As a career coach, I was always fascinated by the global trends in work styles, especially of corporate professionals. The evolving work preferences and the pandemic effect triggered the Great Resignation and the rising trend of more professionals turning into solopreneurs and entrepreneurs – I observed that all these phenomena possess one common factor– ‘The Mid-Career Crisis’.
Mid-career crisis is a less-spoken fact among many professionals. As a result, not many of us identify that we are going through this stage. The symptoms and results can vary from individual to individual, but they all point to this disengaged state towards our career or job. As a coach who helped many professionals diagnose this unwarrantable stage and navigate their mid career crisis, I want to shed light on this concern in this article.
What is a mid-career crisis?
A mid life career crisis is the stage where professionals in the middle of their career journey feel disengaged and misaligned with their career path. It is reflected in their lack of enthusiasm to take on new challenges in the job, inability to focus at work unlike in their earlier career days, and more.
At this stage, professionals start introspection about their happiness quotient in their current job/career, display apathy towards their roles and responsibilities, weigh the successes and failures to date, and start pondering about the career paths they left untouched.
An unresolved career crisis can impact all other areas of life and create more vacuum in an individual’s life.
What causes mid-career crisis?
A typical career journey follows this path:
Graduate, join a job, learn the ropes of the work, get promoted and earn more, face hurdles like office politics and toxic work cultures, pay bills and struggle to ascend heights in your career.
At a certain point, typically when a professional crosses 35- 40 years of age, this seems like a never-ending journey. They discover a gap in their ambitions-career path alignment, which only gets wider and stronger over time.
As per research, professionals with designations such as Director, Senior Director, Partner, or Vice president and senior executive employees with the titles of CXO, President, Managing Partner, Founder, or Principal.
In other words, a mid career crisis can hit professionals with more than 10 years of experience. Studies on the recent quiet quitting and the Great Resignation trends proved that professionals at this career juncture are tired and demotivated.
But why does this happen?
Traditionally, organizations always relied on professionals of this designation or experience level. Such employees have been the backbone for organizations in ensuring the smooth running of operations.
Of late, with the changing economic landscape and employee mindset shifting towards life-work balance, mid-career professionals are facing the heat and burden from all perspectives. This leaves them wondering if their current path is what their life purpose is about.
Mid career crisis can happen due to various reasons. I discussed below some of the most observed reasons in my experience as a career coach:
Unmet career ambitions
Many professionals start their careers without significant research about the career path. Most often, we do not possess the skills or understanding of the necessity of assessing a career alignment in our early days of graduation.
A job opportunity that was once an achievement can turn stressful if it does not align with our passion and purpose. The energy we display during the early days of our careers gradually wears out due to this misalignment.
Office politics and burnout
Professionals spend a significant part of their life at their workplaces. Unfortunately, workplaces with toxic cultures can tire and demotivate even the most passionate employees.
In a study published in Hinge Marketing, 75.9% of mid-career employees were frustrated with their leadership or management. Similarly, 72.4% of professionals in this group actively sought new job opportunities or considered a career change for a better work culture.
Lack of pay satisfaction and growth opportunities
The success rate of climbing a career ladder depends on various factors such as technical, communication, interpersonal skills, and the company culture. Furthermore, the absence of recognition, promotions, and limitations such as glass ceiling can lead to mid-career dissatisfaction.
Health, personal, and family reasons
The mid-career stage is also where employees face notable changes in their personal lives. Challenges related to health, children, family, finances, and struggles such as divorce or the death of family members can impact the motivation levels of professionals.
Strong pull toward inner passions
Most jobs become monotonous after a stage. Lack of learning opportunities, absence of exciting challenges, and lack of purpose in the job can make professionals look inner ward to find their hidden passion. It is a proven fact that the mismatch in passion and career alignment drives professionals toward their mid life career crisis.
It’s a beautiful thing when a career and passion come together.
Signs of mid-career crisis
Work stress and demotivating cultures can cause to disengage from work often. How to distinguish occasional disengagement with work and mid-career crisis? Does mid-life career crisis share any telltale signs? Let us dive deep.
