Interview with Ken Dychtwald on Midlife Crisis
February 2009 - By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary

Ken Dychtwald
Ken Dychtwald, founding president and CEO of Age Wave

Middlescent workers say that smaller organizations are more likely to respect them for their abilities, provide ample opportunities to leverage their talents, empower them to explore new career directions, provide an ongoing flow of new, exciting assignments, and offer work that is meaningful and fulfilling.
As a result, our study found that middlescent workers at small companies are less likely to feel burned out or to feel they are at dead end in their careers. They are far more loyal than middlescent workers at larger organizations and are more willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that normally expected in order to help their organization be successful.
Of course, some large corporations are also effective at engaging andmotivating their middlescent workers. But our study findings indicate that larger organizations can learn valuable lessons by examining how smaller and more entrepreneurial companies create career paths that continue to inspire and engage their employees throughout their careers.

• What role do you think a national culture and personality architecture (beliefs, attitudes, value systems, outlook towards life, etc.) would play on the kind of midcareer life a person goes through? Is there any evidence pointing either positive or negative relationship between national culture and midlife change?
  There is limited research on the midcareer lives across national cultures. However, the global study of two million people from 80 countries entitled Is Well-being U-Shaped over the Life Cycle?, published this year by researchers from the University of Warwick in England and Dartmouth College in the US, found that middlescence is frequently a time of uncertainty and frustration regardless of nationality, culture, gender, marital status, and income.
  Nonetheless, this same research shows that people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s can be just as happy and fulfilled as people in their 20s. Therefore middlescence is a transition period that many of us experience during which we begin to redefine our life and career purpose and meaning. As we emerge from middlescence, this research demonstrates that many of us reengage in fresh activities, passions, and careers paths that give us renewed fulfillment and happiness.

• Your research indicates that midcareer employees end up working for longer hours than their younger and older counterparts. Why?
  Our national study found that midcareer employees report the highest number of hours worked per week-average of forty-five andmedian of forty-two, with 30% saying they work fifty or more hours per week. As in the other cohorts, there is a significant difference by gender, with men reporting almost five hours more per week than women.
  Although our study did not specifically inquire regarding the reasons for hours worked, we speculate that midcareer employees put in more hours in part because many of them are at the peak of responsibility in their companies and are significantly more likely than younger workers to be in a managerial or supervisory position. In addition, younger employees are twice as likely as midcareer employees to be working part-time, and, on the other end of the spectrum, we find that many older workers choose to scale down their work hours, often because they have fewer financial pressures to put in extra hours and have the flexibility to focus their time on work they are most interested in.

• What were the other findings from your research? How true are they in these times of financial and economic turmoil?
  Other key findings from our research include:

1. Employee attitudes, needs, and experiences are extremely diverse, and responding to them is key to gaining engagement, loyalty, and productivity.
2. Too many employees are feeling burned-out (42%) and feel deadended in their current jobs (33%). Too few feel energized by their work or by fresh assignments (28%).
3. The performance of managers is perceived as poor, with only 36% of employees saying they are satisfied with the support and guidance received from their managers.
4. Large employers offer significantly more benefits – including things that small company employees say they want – and yet get less engagement in return.
5. Mature employees (55 and older) are the most satisfied and engaged, the happiest on the job, and best adjusted to the workplace. Retaining them, including beyond the traditional retirement age, is key to preventing shortages of skills and labor and a resulting “brain drain.”

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