Sharing Observations on GenX Women - the stress for those of us in this sandwich generation is off the charts.
. Anyone else experiencing this pressure on all sides acutely right now - aging parents and growing needs for care, teenagers and college on horizon, all while dealing with one of the worst job markets while looking for a new full-time job?
My Dad called it the Oreo age. We are the cream while our parents and children are the cookies. We are squished in the middle. My Dad is gone, my mom and in laws are still in the picture and my kid are in college. Turning 50 sucked! I love my family and hate the job so I am taking some time to find something else and pray everything will fall into place from there. Ask others in the family to take on some of the daily work at home.
I've got the high school graduate, the tween in 6th grade, Matriarchs passing, and my retired parents. All of this while being a single mom. It is a lot.
I feel you on that one.
My only child graduated last June. My retired mother is having health issues. My son and I originally moved into my mom's house to help with my grandfather. He passed away from dementia about 2 years ago. Now she has health problems and I work 2 jobs in addition to having to help my child and her with different things. I can't find a decent paying job that will cover the hours I need in one job, so I only have time now for work and a couple hours a night a home. (other than sleeping), with a day off here and there.
I am in the same boat
Some things are in progress of passing. My last parent passed away last year. Child goes to college next year. I put plan to job hunt on hold (weather the storm and see if things get better at work).
ok
YES!! but thank goodness my kids are standing on their own. But it is a changing world. We are all in this together. Time to breathe and reassess everything.
Definitely. We cared for our aging parents the last few years watching each pass away one by one. It was tough time while also dealing with teenagers, college payments, job loss, covid.... I am still recovering, feeling extremely stressed out.
Absolutely. I've been looking for a job for almost two years now. And because my parents are almost in their 80s it limits the distance I can relocate. Even remote jobs, where it seem like the bigotry around race and age should be non-existent, is still very much existent. It feels impossible and has taken a toll on my mental health.
I’m afraid the unemployment rate news we hear versus the many real stories of people trying to find a decent job after two years of looking will be a huge disconnect going into an election year. I know so many GenX women having the same experience of looking & interviewing for jobs months on end, making it to final rounds and not getting an offer.
Ageism is pervasive & on top of the worst job market so many peers have ever witnessed makes this unprecedented. It’s a dark time for anyone underemployed or unemployed.
this is why...and sorry if this is tangential but this is why I have a problem with platforms like LinkedIn. It's supposed to level the employment playing field but when they share all your demographic information, it factors in with your education and work experience. That amount of disclosure doesn't bode well for people in the margins. And the fact that some companies require a LinkedIn account to apply makes the entire employment market complicit.
I'm an early Gen X-er whose parents are gone. Being a single parent of two adult children, one of whom is about to go to graduate school, I feel very pressured to stay at my high-stress toxic job teaching at a high school because it is so hard to find full-time work at my age. (I am working this job and a second job).Everyone wants us to work to a ripe old age, but no one wants to hire anyone over 40.