Whether you’re quietly dreading Mondays or dramatically dreaming of quitting it all, midlife can be your moment to reset, realign, and reimagine your work life. Here’s how to Whether you’re fed up, burned out, or just quietly wondering “Is this it?”, midlife offers a surprising opportunity to redefine your career. Here’s how to make your next chapter your best one yet.
Why midlife isn’t the end (it’s the edge)
There’s a scene in every good action movie where the hero, bloodied and bruised, leans against a wall and whispers, “I’m getting too old for this.” But then—he finds another way. That, in essence, is the career pivot playbook for men over 50. If you’re feeling burnout, stagnation, or just general “Sunday night dread” about your job, you’re not broken. You’re being invited to change.
Burnout is real
Burnout, as defined by the World Health Organization, stems not from laziness or incompetence, but from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been properly managed. For many midlife professionals, this stress accumulates as disconnection, depletion, and a quiet crisis of purpose.
According to a 2024 article by The Guardian, emotional burnout and lack of meaning are two of the top triggers for mid-career shifts, particularly among men in leadership roles. In Australia, this trend is growing. Dr Tom Buckley and Andrew May, wellbeing researchers at StriveStronger, explained on The Leadership Diet [1] podcast with Pod O’Sullivan, that burnout is rarely about hours worked—it’s about chronic depletion and lack of recovery.
But here’s the twist: this very discomfort can be your breakthrough.
Research from the Harvard Business Review and McKinsey reveals that men in their 50s often hit a point where identity, not income, becomes the focus. What was once a ladder becomes a loop. You’ve been promoted, built things, survived restructures, coached teams, but now the voice inside says: “What’s next?”
6 moves to make your midlife pivot stick
- Pause to Reflect
Your next job shouldn’t be a reaction. Ask: What do I want my days to feel like, now? What values have become non-negotiable, now? What is most important to me, now? - Audit Your Energy
List what energises you vs. what drains you. Burnout often hides in plain sight, camouflaged as productivity. Cull activities and indeed friendships that drain your energy. Some people may no longer serve you and / or you can see them in a limited manner so as to suit you. - Rediscover Your Storytelling Power
In a world of AI and automation, emotional intelligence, judgment and lived wisdom are irreplaceable. As Stephen Keys wrote in “AI, Laser Scarecrows, and the Art of Staying Useful After 50[2] ”, “The machines are coming. But so, what? They can’t laugh. They can’t give meaning. That’s our job. Keep learning. Keep evolving. Keep showing up”. As a 50+ year old you bring years of experience to the table that is valuable. Tell that story. - Consider a Side Hustle First
From coaching to consulting to importing bike parts, mid-career side hustles are exploding. The Economic Times recently profiled six fast-growing gigs that require experience over youth. In Sydney James, who recently left his high paying and pressurised corporate role in the pharmaceutical industry found himself retraining to become a paramedic and loving that role. But on the side, he started up a small consultancy to offer his expertise in Commercial Excellence, his prior role in the pharmaceutical industry, to SME businesses, who could not afford to hire a full-time expert like him. - Talk to a Coach or Mentor
You don’t need therapy (though that’s fine too). You need someone to hold a mirror to your blind spots and help craft a plan. Everyone benefits from the process of coaching purely because our brains react to questions being asked of us, that we did not expect to be asked (i.e. from someone else). It allows us to articulate out loud our challenges but often find solutions to the same ones, often for the first time, in a safe space. - Build Psychological Safety Around You
Surround yourself with people who let you be real. Dr Amy Edmondson, a Harvard professor and author of The Fearless Organisation, note in an interview on The Leadership Diet podcast that ‘flourishing only happens when fear is absent’. Fear is the Enemy of Flourishing and the hope for men above 50 is that we learn to live the second half of our life, on our own terms, i.e. we flourish.
