Negotiate the hurdles of midlife and take charge of tomorrow

Midlife is a time of possibility, but it also can be an uncertain period where work and family roles are changing.

Midlife is a time of possibility, but it also can be an uncertain period where work and family roles are changing and the road ahead is yet to be mapped out.

Achieving work and life fulfilment for those in midlife and beyond requires purposeful and integrated career, relationship and lifestyle navigation.

The first half of life is busy with years of establishing a career, home and family, often leaving little time for deep reflection.

These establishment roles contribute to self-identity, providing a sense of purpose and a framework for measuring personal and professional success.

In midlife there is a greater freedom from these establishment demands.

However, there is also a sense of dissatisfaction and uncertainty about the future.

As we are living and working longer, there are choices and pos­sibilities beyond the traditional concept of retirement to be explored.

Midlife is a transition period, a time to reassess and refocus career and life for the 20-plus years of the second half of life, starting in the mid-40s to late retirement in the mid-70s.

Entering midlife, there are three hurdles to be overcome:

● Strengths identification. Baby boomers are acknowledged as being loyal, long-term stayers. However, the downside is that after years of being committed to a job or organisation, transferable strengths are blurred and job search skills are rusty.

● Shattered dreams. When the dream of a leisure-oriented early retirement has been shattered by the financial reality it is no longer achievable, clients can resent the need to continue working, lose motivation and take time to refocus.

● Negative climate. High unemployment, age discrimination, redundancies and talk of pension changes combine to create a negative climate, especially if a decision to leave a job was not by choice but made by others as a result of a redundancy, self-confidence can be shattered.

Clients at midlife, on realising they will be working into their 70s, are saying: “I don’t want to be doing this any more.”

As they seek challenging work and fulfilling lifestyle options, three trends are emerging for those at midlife and beyond.

● Senior entrepreneurs. Identified transferable talents can be harnessed to develop a small business, sometime home-based or setting up a consultancy.

Franchising is popular, with nearly one in four business start-ups being undertaken by someone aged over 50.

Businesses are being launched to supplement income, because of a hobby interest or an identified gap in the market.

● Childhood desire. Entering the workforce during the 1960s and 70s, baby boomers experienced limited work choices because of gender, economic, social or family circumstances and pressures.

Fulfilling a childhood desire, one client is preparing through online studies to leave a corporate role to become a schoolteacher.

● Work-life balance. Going part time, working from home and project or seasonal work are examples of flexible practices that can be negotiated with an employer, freeing up time and energy for volunteer work, sport or additional family and friendship involvements.

Taking charge of tomorrow beyond midlife requires an integ­rated process that clarifies and assesses work, life strengths and talents, and identifies personal values and future work, family and lifestyle desires.

This enables people to refocus with confidence, so that “love what you do and do what you love” becomes your reality.

Merilyn Hill is a director of career transition company MidlifeDesign.