The F-Word That Scares Everyone at Work
(Why the most important talk at work is also the one people try to avoid the most) Scene 1: Meeting
“Hey, do you ever feel like you don’t have any energy?”
That’s how a recent talk with a 42-year-old IT project manager started. He grinned a little and said,
“Spark? I’m just trying not to become too tired.
This is something that people in IT, banking, media, BPO, finance, and entertainment are saying in boardrooms, on Zoom calls, and in cafeterias. The middle-aged workforce, which used to be driven by ambition and adrenaline, is now slowly and collectively slowing down. Not because they can’t do it anymore, but because stress has become their limit.
The Generation of Slowdown
These people are not lazy, uninterested, or not involved. They’re just tired—mentally, emotionally, and in terms of their existence.
Many mid-career professionals are starting to realise that the bustle they used to love is now costing them peace, health, and meaning after 20 years of goals, changes, and new technologies.
As I said in “Navigating Through Emotions,”
“When feelings turn into exhaustion, performance turns into survival.”
And that’s exactly what is happening. People aren’t striving towards something anymore; they’re just working through something.
The Hidden Emotional Load
Let’s take a quick look at the modern business middle:
A senior manager at a BPO who signs off at 2 AM but can’t sleep until 4 AM.
A banker who is 45 years old and hates Mondays, not because of the work, but because they are so boring.
A creative person who works in media who used to offer ideas with a lot of fervour but now thinks, “What’s the point?”
An insurance executive who can do many things at once but has lost touch with their feelings.
These aren’t just one-time things; they’re patterns. I called this “emotional fatigue masquerading as professionalism” in my book “Mastering Emotional Intelligence.”
People are coming. In meetings, they smile. They’re doing everything right. But internally, the emotional range is getting less.
The Price of Always Being Connected
The lines between work and life have disappeared in a time when “availability” has taken the place of “accountability.”
Stress these days isn’t only about how much work you have to do; it’s also about how much work you have to do all the time.
A finance professional told me,
“Even when I’m not working, I’m working because I’m always thinking about work.”
I mentioned in “Navigating Through Emotions” that the mind works like a smartphone: when too many programs (tasks, fears, comparisons) are running in the background, the system gets too hot. The app isn’t the problem; it’s the overload.
And the answer isn’t to give up or run away; it’s to learn how to control your emotions, change your priorities, and improve your brain.
The Change from Passion to Safety
You won’t hear “growth” or “innovation” if you ask mid-career professionals what drives them now. You will hear:
“Stability.”
“Balance.”
“Less stress.”
These are good aims. But they show something deeper: that passion has become protection.
In “Mastering Emotional Intelligence,” I say, “When fear of exhaustion replaces love for excellence, potential gets locked in emotional armour.”
People who used to be creative and brave are now being careful. The ambition to make it through the day has silently taken the place of the desire to influence the future.
The Emotional Reset
The good news is that people are becoming more conscious. A lot of people in the middle of their careers no longer think that success means working excessive hours or being burned out. They’re asking better questions:
What does it mean to be fulfilled now?
How can I keep my identity while I work?
How can I make performance meaningful again?
This is when emotional intelligence stops being a skill and starts being a way of life.
Professionals can tell when stress turns into self-sabotage by being conscious of their emotions. Emotional regulation enables them to make deliberate choices in their responses instead of reacting impulsively. And emotional empathy, for oneself and others, aids in re-establishing the connection between labour and meaning.
As I said in “Navigating Through Emotions,”
“The mind wants peace, not speed.” When leaders learn to get both in line, they don’t stop; they grow.
Reconsidering “Slow Down”
Taking it easy doesn’t mean giving up. It is maturing emotionally.
It’s choosing to stop not because you’re tired, but because you’re not paying attention. It’s the realisation that being productive isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing what really matters with energy, empathy, and purpose.
When professionals learn how to deal with their feelings instead of pushing them down, they find the joy of giving again. They stop running away from stress and start dancing with a purpose again.
If You’re a Mid-Career Professional and Reading This…
Take a big breath.
You’ve spent years showing that you know what you’re doing. Maybe now is the moment to defend your mind.
Emotional harmony, not tiredness, can help you do your best work.
So, if you have to, slow down. But don’t stop believing in what you can do. Don’t allow stress stop you from growing. Let this be a message that it’s time to update your emotional operating system.
Because passion doesn’t go away as you get older; it just waits for things to calm down.
© Dr. Pratik P. SURANA (Ph.D.)
#EmotionalIntelligence #QuantumTrainings #StressManagement #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceWellness #DrPratikSurana
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