Events

  Join Olin College Professor Caitrin Lynch at the Needham Public Library for a fascinating presentation on Needham's Vita Needle company whose employees have a median age of 74. Books will be available for purchase courtesy of Wellesley Books.   In an era when people live longer and want (or need) to work past the traditional retirement age, the Vita Needle Company of Needham, Massachusetts, provides inspiration and important lessons about the value of older workers. In Retirement on the Line, Caitrin Lynch explores what this unusual company’s commitment to an elderly workforce means for the employer, the workers, the community, and society more generally. Benefiting from nearly five years of fieldwork at Vita Needle, Lynch offers an intimate portrait of the people who work there, a nuanced explanation of the company’s hiring practices, and a cogent analysis of how the workers’ experiences can inform our understanding of aging and work in the twenty-first century.