The centenarian’s best tip for a successful, long career is to continue working four days a week

Jayne Burns wasn’t always planning to work past the age of 100. However, she makes the 20-minute journey by herself most mornings from her home in Cincinnati to Mason, Ohio, where she reports for work as a part-time fabric cutter at Joann Fabric and Crafts.

She has been working at the store for 26 years, and she still enjoys going there. She explains, «I like what I do, so I want to keep doing it.» «I’ll work for as long as I can or for as long as they’ll have me.»

Burns started working at the craft shop in 1997, not long after her husband Dick passed away; she will age 101 on July 26. Her daughter Donna Burns, who had a part-time job at the store and had suggested her for the position, thought it may be a good diversion from the loss.

The centenarian, who spent the majority of her career as a bookkeeper, tried retiring numerous times in her 70s and 80s, but she would soon «unretire» because she missed the routine and lunches with her coworkers.

Burns has discovered over the course of her decades-long career that the «best jobs» all have friendly coworkers in common. Finding people who are amiable and kind is vital, she believes.

“Staying busy keeps you from focusing on your aches and pains,” she says. “It makes it easier to keep going.”