What happened to the dream? Many things. Running a business in the United States really is more difficult than it used to be. Today corporate managers fight the Goliath of global competition, who slashes profits right and left. Markets change or disappear before their eyes. New technology obsoletes products overnight. And on top of all of this, rolling recessions whipsaw interest rates, prices, and material availability. Today, management's tools for survival are downsizing, streamlining, and imposing hiring freezes.
What Is Mid-Career Syndrome and Why Has It Developed?
The average person falls into a career. Once they leave school they job hop for a short time and finally find one that pays well, is in the right location, or has opportunities for advancement. Most people end up working for ABC International Widget Company, buried in a department doing something they don't like. That was not their dream in the beginning; the ideal career got lost.
A strikes people who have worked fifteen to twenty years at a job and cannot face another fifteen to twenty doing the same thing. Or they may lose their job unexpectedly. Whatever the reason, with school tuitions, mortgage payments, and doctor bills to pay, they feel it is almost impossible to make a change. They feel stuck.
Career dislocation or dissatisfaction is not the only problem. Feeling trapped and frustrated makes some people lash out at their family. They lose the support of spouse and children at a time when they need it most. This loss can cause depression. That simply makes things worse. We call these combined symptoms mid-career syndrome.
Most who suffer mid-career syndrome have had a successful career up to that point. They look around, see how well they have done, and think they should be satisfied with what they have. The fact that they are not satisfied makes them feel guilty, and this exacerbates their depression.
When some people lose their job they say, "If I were really good, I'd still have that job!" They see others still working and begin making comparisons. They dwell on their shortcomings, convincing themselves that something is wrong with them. Succumbing to these feelings of guilt and inadequacy leads to a loss of confidence and to low self-esteem - again compounding depression.
Individuals who cure mid-career syndrome learn how to see the impending change as an opportunity to make a fresh start. They see a chance for a new beginning to the second half of their life, and become determined to do better for themselves with this new opportunity.
The Typical Mid-Career Syndrome Candidate
Three main groups of people can be identified suffering from mid-career syndrome: dislocated or fired workers; burned-out individuals; and employees whose career skills have become obsolete.
These symptoms are classic of the second group of people with mid-career syndrome. Somewhere between ages thirty-five and fifty (the age range of a group of people fondly known today as baby-boomers), many Americans find life getting more complicated and less rewarding instead of simpler and more satisfying. At 6:30 a.m. each Monday, when the alarm sounds, they find it takes everything they have just to face another day at the office. But they're trapped. There are so many bills to pay. They believe they have to keep their job. Everyone has heard the horror story "Joe was out of work for two years." Fear and paralysis set in. They know they'd never be able to find another job with a paycheck large enough to keep up their life-style.
The average mid-career syndrome candidate has not had a real interview in fifteen years or more. He doesn't know where to begin a job search. He hasn't written a resume since leaving college. Besides, how could he look for a job without his boss finding out?
A recent Gallup poll surveying employee attitudes found that one third of the people questioned expected to leave their job within the next three years. A spokesperson for the pollster said, "The results of the poll indicate a large number of Americans feel trapped in their jobs."
There are millions of people employed in the United States. Baby-boomers dominate that employment pool. Many of these people-a growing number every day-have mid-career syndrome. Early in their careers they expected to have it all. They wanted more than the old American dream of a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. They wanted two chickens in their pot and three cars in their garage. To afford that, both partners had to work; and after years of such a pace, many people found the price was too high for this new American dream. They expected material possessions to make them happy. But once they had a nice house, three cars, and four televisions, they still wanted something else. They wanted fulfillment. They desired the love and respect of their family, they needed to make a valued contribution in their work, and they craved the satisfaction of making a difference in their community. Sixty-hour work weeks coupled with big-city commutes have left little or no time for any of these.
The third, and smallest, group of people suffering from mid-career syndrome is those whose career skills are becoming obsolete. They find themselves in a changing world of technology but can't keep up. These people suffer extreme anxiety at the thought of cozying up to a computer. They believe in the axiom "If it aren't broke, don't fix it." They managed well enough without the dumb things, so why do they have to use one now? For a few years they were able to avoid technology in the workplace. But too much has happened. Today they have to change or leave.
Regardless of the cause of mid-career syndrome, we have learned that these common symptoms have a common set of cures.
