6 Mid Career Crisis Tips for Managers
The mid career crisis.
It is a term most of us have heard and may have even gone through in our careers. After a few decades in the workforce, people’s drives can taper off. After achieving all their dreams in the field, they wonder what’s next. In other cases, the employee may feel lost after not reaching their aspirations at this point in their career.
A mid career crisis can happen to anyone. As Hannes Schwandt, a University of Zurich assistant professor of economics, explained to the Society for Human Resource Management, “Suddenly, the employee is no longer challenged at work and is unable to identify a stepping stone to some activity that will keep him engaged in his current position…This is when the employee becomes bored, unmotivated and may start looking elsewhere for opportunities that will satisfy their need to feel valued and worthwhile.”
A career crisis is most likely to occur as workers advance into their 40s and 50s. With a decline in optimism, job satisfaction begins to follow downwards. With upward mobility often slowed and opportunities lessening, it is up to knowledgeable team leaders to provide needed career crisis help for your veteran employees.
In addition to feeling lost at work, career crisis can lead to mental health issues as well. Only now, is mental health starting to become accepted in the workplace as it always should have been? When you find an employee in this sort of predicament, here is how you can help remedy the situation and avoid any workplace wellness concerns.
Mid-Career Crisis -How can you help?
Navigating a midcareer conundrum takes adjustment on the employee’s part, as well as your’s. Work life may be different than it once was for this person, but it is far from declining. It is your job as that person’s team leader to show them that their career optimism is still warranted and valid. Here’s how you can be the driver of your team’s optimism even during difficult career periods.
Communication is the Best Career Crisis Help You Can Give
Communication is almost always the best solution to any dilemma. This is particularly true when it comes to workplace wellness concerns. Take a proactive approach to your employee’s midcareer predicament before it becomes more of a mental strain on them. When you engage them, be sure to actively listen to their concerns. From there, you can devise a strategy that addresses their current concerns and sets a path toward a positive future. Hopefully, these early steps can help reduce some stress on the person already.
By discussing the pain points and hearing the person out, you lessen the chance that they make a rash decision like quitting. Give them further reassurance by reassuring the employee of their status within the company. Provide feedback where needed but try to stay away from criticism unless it is imperative at this time.
Find new missions for growth opportunities
Your discussion with a team member in career crisis is likely to reveal several opportunities for growth and development that may have previously flown under the radar. One that tends to arise is new opportunities in the company. You may also hear them described as missions. Whichever the name, the benefits of these new responsibilities provide your team member with new tasks and opportunities to develop as a professional. Their next task could be just what their resume needed to move up the ladder once again!
These mentally stimulating opportunities could be anything from business development to charitable initiatives. Discover the ample opportunity to remedy the situation by listening to their concerns. Note the issues and how you can help get them back on track.
With all the information, you two can create a plan that includes new tasks with clear objectives. These roles will help provide the person with a more precise big picture that should give them a clearer headspace when it comes to their work.
Create lateral opportunities
You may find out that your frustrated employee doesn’t want to move up. Instead, at this stage in their career, they want out of their current role. In these cases, it is best to assess what piques their interest. From there, you can examine the internal solutions that may suit your team member going forward.
With a network of teams concept, this person can easily gain information about other departments. Even just communicating with fresh faces could be the relief this person was seeking.
From there, you two can devise a training strategy so the person can transition to their new department. Using this approach allows the employee to remain motivated in their current role until they are up to speed for their new tasks. In doing so, your company keeps a valuable team member while promoting a fluid and open workforce of driven individuals.
Encourage Mentorship
One of the best forms of career crisis help has to be a mentorship. A mentor is also an excellent way for an employee to discover which new department is for them if they don’t already have one in mind. By championing the nwtwork of teams concept, anyone in a rut can learn and discuss their potential switch before making a move. This helps access new information and understand the role, its perks, pain points, the department’s need for new additions and much more.
Consider a Change in Location
Sometimes, you’ll discover that the frustration isn’t the role at all. Instead, your employee may be tired of their current work setting. In this instance, maybe a change of scenery is what their mind needs. After all, so many years in one place is bound to affect even the best of us from time to time. You wouldn’t imagine most thinking like that just a decade or further back, right?
It’s amazing how the times have changed. This type of problem would have once been an absolute ender of the person’s employment. However, technological advancements and accepted concepts like a network of teams now make remote working available to most companies and job functions.
Depending on the demands of the role, the person’s duties could become entirely remote or adjusted to only be in the office a certain amount each week. Again, it all goes back to conversations. Some companies with larger layouts promote using different work areas to break the monotony as well. Remind your team of those options if they exist at your company.
When speaking with the person, discover their ideal scenario and present the company’s current ability to meet that setup. You may be able to accommodate the request straight away. In other cases, you may need to develop a strategy or compromise.
Consider Taking a Break
When all else fails, suggest taking a break. Taking a break could mean laying off doing a few tasks, or a full-fledged vacation. As we discussed in the introduction, mental health breaks are finally being accepted for what they are. Encourage these types of respites to keep team members from becoming mentally exhausted from the work.
By taking a pause from the rigors of the role, the person gets the chance to assess their situation while stepping away from their daily tasks. They may realize they do like the work and needed to take a break for a moment. Other times, the time away confirms that they do need a change.
Whatever outcome plays out is a win for thorough thinking. Taking breaks promotes in-depth thinking while not fretting over the everyday work. More so, you’ve prevented anyone from making a rash decision they may not be able to reverse. This is one of the reasons why we saw a rise in unlimited vacations over the past few years.
Talk and Create Through Mid Career Crisis
When you find yourself with team members stuck in their careers, you must be the skilled team leader they require. In doing so, you show this person you care about their career while keeping a valued member on your team.
Active listening is the foundation for discovering an employee’s pressing pain points. From there, tap into your creative problem solving to determine which course of action is best. Find the solution that stimulates their desires while producing for the greater good of the business. When successfully implemented, everybody wins without anyone leaving the company.
As the team leader, be the catalyst for positive workplace wellness and drive results. Studies show that productive results require us to account for our physical AND mental well being. Champion this movement if you haven’t already. Show your team members they matter and that their career is not lost on you or this company. In doing so, you can avoid unnecessary turnover while helping the headspace of your employees.
