. He also wanted to help out with the local volunteer bus service, but even that has been postponed. ‘I had such fantastic plans, but they’ve all been blown out of the water. Of course, I’m not the only one in this situation, but I did find it quite hard to settle into a rhythm. Now I look at the garden and can see that there’s more than enough to do there. So as soon as it’s spring, I’ll get started again. I try to stay positive and assume that things won’t be like this for ever. I really enjoy working in the kitchen these days. For instance, I baked biscuits yesterday. I’ll be hopping on the bike later to take them to my grandchildren.’
‘It was certainly different from what I’d imagined.’
I had a great job at TNO; no two days were the same ‘I first started work in Delft at a company that made medical instruments, where I received further training. Then I saw an advertisement for TNO and started on 1 August 1981 at the Prins Maurits Laboratory where I worked there for exactly 39 years, first as instrument maker. If someone needed a special instrument that wasn’t available for sale, we made one. We looked for solutions together and built the instruments that were required. I eventually became a research staff member and was involved in experiments for the energetic materials team. We conducted many experiments and regularly implemented projects abroad. No two days were the same. In addition to my job at TNO, I often worked in the evenings and weekends as a reservist at the National Reserve Corps. That was a fantastic combination.’
Kees van der Pauuw worked at TNO for over 45 years
Kees carried on working as a quality advisor and Quality Assurance Manager until his retirement date – that was 14 April 2020. However, he had already started to work less before then. He still works a few hours a week as a quality advisor for TNO to support his successor, and he really enjoys this. What was it like to leave the company? Kees still hasn’t been able to properly say his goodbyes. ‘My retirement date was 14 April 2020, and I was really looking forward to it. We’d planned a leaving do, but that couldn’t go ahead. Everything had gone into lockdown just a month previously. We did sit together with a small group at a safe distance from each other. The room was decorated, and my successor gave a speech. The real leaving do has been postponed. I hope that it will still be possible in some form, but we’re now a year on. Several other colleagues have since left: some are now also retired, and a group of colleagues relocated from my place of work in Zeist to Utrecht. That makes things more difficult.’
Do have any tips for other colleagues? ‘If you suddenly stop working, you need to make sure you don’t just fade away. I’ve always been keen to learn: I enjoy reading and I’ve studied many things. My tip is to stay active. When you’ve retired, you also need to keep your mind active, work on your physical condition, and maintain your network with various contacts. I’m fortunate that I can still keep on working. I used to think very differently about this. I always said: if I can retire early, I’ll certainly do that. But my work has always been so fascinating, and it still is now. I enjoy going to work every single day. I already started working fewer hours in recent years via the TOP scheme, but in the end I kept working until my state retirement date, which for me was 66 years and 4 months. I’m just really happy here.’
‘You’re closing the door on a big part of your life, and you’re suddenly starting a completely new life. I want to celebrate that in a good way.’
What are your retirement plans? ‘We wanted to take a road trip to Germany and Tuscany last year. However, Italy had already been hit by coronavirus by then, so we didn’t fancy it. There were loads more restrictions at the time, but fortunately the weather was great, so we were able to go on holiday and cycle a lot in the Netherlands. In addition to my job at TNO, I was the secretary for a Church community. Now that I have more time, I’m very busy there and I’m involved in various activities. I easily work twenty hours a week there. But there’s also lots to do at home: I like reading and going for an hour-long walk every day. I also want to help at a voting office in the next elections, and I’m on the reserve list for that. So, I’m definitely not bored.’
‘COVID-19 has made my retirement very different. For me, it meant postponing my farewells. That said, I’ve kind of already got used to the idea of being retired. Sometimes, things just go like that.’
I still vividly remember my first day at TNO ‘Villa Fatima, with its coach house, is located next to the head office in Zeist. The villa used to belong to TNO. I worked there in the coach house attic together with one colleague and my boss. We conducted research there into pesticides for fauna and flora. It was a great start after I'd finished college. I really settled in and was able to study for my college certificate in the evenings. TNO always gave me the opportunity to follow courses and training and I really appreciate that. I started as a chemical analyst and later became the working group leader for pesticides. I made the switch to quality in 1996 and have worked in various internal quality jobs. For instance, I worked a lot with colleagues from various locations. I was also able to do TNO-wide projects, such as designing technical resources management for the entire organization. And now I work as a quality advisor, which I really enjoy. I worked in Delft for one year, but for all those other years I worked in Zeist. I always stayed at TNO because it’s such a fascinating company that shows what it’s made of. My annual contract ends in April, and I hope that I’ll be able to keep working in this way until the end of the year.’
