Are you finding yourself exhausted at the end of every work week? Do you feel that you’re burning out quickly, even though you have not been working too long at a certain job?
Studies are showing that the toughest time in your working life is taking place earlier and earlier in your career. Research has indicated that this trend is accurate. This is investigated in The Economist’s Bagehot blog, where the trend is described:
Anyone who wants to run something in his 40s needs to position himself for supremacy a decade earlier… It isn’t only the super-achievers: there is a similar pattern in the median incomes of British graduates, with pay leveling off in the late 30s, then bobbing around a bit before declining in the early 50s…
Which is unfortunate, because that intense period at work now tends to be interrupted by procrastinated childbearing… Probes into the causes of happiness find (not surprisingly) that the first few years of a child’s life are the toughest for parents. The most grueling part of child-rearing now coincides with the make-or-break phase of careers.
One solution identified by The Economist blog is flexible working.
Generation Xhausted would benefit from a more enlightened attitude among employers to flexible working. More companies might think about providing crèches for their employees. If the trend toward high-speed careers continues, child-rearing might eventually shift back a few years to avoid the new crunch.
Shorter shifts, change in scenery, and limited out-of-office communication would be my suggestions.
What should employers do to stop their staff being part of “Generation Xhausted”?
