Job Burn Out or Midlife Crisis?

That boring job should sound an alarm, according to Phyllis Korkki, NY Times career coach. A twenty-year career coincides with midlife if you started that job in your twenties. If you're career isn't changing after 40, I would become suspicious. But just because your boring job collides with your middling years, doesn't necessarily mean that you're having a midlife crisis.

In fact, recognizing your boring job for what it is can be a wake-up call. Boredom is a symptom.

"Sometimes your very success can lead to boredom," said Rachelle J. Canter, career coach and author of Make the Right Career Move. "If you continue to do the same thing again and again, and you're good at it, people are going to ask you to do the same thing."

It's easy to blame the boss, your wife, or a "midlife crisis" on your current unhappiness, but, ultimately, you're the only one in charge of your career growth and happiness.

I've purposely avoided the corporate career track and now find myself at midlife working for a Fortune 500 company where 30-year careers are common. Even though I'm bored occasionally (the pace in corporate America is much slower than the hard-charging business start-up), it's still a new experience for me. (You can read about my own career transition here.)

Another employee, however, found himself feeling stuck. He'd been doing the same kind of work pretty much his entire tenure. When his boss recommended he apply for an assignment overseas, he found the idea exhilarating. Even though his commute increased from twenty minutes to two days, he's glad he made the move and describes himself as more engaged and enthused. All he needed was a midlife career correction, not necessarily a mid life career change.

So if you're bored at work, I suspect you need a new challenge. As a self-starter, I create challenges for myself all the time. For me, it's a sure-fire antidote to boredom. If you're waiting for a boss to challenge you, you may need to take the initiative to create challenges for yourself.

We want to be doing more than surviving midlife; we want to be thriving. At least I do.