Mid-life career crisis is a phenomenon in which many employees find it difficult to adapt their lives to the current situation and want to change their work processes to satisfy their needs. Sometimes they manage to find and adopt new processes and become a shining example in front of others, while many others fail. The HR department of an organization can play a very important role in identifying such employees at the initial stage of this crisis and help them overcome the same with the help of counseling and adoption of various other processes and tools. This article discusses such situations with the help of three different case studies and corrective measures that can help these employees come out of the crisis as soon as possible. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Midlife Career Crisis: Midlife career crisis is a particular period in an individual's life where he/she begins to realize, understand and face his/her mortality. The person starts asking questions like what am I doing and why am I doing these things? Depending on the person, this phenomenon can occur between the ages of 30 and 65. It can happen due to various different reasons. One of the most important reasons can be the feeling of having chosen the wrong career in life, of not liking the current job, of having a strong feeling that life is too small and that one should try something different that he likes. If these individuals do not find suitable work to pursue, the result is a midlife crisis in their lives. Many times, employees, after competing for a few years in the organization in specific roles, discover that they are not made for that role. Sometimes they start to wonder why they chose this role. Normally these things start to happen during middle age. Till now, most of the employees are expert in the existing roles, but do not want to continue in the same one, due to too many expectations, repetitive nature of the work, peer pressure, etc. People have earned enough money and generally settled down in life. Here they start to think about alternative roles they might want to take on. Sometimes employees like to do other jobs, but they may not pay well, so they are unable to decide between liking them and their existing income. Some employees, who are confident in themselves, approach HR departments with their willingness to change careers. Some others, who do not have the courage to express themselves, continue existing jobs and by the time they realize that they really cannot continue with the work, it is already too late. Their performance in their existing job starts to deteriorate and they really can't go anywhere else. Normally these employees face the ax of the employers and life becomes too difficult for them. They actually don't want to do the work they used to do in any other organization, and other organizations are not ready to hire these people in different roles without any experience. Right guidance at the right time: Every time an organization hires an employee, it invests in the same. Organizations spend money to identify resources with specific skills, who can perform particular tasks and then train them. All this investment in an employee is expected to be profitable, provided that the employee has a long career within the organization. Many times we observe that these senior employees hadpreviously certain skills, but these people now deal with personnel management and have lost the original skills. When some employees start to feel a midlife crisis, their performance starts to deteriorate and this is the stage where they need professional help or guidance. Sometimes it's easier to manage people's expectations, sometimes they are totally different. Human resources can play a critical role in managing expectations at the organizational level. Sometimes it's just fascinations and, at a certain point, employees suddenly feel that they can fulfill these dream roles. Here HR can clearly tell them that it is impossible to make such a transition and that the employee must face reality. Vinit, a Senior Project Manager in one of the renowned IT companies, started getting bored with his day-to-day role. He was an excellent C# and Java programmer and wanted to continue programming. Thanks to his excellent programming skills along with social skills he climbed the ladder of success very quickly and was considered one of the youngest project managers in the company. Everyone considered him an icon of success and a model to follow. When Vinit was promoted to the position of Senior Project Manager, his main job was to manage the team of 50 programmers and complete the assigned project work on time. Vinit did not like the job of managing people, but he earned a good salary and therefore remained silent. Being a service oriented organisation, there was always pressure from the client to get the work done as soon as possible and Vinit's aim was to meet the deadline. Vinit was hardly used to programming now. He found many fixes during code reviews, but had to ask his teammates to fix the same. He had previously communicated his problems to management, but management said that if he wanted to be successful, he would have to accept greater responsibility as a staff manager rather than an individual contributor. Higher expectations from the customer and managing 50 people with their different expectations, Vinit got frustrated. By now he had lost touch with programming and was expert in managing Excel. Though he was struggling on both fronts, Vinit was trying to push the work forward. Soon the customer felt dissatisfied because the expected result was not delivered on time. Management turned to Vinit for customer issues. Management told him in advance that with the kind