It is said that happiness and satisfaction at work progress in the form of a U-shaped curve. That is, you are at your happiest and highest level of satisfaction towards the beginning and end of your career. At the beginning of your career, you seem to have the whole world ahead of you and there is something worth dreaming about, somewhere on the distant horizon. There are skills to be learned, challenges to overcome, achievements to rack, and many milestones to look forward to.
Towards the end of your career, there is a decent chance that you will feel satisfied and rewarded by how far you have come. Hopefully, you will have had a fruitful career full of opportunities to develop your knowledge and skills and, as a result, you will be respected and admired by your peers. You might also be gradually edging toward retirement and looking forward to the next chapter of your life.
But, where does this leave people in the middle? Those who have established their careers but have a long way to go before they reach the finish line?
Somewhere along the career journey as they near the middle, people tend to slip into a mid-career plateau of sorts, or slump, if you will. They might be experiencing a drop in motivation and their enthusiasm levels may be low. This makes it difficult for people to feel the same excitement about their work as they did at the start of their career.
If this is already starting to sound sneakily familiar, then we’ve got you covered. Bayt.com is here with a stethoscope and some doctor’s orders to help you diagnose and cure a mid-career slump.
Mid-Career Slump: Symptoms
Mid-Career Slump: Diagnosis and Causes
If you found yourself nodding your head to one or more of the symptoms above, it is time to face the fact you have a mid-career slump. Mid-career slumps occur, as the name suggests, towards the middle of your career after you have established your career to some degree but have yet to reach your ultimate goal or retirement.
Mid-career slumps can be aggravated by external factors, such as having a family to look after as this puts some pressure on achieving a decent work-life balance. In fact, a work-life balance that is extremely uneven is a major contributor to mid-career slumps and how they happen. If you return home exhausted every night only to eat dinner, go to bed, get up in the morning, rinse and repeat, then it is understandable why you have hit a low.
Other factors such as failing to reach goals, lack of career progression, fewer opportunities to learn or challenge oneself all contribute to mid-career slumps. It can be understandably frustrating to continuously pound the pavement for no perceived return.
However, those experiencing this condition should not despair, for there is a tested-and-proven cure.
Mid-Career Slump: Treatment.
1. Finding Meaning
This is one of those things that are easier said than done. However, take a moment to stop and think about the parts of your job you find the most meaningful, interesting or rewarding. Think about the tasks that fill you with excitement and purpose and the ones that add value to the company and contribute to achieving the organization’s mission. Think about how your work benefits others, whether it contributes positively to a cause you care about, paves the way for a younger generation or helps touch lives. Think about the reason you got into this career and why you have kept at it for so long. What makes you proud when looking back at your career?
Once you have identified the most enjoyable tasks and responsibilities, your next action should be to put together a plan to incorporate them into your routine. You can also talk to your employer and ask to do more of the work you care about.
People who devote at least a quarter of their time to performing meaningful tasks are less likely to experience burnout. Make an effort to carve out some time for the work you love, so you can find more meaning in your role.
2. Challenging Yourself
It is likely that you have gained a lot of knowledge and expertise over the course of your career and have practically mastered your current job role. This makes you a valuable asset to your employer, but can also lead you to feel bored and dissatisfied at times. It has been proven that the more interesting a job is, the more satisfied the employee tends to be.
In order to break free of boredom and dissatisfaction, add some new challenges to your routine to combat this. Volunteer for projects and tasks you are not normally comfortable doing, take on assignments that test your skills, ask your employer if you can take on some more tasks or find ways to develop more skills. You could also sign up for a training course that has something to do with your current career or your future aspirations. These are just a few strategies you can attempt in order to add some flair to the current monotony of your everyday rhythms.
It is also worth considering taking on some managerial experience, if you have not already done so. For instance, you could ask if you could be a team leader or hire an intern so that you can develop your leadership skills and identify any shortcomings you need to work on. This will also be a great way to show your employer whether or not you are ready or capable of taking on a larger role.
3.Setting Goals
If you are experiencing a slump, it is important to take a step back and assess your current situation. Examine where you are, where you would like to be and how long it will take to get there. This can assist you in making the right career directions, getting back on course and developing a strategy to achieve your goals and fulfil your ambitions.
Think about the future and look forward. You need to rediscover that feeling you had at the beginning of your career when it felt like you had your entire future ahead. This can be done by thinking about what you would like to achieve in the next year, five years and ten years. It can also bring attention to things you would like to improve about yourself on the personal level. For example, whether you believe you should be bolder, more empathetic, less resolute, etc.
It’s important that these goals are realistic and smart. You do not want to overpromise yourself and then feel disappointed and dissatisfied when you fail to deliver. You also should not rush completing these goals. Slow and steady wins the race, after all. Take some time every day to work toward these goals and ensure that you are passionate enough about them to remain interested, focused and determined.
4. Finding Inspiration
If you are feeling uninspired at work, it is time to find some muse. Try to find inspiration by watching interviews or TedTalks by people you admire. You could also read articles on success stories or find inspiration in the people around you.
Another worthwhile venture is finding yourself a mentor. The mentor-mentee relationship is a valuable asset to your career. Your mentor can give you further insight into your experience and provide an objective assessment on your current level, skills, shortcomings and performance. A mentor can also give you advice based on the trials and tribulations they overcame to get where they are now and they can be a source of support when you are feeling low.
You can start by looking for a mentor within your organization. A mentor is generally someone you respect who is in a role you aspire to be in. You could also be someone else’s mentor as that is equally fulfilling and will add value to your role once more. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from finding a mentor or mentee outside your company, but you have to remember they must be someone you like and respect.
5. Developing Strong Relationships
Another important aspect to job satisfaction is having a good relationship with your boss and coworkers. These strong links are important as the more connected you feel to others, the happier you will be. There is nothing more alienating than feeling unhappy or burnt out and having nobody to talk to or seek advice from. Furthermore, a strong team bond with the people you work with will help you find meaning in your tasks as they help your team members, employer and the company as a whole progress and succeed.
You can build these relationships by putting more effort in getting to know your coworkers and connecting with them outside work. Invite someone out for lunch, or make plans for the weekend with all the members of your team. Ensure that you express your appreciation whenever someone helps you out and do your best to help others out in return.
Sometimes people find their happiness in the most unlikely places. Simply helping others and contributing positively in that way could be the spark that jumpstarts you out of your slump.
Mid-Career Slump: Overview
The last important step is that you remain positive throughout this experience. This can be hard when this condition is characterized by feelings of unhappiness, stress and a lack of motivation, but it is not impossible. People like being around motivated and positive people. While this slump is natural and affects many people who are several years into their career, it should not drive you to throwing in the towel and calling it a day.
By working on finding deeper meaning in what you do, seeking out challenges and developing new or stronger relationships at work you can fall in love with your career all over again. Of course, if you have tried the above tricks and still feel dissatisfied at work, you may want to consider a finding a new job, starting your own business or changing careers altogether.
We hope that this guide has helped you out in some small way. If you know someone you think is going through a mid-career slump, be sure to provide them with your support and share this guide with them as well. You can also leave advice for readers who may be going through this challenging time in the comments below.
Some parting questions: What is your personal burnout remedy? What do you think causes mid-career slumps? What is one thing you love about your role?
