The phenomenon of early retirement among male and female teachers has become serious enough to warrant attention, not merely because the numbers are increasing year after year, but because it represents a potential loss of expertise accumulated over years of teaching and education. When competent individuals choose to leave the field before reaching the official retirement age, the real question should not be how many have retired, but rather why they decided to leave and retire. Since the reasons may vary from person to person, it is a mistake to reduce the phenomenon to a single explanation. It requires scientific field studies where teachers are interviewed and listened to, their reality analyzed, and the most influential factors in this decision identified. However, the issue can be examined from two important perspectives: organizational belonging and job engagement.

Organizational belonging means the employee feeling that the institution they work for is part of their identity, where they receive respect and appreciation, enjoy human relations with colleagues and management, and trust the fairness of its systems and clarity of its procedures. A belonging employee loves their workplace, is proud to be associated with it, and feels that the work environment embraces and values their efforts. Job engagement, however, is different; it relates to the person's relationship with the task they perform more than their relationship with the institution itself. An engaged teacher finds teaching a mission before a job, feels enthusiasm when entering the classroom, enjoys building students' minds, and becomes so absorbed in their mission that they lose track of time, because what they do carries deep meaning beyond salary and job benefits. Hence, the differences between their sources become clear. Belonging often arises from the quality of the work environment, effective management, clear systems, fair treatment, mutual respect, and high human relations among all school or educational institution members. The more positive the environment, the greater the employees' sense of belonging. As for job engagement, its main source is the person themselves. It starts with love for the task, passion for what they do, belief in the importance of the mission, and feeling that the work brings real value to their lives and the lives of others. A teacher who realizes that every letter they teach might someday build a doctor, engineer, scientist, or leader, views their work differently and draws motivation from its lasting impact and the great reward they hope for from God Almighty. Therefore, addressing early retirement should begin with diagnosing the real cause. If studies prove the problem lies in a weak work environment, the priority should be to improve it by developing educational administrations, enhancing organizational justice, reducing unnecessary pressures, improving communication, and building a culture based on respect, appreciation, and trust. If the main cause is weak job engagement, the solution lies in reviving the meaning of the educational mission, increasing professional development training, empowering teachers to play more creative roles, and linking their mission to its great impact in building generations, and to the reward God has prepared for people of knowledge and education. Every student who benefits from knowledge they received, every good character they acquire, every success they achieve—the teacher may have a share in the reward as long as the effect of their knowledge remains.

Hassan Al-Omair