of salary he receives, he cannot become an individual contributor. Vinit had lost touch with programming, so he wasn't quite sure he could become a technical architect, which was an important individual contributor position. One day Vinit became so frustrated that he resigned. HR and management then tried to discuss the situation with him and even offered him the role of individual contributor for a short time, but it was too late. This can be considered one of the examples of medium-level crises. If Vinit and HR had identified what he likes, perhaps Vinit would have upgraded his skills at the right time to become a technical architect. Maybe he could have earned a little less, but he would have been happy. I wasn't born for this job: (Life's Eureka moment)Many times people like certain things, but can't make a career out of them for various reasons. In developing countries, there is generally pressure from parents on children to succeed in their individual careers and corporate jobs and most children study and work under the burden of theseexpectations. These people always have their tastes suppressed for a period of time and when they settle down in life, they start dreaming of alternative jobs/desires. Life becomes difficult for them as they cannot concentrate on their existing jobs and cannot get their dream job. If the employee works in a good organization, HR can play a very important role here to understand the employee's wishes and if possible, provide limited opportunities within the organization to fulfill his wishes. Best company trainer Suresh started his work as a mechanical engineer in a company. Although he was good at his day job, he didn't seem to be happy with what he was doing. He was outspoken and had good teaching skills. He explained the concepts very well to his colleagues. After a few years, one day the HR head found that Suresh was waiting outside his cabin. HR said goodbye to him and Suresh told him that he no longer wants to do assembly line work. He has good communication skills and teaching skills and wants to explore a career that will help him utilize his skills and give him mental satisfaction. The HR head asked Suresh to join the MBA course. HR encouraged Suresh that if he gets a good score, the company will reimburse his course fees and then he can think of an alternative career within the company itself rather than outside. Suresh wanted to do something as part of his mid-life career crisis, but it would have been dangerous for him to quit his job. After completion of MBA, HR started involving Suresh in management meetings. Suresh also started taking technical and general training courses within the company. After a few years, Suresh became the company's internal trainer for any managerial or technical training courses. The company has saved lakhs of rupees by hiring corporate trainers. Here HR thought about the employee's needs and involved him at the right time. This benefited the company and Suresh in the long run. Mid-life career crisis due to lack of clarity regarding future career path: Many times we find that people work in jobs that involve repetitive processes. Although it is necessary to be skilled enough to handle these processes, employees usually adapt to the situation very well. After a certain period of time, they begin to get bored of the existing job. At the same time they worry about their future, because they work in jobs based on repetitive processes. Workers especially working in industries like BPO exhibit these trends. There is a lack of clarity on the future of work. In such scenarios, employees start to worry and sometimes fall victim to mid-life career crises. Nitesh is working on a voice-based process in one of the leading BPOs in India. He began his career at the company six years ago. Normally, due to shift rotation and a few other reasons, there is a lot of attrition in the company. Nitish has always been loyal to the company and has worked for 6 years. Now he's the team leader, but you don't see many of his peers around. Those who had joined during his time or later had left the company long ago. Some of them have successfully chosen different careers, while others struggle to settle down. Nitesh doesn't know what will happen to him in the next 2-3 years. The company has opened a new voice process in Manila and it is cheaper to do business from there. Nitesh is now increasingly frustrated about his future role and future in the company. It began to affect his health, and at times, people noticedanomalous behavior. It's time for Nitesh to meet HR and talk to them about a) His future in the organization b) The company's future plans in India c) Regular shift work. If the company is transparent with fair human policies, it should get answers to all its questions without any problems. If some policies are unclear, such as the company's future plans regarding operations in India, HR should be able to communicate this to Nitesh. At the same time they should try to convince him of his good future in the company. If he has health problems due to rotating shifts, they should be addressed and, if possible, he should be allowed to work regular shifts. The human resources department became aware of the concerns of one of the senior employees. They thought it was time to involve everyone in individual or group discussions to clear doubts in the minds of employees. They also started receiving awards for long career in the company (minimum 5 years) and Nitesh was one of the few to get them. Now Nitesh is confident that he will have a good future in the company and will slowly return to his previous working efficiency. Triggers of midlife crisis situations among employees: Employees of the organization may