If you’re in your mid thirties and fed up with your job, then you’re in good company. A British study from Robert Half UK, a HR firm, surveyed over 2,000 British employees to find out how they felt about their job, and the results were… well, not unsurprising.
One in six over 35 said they simply weren’t happy, almost double the response of the spring chickens under 35. A third over 55 said they felt like they were not appreciated, and even ignored, and 16% of those said that they didn’t have any friends at work.
While the study was British, anyone reading this who has been stuck in The Office environment for more than a few years will recognize the complaints here, and it reflects a growing issue with the traditional workplace: its an impersonal, tough, dog eat dog world out there and there’s no fun to be had.
You’re either not where you want to be in your career, or the stress of your new, high ladder responsibilities is turning your hair gray. Sure, you have a bigger pay pack, but you also have a more expensive personal life – mortgages, kids, bills. The growing list of things to worry and stress about never really seems to end, but work is still burning you out.
The best answer is, of course, a better work and life balance, but who has time to make that happen? For some people, this creates a mini-crisis as they try to figure out what they really want in their life, and try to forge a new path based on that.
Many internet marketers are people like this, struggling to find a new financial freedom in an industry that offers a lot, but also its own exceptional raft of challenges and stresses. But still, if you’re feeling undervalued by your bosses and that you’re slowly getting sidelined for a babyface with bumfluff fresh in the office, it’s doubtless a move that reflects you taking control of your life back to some measure.
One thing to remember, though, is this is entirely cyclical. When people first start their working life, they have a lot more energy, a lot of ambition, and plenty of hopes to drive them forward. In other words, office politics and the bullshit of modern day office life hasn’t burned them out just yet.
However, there is even growing discontent with the younger workforce, as pension and financial pressures force older people to stay in work longer. The US government estimates that as many as one in four people in the workforce in 2024 will be 55 years or older – taking up jobs that are getting scarcer thanks to automation, and blocking the career growth of the younger ones.
So what’s the solution? There are no easy ones here, and everyone needs to figure out their own personal best path. One of the best things that anyone can do is to start reestablishing a better work and life balance, if only to keep the stress down and feel a little more like all demands and responsibilities are getting at least some attention.
While online jobs can provide a lot of freedom, that does come with a lot of financial instability and even insecurity, particularly in the early years. For those burned out, it may just be best to take stock and find slow roads to a better life. Remember, work isn’t everything!