Contact Person:
	Ellen Williams
	4-H Agent
	Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Monmouth County
	20 Court Street
	Freehold, NJ 07728

Presenters:
        Ellen Williams
        Freehold, NJ 07728

Description:
As an Extension professional, do you identify with any other role than your work? This workshop provides a variety of learning activities to help participants explore how to expand their personal and professional roles in order to achieve greater life satisfaction during work and retirement years.

Conference Objective:
This proposal directly addresses the conference objectives of helping conference attendees "acquire more effective skills to maintain an appropriate balance between work and the other aspects of one's life" and "identifying ways to prepare for and enjoy a fulfilling retirement".

Abstract:
Our life satisfaction is directly related to the satisfaction we have with the roles in our lives. Our roles are the various relationships we assume in our lives. These roles are personal (e.g., parent, friend, daughter, jogger, etc.) as well as professional (e.g., teacher, writer, committee member, researcher, etc.). It is important that we have a variety of roles in our lives, for each role taps a unique part of ourselves. Yet, all too often, Extension professionals become so invested in their work roles that they neglect to develop and nurture other roles in their lives. Without an alternative to the Extension work role, it is likely that the Extension professional will become "burnt out" and ultimately less effective in his or her work performance. Also, unless the Extension professional develops other than the work role, it is likely that retirement will be marked by discontent and disappointment.

In this workshop, participants will receive resource activities to assist them in assessing their own level of balance between personal and professional roles. These materials are also appropriate for participants to use in their staff and volunteer training. Topics to be covered include: 1) identifying current life roles; 2) determining if current life roles are constraining or liberating; 3) exploring how to make adjustments to permit more flexibility in roles; 4) identifying roles desired, but not yet developed; and 5) anticipating how one's current roles will enhance or restrict retirement satisfaction.

Participants will examine whether their values and interests are currently being met by the roles they have assumed in their lives. Self inventories will assist individuals in exploring how they can achieve the quality of life they seek. The presenter, who has offered numerous workshops on leisure education and retirement, will incorporate material from her two textbooks Opportunities in Gerontology and Aging Services, endorsed by Gray Panthers founder Maggie Kuhn, and Recreation Programming and Leadership (co-authored).