face midlife crises due to the following: Relationship problems: These problems can be personal or professional problems. In case of professional problems, HR can help to some extent. There are situations where people feel frustrated because they are alone. They are normally introverted and rarely have friends. Such cases should be forwarded to the consultant, who can give the right advice in this case. Children staying away: Many people are used to the company of their children and are attached to them mentally and emotionally. If children move away from home to pursue higher studies, it creates a huge void in the person's life and can trigger a midlife crisis. Such cases should be referred to a counselor. Physical changes in employees: People tend to age with age and their physical appearance starts to change. Their hair turns grey, they become slightly overweight and they begin to feel like they have already lived half their life. They have very few years of active life left and they should try to fulfill all their incomplete wishes. This is the biggest trigger of the midlife crisis. Counselors can help calm the situation. Elderly or deceased parents: This is an individual problem and can best be handled by the counselor. Dissatisfied with the job: This is the area where HR can engage the employee to understand their aspirations. If his aspirations are close to some of the requirements within the organization, he can direct the employee on the right path to achieve those goals. If the employee wants to do something completely different, HR should explain to the employee the practical difficulties in accomplishing such things and clearly inform him or her that these opportunities may not be available within the organization. The employee can therefore have a very clear mind and make his own decisions. Involving the employee at the right time is very important. If HR approaches the employee when it is too late, the employee has lost most of his morale and at this time corrective measures, although possible within the organization, may not work. How to Identify Employees Facing Midlife Crisis: Organizational employees may exhibit the following symptoms as part of midlife crisis: Schedule change: Employees changesuddenly their work schedule. For example, if they arrive early during the morning shift, they suddenly start working in the afternoon shift if the organization's working hours are flexible. Furthermore they also try to accept new challenges which may or may not be handled by them. Performance problems: Employees who previously performed very well suddenly face problems in delivering their results. This is a great indicator that something is going wrong with the employee and perhaps a timely discussion at this stage would help everyone. Irritability, anger: the employee suddenly becomes irritated by small changes/disturbances, which he might normally ignore in circumstances. Sudden mood swings occur and the employee may become short-tempered. Sudden increase in alcohol consumption: The employee who used to drink occasionally suddenly starts drinking more. This behavior can easily be noticed by close friends or family. Depression and Anxiety: The employee is generally in a depressed mental state. It presents various disorders that can cause nervousness, fear and apprehension. Irrational Decisions: Employees can make irrational and hasty decisions. They make such decisions with the fear that there is very little time left in their lives and if they don't act quickly, they may miss out on some opportunities. Obesity/Changing Exercise Program: Employees become obese because they do not exercise at all or sometimes at all. there is a noticeable change in their exercise program. for example, a person who goes to the gym in the morning suddenly starts coming in the evening. How employees deal with mid-career crisis: It is not easy to deal with such a situation for many employees. Those who face the positive side of the crisis may suddenly find their life's purpose and become protagonists in their subsequent roles, however many end up with a depressed life. They cannot make decisions in life and many times they lose good jobs. In these cases, support from family, close friends and relatives can help them recover from the situation. It is important for people from the older generation of the family to help them and explain to them how they have adapted to different life situations. Many times employees face this situation during economic downturn. It becomes very difficult for many employees to adapt to slowing economic cycles and deal with the new realities of life. During recessions, these older people are often targeted due to their greater experience and higher salaries. In these cases it is important that these employees focus on the next phase of their growth to emerge from the crisis. Measures companies/HR departments can take to help employees experiencing mid-career crisis: Below are some of the measures companies can take to help employees going through a mid-career crisis: Help employees focus on future career path: In some cases, where employees are uncomfortable, as they are unsure of their future role in the company, HR can take a proactive approach to help these employees understand their importance in the organization and the future roles they can obtain based on performance. This will help strengthen the spirit and morale of employees going through the crisis. Changing work in cross-functional teams: Sometimes employees are bored of doing existing work and are looking to work on something new and challenging processes. If such employees are given the opportunity to work on any existing cross-functional processes, this will help employees return.