Lack of enthusiasm
Individuals going through mid-career display neutrality towards new challenges, tasks, clients, or projects. They do not proactively come forward to close more deals, convert prospects, or do not care about customer satisfaction.
Dissatisfaction
For many professionals, purpose at work takes precedence over pay. When the work fails to show them their purpose, professionals can feel detached, irrespective of their paychecks.
Psychological issues
Mid life career crisis can turn the thoughts inward pushing individuals to ponder more about the career options they failed to grab in their early career stages. As a result, a loser-like mentality can creep in causing psychological issues.
Eating disorders
Compulsive and unhealthy eating is seen in dissatisfied professionals. Obsession with smoking and alcoholism is also identified in such cases. Individuals tend to such unhealthy habits to attain temporary satisfaction and forget the sense of failure.
Quiet quitting
Professionals detached from their work perform designated tasks and do not take on new initiatives. They work to safeguard their jobs and ensure that they are on a clean slate concerning their duties and roles.
At the right moment, they quit the organizations suddenly and pursue their passions or move to other high-paying jobs.
Constant fatigue
Lack of work satisfaction can impact the production of happiness hormones. A constant feeling of tiredness and fatigue to attend work could be a telltale sign that a mid-career crisis is about to impact you.
Suggested Reading: Resume Cover Letter Tips
How to navigate the mid-career crisis?
As wary as it sounds, a mid-career crisis can hit almost any professional. It is vital to be aware of the symptoms and the healthy practices to win over this stage. Amidst the family, professional, and financial responsibilities, a mid-career crisis can appear daunting. Individuals tend to believe that there is no point of return at this juncture.
Fortunately, we can handle mid-career crisis. Here I share the techniques I suggest to my clients and help them find their sense of fulfillment amidst this complex career stage:
Divert your mind
Work-related burnout and monotonicity at work can impact us psychologically. Consider mid-career as an opportune time to pursue your unfulfilled passions. Wanted to learn guitar in your youth but could not? Enroll in an online guitar class or the one in your proximity.
Looking to destress after work? Join baking classes in the evenings and weekends, forget the work stress, and discover new happiness.
Love traveling? Take a short break, explore the world, and come back rejuvenated to work.
Strengthen your self-worth
Lack of growth opportunities at work can impact our self-esteem. It is vital to understand that our worth is more than the job or career we pursue. Empower your sense of self by sharing your knowledge and time.
For instance, become a mentor to the freshers in your domain and guide them toward success. Similarly, you could extend a helping hand at the local volunteering community, make new connections, and find happiness in helping others in your free time.
Talk it out
When struggling at a career crossroads, it is always wiser to talk it out and seek guidance. Approach your management or human resources and check the possibility of pay rise and promotion. Convey your enthusiasm for working on new projects or new teams. It is a sure-shot way to take the problem into your hands and get out of the rut.
Seek mentor’s guidance
Having a mentor at work helps navigate your mid-life career crisis. Their rich experience and guidance will be soothing and show your next step to win over such confusing stages.
Get expert guidance from a career coach
If you try and test all the techniques mentioned above and still experience the same confusion and demotivation at work, it is high time to consult a career coach. Career coaches are experts at diagnosing the root cause of career growth issues and providing productive solutions.
Midlife crisis advice
“Take your career into your hands to discover real happiness and success.”
As a career coach, my experience helping professionals win over their mid-career crises is immense. I approach every client from a unique perspective to identify the cause of their disengagement at work.
I assess my clients holistically to diagnose and resolve their career challenges. This includes assessment of their passions, work, job stress, personal and financial struggles, career aspirations, and beyond.
I can assure you that career coaches identify the real problem in your career journey just like a doctor finds the hidden issue for a health concern. Wherever you are in your career journey, the guidance of a career coach will serve as a beacon of light toward new success destinations.
As a professional, your self-esteem rises with a strong personal brand. It helps you navigate the toughest career stages and instills confidence to kickstart a new career path. I shared the secrets of LinkedIn personal branding in this course. I hope you benefit from it and discover your new professional self.
