The Hindu Business Line : Dealing with career crisis

Jayram, the department head of a medium-sized firm, had lost his sense of direction. "At times, I am panicky and feel that I am finished," he said. "Sometimes, I would like to be away from everyone, especially my colleagues at work; I feel that the whole world is against me." When I asked him how he came to the conclusion that he suffered from mid-career crisis, Jayram replied, "Doc, I really don't know where I am headed. To avoid such feelings I have taken up drinking and go home late after work. In the mornings I have my hangovers and headaches and I take the frustrations out on my family members." Those who go through this crisis will have dreams such as the roof falling on them, people are chasing them, they are involved in accidents, they are going to lose their jobs in two days and so on. All of us go through such crisis during our career. Only, it is a matter of degree. The more serious we take our career, the more we get into this crisis.

Jayram's depressive state, which a person may go through in his late 30s or early 40s, when he realises that his decline is unavoidable is commonly called mid-career crisis. In this crisis, which can span many years, the individual assesses all his past achievements and concludes that new ventures are ruled out. He or she may get the feeling that it is time for them to bring their activities to an end. At times, those who experience mid-career crisis may resort to extreme actions such as becoming a monk, staying at home and so on. In fact, a friend was telling me that his brother, who was posted in London as a financial analyst, suddenly quit his job and joined a monastery in Hawaii to prepare himself to be a monk. Nobody seemed to know the reason behind this sudden and drastic shift in his life.

The symptoms of this crisis include cynicism and hostility and may lead to alcoholism, paranoia, insomnia, headaches, backaches, respiratory disorders, marital problems and loss of appetite among other things. At times, people brush off these things as daily bodily disorders or discomforts. Are they really?

Studies have shown an achievement-aspiration gap which individuals feel in work , a loss of identity as they are bypassed by younger people and their views are no longer sought, a sudden realisation of the limits of life and the loss of a sense of direction are among the causes of this crisis. Such things as not being invited to a meeting, not being consulted on a matter and similar unintended actions can be misinterpreted and drive the crisis stricken individual to conclude that he or she is worthless and no longer sought for opinions by the boss.

Do people recover from it? Yes. It is said that those who have stronger family ties and relations recover faster. Sympathetic families, especially the spouse , can help by understanding and listening, and occasionally pointing out the brighter side of life and the accomplishments of the individual. Counsellors can be of help if such counsellors are available. Spiritual strength enhances the speed of recovery. One may recover by developing non-work interests such as golf, swimming, tennis, music and developing other hobbies.

Since mid-career crisis is a common modern day illness, a corporate-wide action may be needed to help those who go through this crisis. Benefits of such actions are plenty, both for the company as well as for the employees. Providing a forum for middle-level executives may be a good start where common experiences can be shared and coping mechanisms can be developed.

At the organisation level, counselling should be provided either to help these people's adjustment to their crisis or to change their careers. These sessions would help them to appraise their past accomplishments, identify goals for the future and develop a course of action to reach those goals. People can also create alternative achievement plans in terms of college courses, enrichment courses and programmes or hobbies to avoid being trapped in a mid-career crisis.

During a mid-career crisis, the individual loses faith in everybody except his own family members. Therefore the family, especially, the spouse, can play a positive role in liberating people from their crisis.

(The writer is a professor of management and international consultant to some global organisations. He has authored a number of books on management.)

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