🏁 Axios Finish Line: The magic age

Plus: Navigating midlife | Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Open in app View in browser     Axios Finish Line By Mike Allen, Erica Pandey and Jim VandeHei ·Oct 11, 2022 Oct 11, 2022 Welcome back for this short week. Smart Brevity™ count: 286 words ... 1 min.     1 big thing: Making it through midlife Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   The midlife crisis is real, Erica Pandey writes from new research. People in their 40s and 50s, in rich countries, are prone to a rise in suicidal thoughts, job stress, depression and alcohol dependence, according to a new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. In fact, age 45 is when people reach their "maximum level of work stress," per the study. The backdrop: Researchers studied 500,000 people from wealthy nations around the world — and discovered a series of "hill curves" when looking at their mental health. Major indicators of mental duress (depression, thoughts of suicide, stress, headaches and alcohol use) peaked in midlife — regardless of income, nationality, gender, or whether or not people had kids. Between the lines: The study authors noted that midlife crises aren't discussed enough. "We believe the seriousness of this societal problem has not been grasped by the affluent world's policymakers," they wrote. 👀 What to watch: There's evidence that the midlife crisis may be moving to earlier in life due to the pandemic, Fortune reports. Younger workers are reporting mounting burnout. They're resigning and "quiet quitting" in droves — potentially pointing to a rise in mental duress and work stress hitting us all sooner. The bottom line: This research study — like many others — reinforces the critical act of checking in with friends, family, colleagues and neighbors. You never know how someone is doing ... until you ask.      A message from Axios How to power your team through year-end and plan 2023     👂What we're hearing: Organizations are in a tough middle, pushing to keep momentum high as they close out 2022's ambitious goals and eye a 2023 that will be even bigger. On Oct. 12, Axios HQ's Chief of Staff is chatting with two leaders who are experts at striking this difficult balance. Join the conversation     2. 📷 Watched … and watching Photo: Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images This super-duper close-up of a Ural owl (Strix uralensis) was taken Monday during a bird show at Kuwait University College of Education in Kuwait City. What are you spotting? Drop us a line: finishline@axios.com.   Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: