The Acceleration of Career Angst

Monday Morning Pep Talk

Anecdotally, I have observed people are worried about careers at an earlier age. When the idea of blogging about aging in the workforce first came up;  I consulted a variety of people  and one consideration was should age should I target-- 40+ or 50+. Initially, I wanted to align with AARP’s age of 50. However, feedback prevailed that earlier career management gave workers more options in their 50s and 60s. The 40-year-old age also aligned with protections offered by the Age Discrimination Act. Work, Careers & Jobs@40+ was born!

Now employees in their early-40s are having the types of  job issues that were once reserved for workers in their 60s. I wanted to focus on experienced workers in their 40s and older; then 37-year-olds started telling me about the problems they face with Millennials in their workplace trying to push them out. This week the I was stunned at an encounter with a very intense 14-year-old concerned about his “career.” Returning from a professional conference, I sat next to the high achiever and his parents in the airport boarding area. The young man struck up a conversation because my (free) laptop case is emblazoned with the name of the pharmaceutical company I once worked for and he may be interested in a career in drug research and discovery. Both parents were involved in healthcare and it was obvious they supported their son’s brilliance. Without my asking, they volunteered their son was assigned a gifted/talented track at a private school in third grade. He was allowed to take 3 days off school to attend the conference we  attended and had assignments related to his experience. The son was trying to decide if medical school had better ROI than medical research—at 14!

Younger Americans are down on themselves, the economy and the country in general according to a study by the Institute for College Access & Success. To them, the American Dream has become more elusive and unobtainable than at any time in the past 80 years. Tax firm H&R Block surveyed American young adults and teens, and what they're worrying about financially and eight of every 10 teenagers (ages 13 to 17) are worried about finding a good job as an adult.

It is not just a U.S. problem, the career angst felt by younger workers is global. Work and career distress by young adults in the United Kingdom is well-documented. Having angst and becoming anxious won’t help, mature workers from any country will confirm. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), nine million Americans took a full week off in July 1976, with July traditionally being the most popular month for summer vacations. In July 2014, just 7 million did, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. That’s especially startling considering the fact that 60 million more Americans are employed today than in 1976. So, this week plan some time away from work for 2015 and realize the younger employees you work with are stressed out and maybe even more than those of us that have been around awhile.

What is Success?

Monday Morning Pep Talk

Money. Power. Fame. Lives in service to others. Giving back. Are career success and personal success two totally different paths or are they intertwined? 

The January 2015 issue of Essence magazine surveyed readers on their definition of success. The top 7 answers were:

• Living a happy life
• Having financial independence
• Being spiritually fulfilled
• Having no debt
• Being able to afford things important to you
• Having a successful career
• Being in a fulfilling relationship

Defining success is one of those elusive ideals similar to defining happiness, love or pleasure. Each one of us have a different answer and our answers change through the lifecycle. I worked with an executive (early 40s at the time) who faced a life-threatening disease and after surviving made health a priority, almost an obsession. Prior to that, his focus was work—sometimes more than 70 hours a week. Billionaires Bill Gates, Warren Buffett along with 125+ others including former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, movie director George Lucas and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have entered into the “Giving Pledge.” The pledge is a commitment to contribute most of their millions or in some cases billions to charity. 

When you enter the term “the most successful person in America” into one popular search engine, the first result is The Richest People in America at forbes.com. Of course search engines are hard-wired with SEOs (search engine optimization, keywords, labels or tags). However, the third entry is about fame. Is success all about Keeping Up with the Kardashians? 

Psychologists have a theory, don’t they always? It is called Social Comparison Theory. Here’s how it works. You look at others lives whether you know them personally or from your favorite guilty-pleasure-TV show, social media or hear about the person from a friend. Then you make a judgment about the quality of your life either based on an upward comparison—people who appear to have it better than you: more attractive, fancy cars, Louboutin shoes, more influence, 20 sports channels—whatever. Downward comparisons are people you observe and they seem to have it worse than you- still driving the Pinto hatchback, you get it. This theory basically says others define our success because we stack our lives up against friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers or celebrities and make evaluations. 

