Experts named the main reasons for career burnout in men after 30 years

Social media, imposed standards of success, and the race for career achievement are increasingly becoming a cause of emotional exhaustion. Experts explained why the crisis of 30 years is not related to age, but to a reassessment of life goals, and explained how to avoid professional burnout. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

The Pitfalls of Someone Else's Success

The main mistake of modern specialists is to focus not on their own goals, but on external standards of success. Anna Alikova, an independent HR expert, notes that many people continue to evaluate themselves by conditional benchmarks like "a high position by the age of 30" or "a certain income level by the age of 25," not taking into account that other people's achievements are often based on completely different starting opportunities, family support, connections, or just a lucky combination of circumstances.

According to her, such a race turns into an endless competition that is initially impossible to win.

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According to the expert, social networks play a special role in shaping such expectations. Users post mostly successful moments in their lives — a promotion, buying an apartment, traveling, starting a business — but they almost never show years of preparation, mistakes, financial difficulties, or professional crises.

The algorithms of the platforms only enhance this effect, more often promoting vivid success stories. As a result, it creates the illusion that others are constantly reaching new heights, while their own lives begin to seem insufficiently successful.

That is why a chronic comparison with others gradually develops into anxiety, a sense of one's own inadequacy and emotional burnout, even if objectively a person continues to develop and build a career.

Psychology of crisis 30 years

Anastasia Helemelya, a clinical psychologist and CBT therapist, believes that the so-called crisis of 30 years is not so much related to age as to a reassessment of life's meanings. According to her, modern people often feel the need to sum up a certain "result" by a certain age, although real career and life trajectories have long ceased to be linear.

This is especially acute for men who continue to evaluate themselves according to traditional social criteria — income level, leadership position, availability of their own housing or family. At the same time, such guidelines often turn out to be imposed by society, rather than reflecting the personal values of the person himself.

The expert notes that in reality, many of the achievements of peers are explained not only by their own efforts, but also by inheritance, parental support, a lucky combination of circumstances or loans, which are rarely talked about publicly.

Among the first signs of a crisis, the psychologist identifies not apathy at all, but irritability. People begin to get angry at the successes of others, their own achievements cease to bring satisfaction, and there is a feeling that all efforts are meaningless. Against this background, emotional breakdowns, a desire to radically change your life, or, conversely, a complete lack of strength to make any decisions are possible.

According to Helemeli, giving up constant self-comparison with others helps to get out of this state. Instead of asking "Why is it better?" the specialist recommends asking yourself another question: "What exactly do I want?". She considers it a useful practice to compare herself only with her own past version — not in terms of income or position, but in terms of quality of life, inner peace and a sense of satisfaction.

In addition, the psychologist advises you to record several of your own achievements or reasons for gratitude to yourself every day. This practice gradually shifts the brain's attention from the feeling of constant scarcity to the awareness of existing resources.

Family support plays a separate role. According to the expert, tips like "pull yourself together" or "everyone's like that" only increase the feeling of loneliness.

According to the psychologist, a crisis is not a sign of weakness or personal failure — it is a natural stage of rethinking life guidelines and forming a new value system.

The labor market is changing priorities

According to Anna Alikova's observations, the attitude of job seekers themselves is also changing. If a few years ago the main criterion for choosing an employer was the amount of salary, today more and more specialists are paying attention to the opportunity to maintain a balance between work and personal life, psychological comfort, reasonable workload and a healthy corporate culture.

According to the expert, many candidates are ready to give up a higher salary for a flexible schedule, clear work processes and respectful attitude from management.

Anna Alikova attributes this trend to the consequences of mass burnout in recent years, when many employees have learned from their own experience that high income does not always compensate for chronic stress and loss of health. Another important trend is changing attitudes towards age. Previously, changing professions after the age of 30 was perceived as an exception, today such career turns are becoming common practice.

More mature specialists are often more in demand than younger ones due to their accumulated experience, stress tolerance, ability to make informed decisions and set priorities correctly.

According to Alikova, modern careers are less likely to develop according to a predetermined scenario. The ability to adapt to changes, regularly update knowledge, and rethink your own professional goals becomes much more important.

The expert emphasizes that early success by itself does not guarantee a stable career. If a person stops learning and responding flexibly to market changes, their advantages quickly lose relevance.

That is why long-term demand today is determined not by the speed of a career start and not by the age of achieving the first major successes, but by the ability to preserve internal resources, constantly develop and timely adjust the chosen professional path.