A sample essay from a previous edition of The Afternoon Shift newsletter. Subscribe here to read on.
The latest research on the “pivotal 40s,” and the critical role of reflection and connection in this career stage.
McLuhan warned us about “information overload” back in the 60s.
Today it’s like sitting next to the speaker at a concert. And we forgot our earplugs.
But paying attention to how we spend our time (and protect our senses) isn’t just about the cost of media overconsumption.
It’s about how we work, the feeling of perpetual time scarcity, and the unrelenting pressure to perform.
New Research That Underscores Our Work Here
Recently, executive and team coach Allie Wilkinson sent me an article from Harvard Business Review:
“Research: As Careers Get Longer, Midcareer Work Needs to Change.”
It’s by Lynda Gratton, professor of management practice at London Business School and author of the forthcoming Living the 100 Year Life.
Reading it fired me up.
Just as we are here at The Afternoon Shift, Gratton is focused on mid-career professionals and the unique challenges facing us right now:
“In a context where skills are rapidly evolving, careers are lengthening, and burnout is already high, workers in the pivotal 40s are being asked to work in ways that are not sustainable in the long term.”
As I read the article, I was pleasantly surprised to find two of the same foundational elements in her work and ours: time and teams.
As Gratton puts it:
“Mid-career professionals consistently report having no space to step back, reflect, and talk to colleagues, despite recognizing its importance.”
As a result, many of us experience what Gratton calls “a psychologically uncomfortable state of limbo.”
Being in this state means we’re consistently operating in low-level fight or flight.
We know this diminishes our creativity, our ability to innovate, and even our physical health.
And now, thanks to Gratton’s research, we have even more proof that all of this is damaging and deserves serious consideration:
“Professionals in their 40s consistently score lowest on ‘calm,’ or the capacity for reflection and reset. Reflection is rare, and changes everything when it happens.”
The thing we need the most is what the research says we find most challenging and elusive.
From Performing to Exploring
These career insights are new.
Work looks different now, but the world hasn’t caught up.
And we really feel it.
After all, we’re the first generation to grow up largely without the Internet, only to enter the workforce with it.
And now, we’re the first to experience mid-career with so many dynamics shifting around us.
Here are a few of those themes and how Gratton’s research addresses them:
Expecting shifts. Big directional choices are not in the rearview by 40, they’re front and center. We should expect to navigate change, and if we normalize mid-career shifts and explore them more deliberately, we can set up the decades to come, avoid burnout, and deliver more value along the way.
“Leaders and organizations need to start thinking of mid-career as not a period of stability but a phase in which recalibration is both necessary and expected.”
Outwork vs. Outlast. With careers this long, it’s also not realistic to simply outwork everyone. At least not if any semblance of a life outside of work is valued. Gratton calls this “passive endurance,” and says it’s a big part of the burnout plaguing so many. Instead, she advocates for “active redesign.”
“These moments are not about stepping away from work. They’re about enabling workers to think and talk to their peers about where they are in the long arc of their careers, and where they want to go.”
Real ID. This is a big one, and we’re just not prepared well for how hard it hits. When our identity is so tightly wrapped up in our work, a change can be wildly disorienting. Gratton suggests we replace the typical question for people in this stage, “how do I perform better,” with a better one: “what has made me who I am, and what do I want to become for the next 30 years?”
“Without such moments, people tend to fall into careers that are reactive and path dependent. With them, they’re more likely to make deliberate, forward-looking choices.”
And then there’s this line from Gratton, which hits on the exact same core insight we’ve been focused on:
“Where do people have permission to explore, not just perform?”
Her research shows all of this is critical if companies want to retain talent and institutional knowledge, while driving business growth.
It’s also urgent for independent professionals, who don’t have an HR function or a manager to support this kind of critical exploration.
Her prescription:
“Mid-career reviews that focus on long-term direction in addition to performance; short sabbaticals or time-bound reflection periods; facilitated group programs that create shared space for reflection; or explicit conversations about career sustainability instead of career progression.”
So, we really need two permission slips.
The first is to ourselves. In the pivotal 40s (or near it), the research is telling us what our gut already knows. Making time to reflect and connect with others is the work, not a break from it.
The second is to the people around us. If we lead a company, a team, or even a single direct report in this stage, giving them permission to explore is what great leadership looks like.
It’s also, increasingly, good for business.