Tony Robbins has the Ultimate Success Formula and a 35 minute YouTube called, “The Keys to Massive Success.” Then, there’s the Ted Talk by Richard St. John, it is only 3 minutes. However, he doesn’t define success; St. John just tells what 8 concepts lead to success. Spoiler Alert: Passion, Hard Work, Focus, Push Yourself, Serve Others, Have Ideas, Persist and Get Good at What You Do. Success Magazine’s tagline is “What Achievers Read.” It appears that while success is personally defined and changes throughout our lives—it is also a multi-billion industry with books, magazines, life coaches and reality TV to help us all figure it out.

So this week we all have the same 168 hours to pursue our version of success, no matter how you define it. Enjoy!

Encore Careers in Unlikely Places

Monday Morning Pep Talk

Working past the age most people retire improves the chance that you won’t outlive your money. 70 is the target age to stop working according to a study from the Center for Retirement Research and was reported in the most recent issue of Money magazine. One of the big questions I am asked both online and at presentations is, “who will hire me at 64 (insert any age 50+)?” Actually there are jobs for older workers and as the economy continues to improve more and more people who dropped out of the workforce are finding there way back. Here are suggestions and if you know great careers for experienced workers, please share. I would love to hear about them.

• Work for Yourself: You don’t have to begin Kentucky Fried Chicken like Harlan Sanders did when he was 65. You could turn a hobby into a business or use your business expertise to provide consulting. I know a couple in their mid-50s who quit their corporate jobs to start a promotional item/event planning business that carried them into a more secure retirement over the next 15 years. If you have the good health, energy and risk-tolerance to start a big business, go for it! Remember my friend chronicled in this post who began a vineyard after a 25 year career in medical sales?     http://workinglater.blogspot.com/2011/11/turning-your-passion-into-career.html   I’ve heard real estate, professional organizers and home stagers are new favorite encore careers that will require certification and/or licensure to be competitive.

• Teaching: Yes teaching! It is not what it used to be. There are so many options. With a Master's degree you can teach at the community college level in your area of expertise. Many time your students are also non-traditional, so you are interacting with people who want to be in class hearing the knowledge and experiences you have to share. You can also teach online in your bunny slippers and no one will know. One of my “retired” neighbors teaches a few days a week at a preschool and she loves the interaction. Visit ccteach.org to learn more about teaching at higher grades.

• Health Care: While some positions in health care are being downsized, there are entire new health care job functions being created. Jobs for patient navigators or patient advocates are worth looking into if you like the idea of helping people and have an interest in health care. There are certification programs to make you more competitive. You can learn more by visiting the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants.

• Government Work: Am I crazy? No, I am not. Check USAJobs.gov to see which agencies are hiring in your area. I met a woman who mid-career decided that a government position would provide her the pension that none of her corporate jobs had offer even thought she spent 18 years in the workforce. So, she transferred her corporate training skills into a position with a federal agency and transferred to the Department of Homeland Security when we met. That agency didn’t even exist when she moved into the public sector. Since its inception in 2002, the Department of Homeland Security employs 240,000 with an annual budget of $60B in fiscal year 2013. Oh yeah, and that pension…they still have them through the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).

Think creatively about encore careers especially if could not imagine doing your current job until age 70. You may want to go back for certification or training earlier (in your 40s or 50s) to make yourself more competitive and prepared for a new career when you are ready to make your move. Also, watch out for scams offering training, certification or education that sounds too good to be true.

Combining a Paycheck with Your Passion

Monday Morning Pep Talk

The nonprofit sector may offer experienced workers a second career combining passion, social interaction and a continued income. The thought of “doing well by doing good” may not have been a possibility early in a career, however the idea of finding work with meaning is often of high importance choosing a second career. According to the Urban Institute, from 2001 to 2011 nonprofit jobs grew 25% while new jobs in the for-profit sector rose half of one percent.

As mature workers consider moving from for-profit organizations to nonprofit work, here are three major misconceptions to be aware of when making the career change to a nonprofit:

Myth #1: Working in a nonprofit is less complicated than corporate employment. The reality is that nonprofits have the same complexities and organizational structures as corporations. Nonprofits have the additional burden of constant fundraising and the transparency required to donors insuring their contributions are primarily directed to programs supporting their mission. Nonprofits also require the same infrastructure of any corporation including information technology, human resources, accounting, legal services, communication strategists, purchasing and project management along with a dependence on volunteers. 

