100% agree.
Too old to find another path. Too young to retire. Just work and keep your head down.
So tell them there is way more to life! And no, not cats and boxed wine.
“but the early 50s seem tough on coworkers. In part because as you describe, they realize what they won’t accomplish, but even more so, they realize they have at least a dozen more years working.”
I think the disparity between the private sector workforce (where more and more people are being forced to work into their seventies) and government workforce plays a role as well; cops can retire before 50 now with 25 years on the job, and they don’t have the retirement income or health insurance concerns as the people who pay them. Even unionized workers (like UPS drivers) can get out at 55 with the pension and health insurance - and the latter is what keeps most of the private sector working until at least 65.
Even people who saved for retirement intending to leave at 62 are now staying on solely for the health insurance aspect; their savings/assets can disappear in one illness if uninsured.
Honestly, in my fifties, I was more worried about keeping my job and qualifying for retirement than I was concerned about having to keep working. I was glad to keep working!