The midlife crisis is not as common as many people think. According to Lachman, (2004), the crisis is not unique to midlife but is specific to individuals. She further states that the crises are caused by events such as diseases which are not necessarily related to this period. Other causes of such crises are joblessness and financial problems. These events can however occur during any period in an adult’s life therefore disapproving the theory of midlife crisis. An individual’s personality predisposes one to experience crises in their life. These crises are more evident during the transition points of life. The various important changes that occur during one’s life are often clustered around the midlife. For this reason, many people assume that one has to go through some sort of crisis during their midlife.
Work is an important component during an individual’s midlife. Work gives an individual his identity. Work is very important during the midlife as people are faced by responsibilities such as loans, medical bills, tuition fees and mortgages. Some of the people in this phase enjoy lucrative jobs while others are faced by unemployment and layoffs. The midlife is a very complicated phase for an individual to lose his job as middle-aged adults are discriminated against by some employers.
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To exemplify this issue, we are going to use a scenario of Mr. Leonard who loses his job at the age of forty five. Mr. Leonard is an accountant with a Master’s degree in Commerce and twenty years of experience. For Mr. Leonard, it would be difficult for him to find a job as his pay demands would be much higher compared to those of younger workers. Consecutively, technological advancements would cause a challenge as his services would be outdated. Younger employees are more conversant with technological developments therefore making them better options for employers. Mr. Leonard would therefore fall into a midlife crisis due to the unemployment and numerous responsibilities.
Reference
Lachman, M. E. (2004). Development in Midlife. Annual Review of Psychology , 55, 305-33.