Myth #2: Nonprofit employees spend all their time focused on their cause. The reality is while a nonprofit is not focused on shareholders and stock prices, the organization needs a revenue stream to maintain their programs and services. Fundraising and funding again becomes a focus. Whether the revenue stream comes from the government, businesses, individuals in the community or a mix of these sources, time is required to build and maintain relationships with funders. There are fundraising events to plan, grants to be written and after action reports due explaining to donors how their gifts were utilized.  In the nonprofit setting employees wear many hats, so “that’s not my job” is not an appropriate response.

Myth #3: Everyone working for nonprofits is “nice”.  As a donor, board member or volunteer people see nonprofit employees at their best. Many employees in the nonprofit sector are passionate, mission-driven individuals focused on their cause, however, all people have their flaws and that’s true in the nonprofit arena as well as corporate America. Work stress and burnout from difficult co-workers, office politics, a poor work environment or negligent leadership happens at nonprofits just like any other organization. The same skill sets used to manage challenging relationships in earlier jobs will help in the nonprofit environment.

Before making the switch from the for-profit world to the nonprofit sector, do your homework to insure the organization you plan to join is legitimate and a good steward of donor contributions. This can be done by consulting resources including www.guidestar.org, or the Better Business Bureau Charity List or Charitynavigator.org.

Job Burnout: Your Co-worker's Problem

Monday Morning Pep Talk

It’s the elephant in the room. 

After nearly a decade of layoffs, mergers/acquisitions, constant corporate change and cutbacks, threats of unemployment and volatile 401(k) values putting retirements at risk; is it any wonder that some of your co-workers are experiencing burnout?

The medical profession is ripe for career burnout and  the incidence is well-documented in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Archive of Internal Medicine and other professional journals. What about the employees of companies outside the medical field? 

Mayo Clinic offers these questions your co-worker can ask themselves:

• Are you troubled by unexplained headaches, backaches or other physical complaints?
• Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply feel?
• Do you feel disillusioned about your job?
• Have you become irritable or impatient with with co-workers, customers or clients?
• Do you drag yourself to work and have trouble getting started once you arrive? 
• Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive?
• Have you become cynical or critical at work?
• Do you lack the the the energy to be consistently productive? 
• Have your sleep habits or appetite changed? 

There are many factors that contribute to job burnout. It is a root cause of declining employee engagement, declining productivity and increased health care costs human resources is trying to reverse in the workplace. Corporate America didn’t need the 2010 Gallup study by Harter to tell them lower job satisfaction foreshadowed decreasing bottom-line performance. Back then Gallup estimate $300 Billion annually lost to employee disengagement.

In the past three years, one of the most consistently viewed blog post I have written is about losing self-confidence as one ages in the workforce.

http://workinglater.blogspot.com/2012/07/where-did-my-confidence-go-i-know-its.html

Experienced workers face a host of challenges and this includes pressures at home to compound doing more with less at work. So this week, practice patience, tolerance and being human to your colleagues. Help is available confidentially through Employee Assistance Plans, health care professionals and through your trusted support network. Take some time to enjoy yourself over the next 168 hours!

Check Out: 

Positivity by Barbara L. Frederickson, Ph.D.

Flourish by Martin E. P. Seligman

Employability: Finding a Job When You Need One, Part 1

The ability to find a job that covers your current expenses and leaves a cushion for savings and fun is my definition of employability. As an experienced worker it is an evaluation we should make before the time comes that it has to be tested. Working past 62 enhances your retirement security more than you might think. The case for staying employed doing part-time or even short duration (temp) jobs past 55 or 59 ½ when I see some workers leaving the workforce angry, forced-out or burnt-out is critical to their financial survival for a lifetime that can easily last to age 90. The point of this blog post is not to convince why you should stay employable; it is how to find a job as an experienced worker. Here are two of my five best tips. The other 3 tips are in Part II. Add your ideas as a comment to this post:

#1: Networking correctly works. This is not becoming a LinkedIn LION or having 500+ connections or writing a blog that has 10,000 viewers per post. These accomplishments are impressive, but they will not help you find you a job when you need one in a hurry. To network correctly, you should know who will take action on your behalf and not just who knows you. Before you need it, try to develop a network of at least a dozen connections that will (a) make a phone call on your behalf to introduce you to someone; (b) send an e-mail or LinkedIn to a connection to “introduce” you to a hiring manager or recruiter; (c) act as a reference when you need one for a job; (d) forward your resume, so the hiring manager will “ask” the recruiter to pull it out of the applicant tracking system. These types of connections are built over time and require trust, contact and knowledge of your work.


#2: Take Care of Yourself. 20% of people in their 50s and 60s have a health issue or disability that makes it nearly impossible to work according to a business television show I watched recently. I’m not sure of their source, but I do know that in a competitive corporate environment absence does not make the heart grow fonder. Look like you can do the job. When you are constantly off sick for a variety of maladies, I know it is not your fault. From a corporate perspective, if management figures out the work gets done while you’re gone three months—it is not helpful the next time layoffs roll around. What can you do? Do your best to stay healthy, be lively and energetic at work so your vitality comes through. Do Not discuss your aches and pains with your co-workers; tell your doctor or your relatives, not your boss. Don’t be a martyr and come to work sick and risk everyone else’s health because you need the money. That’s kind of an oxymoron to what I’ve said above, but everyone will remember you for the wrong reason if your germs undermine your co-workers and their families.

Employability: Finding a Job When You Need One, Part 2

The ability to secure work as an experienced worker doesn’t begin in your 50s and 60s. The relationships you create with your managers, suppliers, co-workers and subordinates decades earlier in your career will help you later. Part I focused on networking with the “right” people and keeping yourself in the game physically. In Part II, my final three components of employability are listed and I’d be interested in yours as a comment on the blog:

#3: Play Well with Others: At a certain point in your career at 50+ many of your company’s senior leadership team and your direct manager may be younger than you. I had a manager twenty-one years younger than me!  It is not just a different generation; it is a different mindset and he had a perception of mature workers (it wasn’t good).  I’ll repeat what you already know—the dynamic of Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Generation X (born 1965-1981) and Millennials (1982-2004) in the workforce with a smattering of “The Greatest Generation” ( a term coined by Tom Brokaw) brings a clash of values to the workforce Corporate America is ignoring. While there are stereotypes for each generational cohort, from my Boomer perspective, “the boss is still the boss.” So, I treated “Boy Wonder” (a derogatory name coined by my friends) with the respect I treated previous managers and worked hard to dispel the myths that someone my age couldn’t master new software programs, perform my job duties or working with me was like working with his mother. I endured him and like they often do; he finally went away. (Hear me breathing a sigh of relief)

#4: Leverage Your Experience: In a US News & World Report 2010 blog post advised that if you make money or save money for a company, it protects your job. “It would be silly to let go of somebody who is making you money…” their post continues. Everyone 50+ knows it happens, a lot. A typical example is an employee who was the number one sales representative in a division of a Fortune 50 company whose combination of high base salary and long tenure found her surprisingly laid-off in the company’s first wave of reductions in force. Highly compensated non-management employees are an issue for companies when they have to provide lump sum raise annually instead of the average 3% merit increase in 2014 because their base salary has topped the range or band for their role. Try to protect yourself from sudden unemployment by finding and accepting a new role within the company that moves you into a different salary grade or broadband, if you currently receive lump sum annual increases. You might also try to expand your duties to move into a position so your salary is not in the upper deciles.

#5: Maintain a Professional Image: Humans are primarily visual beings with some researchers claiming 90% of the transmitted information in the human brain is visual. There are hundreds of studies of about physical attractiveness bias in business. While most 40+ and 50+ workers would look ridiculous dressed like a college student, men and women should keep the clothing they wear to work, their hair and anything about their visual appearance updated. Department stores often have free personal shoppers to help you create your perfect look for an important interview or meeting. Aim for styling yourself so you feel confident.

Use these five tips along with whatever skills and attitudes are unique to your workplace to be successful where you work today and able to get a new job if needed in the future.