Career Satisfaction and Mental Health (Part 3) – PMET Seniors

24 March, 2025

Career Satisfaction and Mental Health (Part 3) — PMET Seniors

Based on Align Group’s Singapore National Workplace Happiness survey results for 2020/2021, Gen Xers in their 40s and 50s fared the lowest in the Workplace Happiness Index (67.3).

Another survey by the Singapore Ministry of Health, “National Population Health Survey 2022,” found that those in their 40s and above are less likely than the younger age groups to seek help from a healthcare professional even if they are constantly unable to cope with stress.

This means those who need the most help are least likely to seek help.

Would you be concerned if your loved ones are in this “Least Happy Seeking Least Help” (LHSLH) group?

The PMET Seniors (age 45-65) do experience challenges that are unique to their age group, and this is loosely termed a midlife crisis.

Part 3 – I’m Going Through a Crisis

1) Grieving for the Loss of Loved Ones

Our parents are typically between 25 and 40 years older than us, which means the parents and siblings of the PMET-Seniors would typically be in their 70s to 100s. Given the life expectancy of an 84-year-old in Singapore, statistically, the PMET Seniors’ chance of losing any of their parents and uncles/aunts within 10 years is high.

2) Health Deterioration

Comorbidity (more than one chronic illness). According to Duke-NUS Medical School’s 2017 survey of Singaporeans and PRs in their 60s and above, more than 37% of the surveyed have 3 or more chronic illnesses. Logically, many of them would start to have chronic illnesses in their 50s or even 40s.

Menopause – The biological changes experienced by women in the 50s and men in the 50s and 60s can result in insomnia, loss of muscles and bone mass, drop in energy level, etc. Some may even experience depression.

Burnout/depression – many succumbed to the pressure of provisioning for the family and extended families for 2 decades or more.

Anxiety – they could be afraid that they may lose their job or not be able to work due to health problems, but do not have enough money in savings and CPF to finance retirement. They could also be concerned with the health conditions of loved ones and competition at work from younger workers. The anxiousness could lead to insomnia, binge drinking, problematic gambling, anger, impulsivity, and relationship problems.

3) Outdated Skills

“Workers in their 40s and 50s today face greater job insecurity due to Singapore’s ongoing economic restructuring efforts to raise skills and productivity, as well as disruption caused by rapid technological changes.”

(Job Struggle of Middle-Aged Singaporeans)

The PMET Seniors need to unlearn and relearn skills. However, even if they are willing to learn and able to master new skills, they may still face difficulties in competing for work, discrimination, health problems, and other concerns.

4) Discrimination at Work

Based on Randstad 2020’s “Ageism in the Workplace” study

57% of respondents feel that they have fewer training opportunities as they get older.
64% of those aged 55 and above shared this sentiment.
31% of young respondents aged 18 to 34 chose to avoid any interaction with mature workers aged 55 or older.

5) Retirement Anxiety

“About 66% of active members would have accumulated sufficient CPF savings by 55 to set aside their cohort’s basic retirement sum, and can receive at least around S$800 in monthly payouts for life,” (Minister Tan See Leng, 12 January 2022).

The unspoken are:

44% of active CPF members don’t have enough to meet the basic retirement sum;
Some of the active members could be sole breadwinners as their spouses don’t work;
The CPF Life payout may not be adequate to cover the cost of living and retirement is unattainable;
Not all who reached 55 are active CPF members as they could have lost their jobs and may not have enough CPF for the basic retirement sum.

6) Empty Nest

The children may have grown up and moved out for tertiary study, National Service, or form their own families.
Based on Duke-NUS Medical School’s 2017 study of Singaporeans and PR in their 60s and above, 34% of them (more than 1 in 3) feel somewhat or mostly lonely.
The effect could have started in their 50s when they began to experience empty nest syndrome.

What Do The PMET Seniors Need?

If we view a Career as juggling various life roles—like being a child, a parent, an employee, a provider, a friend, and a citizen—then it’s clear that PMET Seniors face many changes and challenges. They need to adapt a lot to manage their Career well.

The following 3 Rs summarize and highlight the necessity:

R1 (Recognize): Needs to recognize that he/she has difficulty coping with the challenges and his/her mental and even physical well-being have been affected. The negative development may also stress his/her family members.

R2 (Reach Out): Willing to accept professional help instead of struggling alone and take action to seek help from an external party. This could perhaps be the hardest step.

R3 (Redesign): Work values, interests, and strengths may have changed over the years. Some skills may even be obsolete. What got him/her here may not be suitable for his/her future. The work needs to be redesigned based on current circumstances.

Some examples,

a) he/she may value caregiving frail parents and spending time with them as a higher priority. That may mean working from home or working near your parents’ home through a change of job or job role.

b) The doctor demands exercises, weight loss, diet change, and/or rehabilitation to be included in the daily schedule, and that may need work flexibility that requires a change of job from full-time to part-time or even freelance.

c) The industry he/she has worked in for many years has sunset or moved to another country, and there is a need to acquire new technical skills through apprenticeship (e.g., career conversion program), which means a pay cut and perhaps reporting to younger persons.

d) He/she is burnout and feeling depressed but needs to continue to make a good income without a break to accumulate CPF money either for his/her own or spouse’s retirement account. A customized mental health program, work redesign, and financial planning might be needed.

Do you know any PMET Seniors who happen to be in the “Least Happy Seeking Least Help” group? Would you help them with R1 and R2?

Do you like the contents of this article and would like more?

References