Such groups widely exist in large state-owned enterprises and some large private enterprises. Whenever I think quietly, their weak eyes and tired posture will always come to my mind. When I feel sorry for them, I always remind myself: will I become like that one day? So I have been thinking about a question: Do middle-aged ordinary employees at the bottom of the food chain in the workplace still have a chance to fight back in life? If this is possible, what should I do?
Two very different situations
Before answering this question, let me tell two stories about ordinary middle-aged people I once met. My first job after graduation was in a large state-owned enterprise with a history of more than 50 years, a special industry. A large number of famous school graduates gathered in the early days. One of them is in his forties. It is said that high flyers of XX University in Central China, many of his peers hold important positions in the company, but he does basic work in the office every day, and goes to the canteen to queue up for dinner with a group of young people at noon every day. Besides, this guy doesn't talk much. His old colleague said that his family environment was not very good and he was afraid of losing his job, so he was always cautious. However, this state lasted less than two years and he didn't come to work. It is said that he suffers from schizophrenia. Fortunately, the company is formal and has an internal retirement system, which can maintain a basic life.
The other person is the opposite. This person is also in his early 40 s, but his bachelor's degree is only a front-line technician. However, he seems good at fighting for his own interests. He goes to the human resources department every three days, complaining about the bad atmosphere of the department, how his immediate superior suppressed him, how dare he bury talents, and sometimes he brings snacks to his colleagues in the human resources department and becomes a frequent visitor to the human resources department.
Later, we came to the conclusion that this man was a thorn in his side and sent away when he had the chance. Sure enough, the company later invested in a branch factory abroad, and the business department and human resources department strongly recommended him as the technical director of this branch factory. This person embarked on a glorious period of career development: he was a small director in the first year, became the director of production department in the second year, and was later promoted to deputy director of production, and his ability was unanimously recognized.
Do middle-aged bottom-level employees have a chance to turn over? The situation of these two people is very different, but from their development track, I realize that middle-aged ordinary people are depressed in the workplace, not worthless (the situation of the second person has been fully proved), and not completely unlucky. The key is to see what you think and how to act.
First, the pursuit of stability is actually an illusion. The workplace is not "stable".
When people reach middle age, many people are faced with the situation of being old and small, and begin to pursue stability and compromise with reality. However, the workplace is vanity fair, and the so-called comfort is just a kind of self-comfort. The career development curve is either upward or downward. There is never a horizontal straight line. If you just want a stable mentality to muddle along, the final result will be controlled by others and get farther and farther away from the expected "stability".
Second, after the age of 35, can you still do multiple-choice questions in the workplace?
The answer is yes. The so-called middle-aged people are discriminated against, which only exists in the grassroots positions of some Internet companies. In fact, people's intelligence is constantly developing before the age of 60, and their judgment of things is more transparent. Therefore, in middle age, don't underestimate yourself. You must have an uneasy heart, fully analyze your strengths and weaknesses at the same time, and then calmly look for external opportunities, seize opportunities, and quit.
Third, while looking for career development opportunities, we need to balance the risks in our lives.
Compared with young people, one of the biggest weaknesses of middle age in the workplace is the fetters of family. It is manifested in the allocation of time and the handling of economic pressure. From the perspective of time allocation, middle-aged people often need to spend more time on their children and elders, so they are not suitable for companies or positions with strict time management. From an economic point of view, we should not blindly pursue how high we can get at this stage, but should consider how long we can get it. After all, the expenditure items at this stage are rigid, and there must be a stable income source to match them.
Operation strategy
Here, I give middle-aged friends who are still at the grassroots level a strategy to change the status quo: First, don't naked resignation. Naked resignation is a patent for young people. You can pay more attention to the opportunities outside when you work. This "opportunity" is not only a job opportunity, but also some part-time project opportunities. In short, you can try to change your situation whenever you have the chance.
Second, develop a variety of income channels. Many middle-aged friends are not satisfied with the reality of the workplace, but they dare not jump ship easily. The core reason is the consideration of economic pressure. In this case, if we can develop a kind of income other than salary, we can effectively hedge economic risks, thus making us more confident in career choice. If you can find new career opportunities, in turn, you will improve your economic ability to resist risks, and you can make new choices to provide protection, thus forming a virtuous circle of "income-opportunity". Developing income other than wages is the key to breaking the situation.