Love, marriage & affairs: A mid-age crisis of Indian corporates!

Contemplating it will never happen to us does not always mean it will not. From securing a top-notch role at a leading corporation to suddenly questioning life choices — love, marriage, relationships — mid-life crisis hit us differently and often without any realisation. While all of us picture motionless, calm lives full of happiness and laughter going forward, balancing our career and our partner’s tantrums starts becoming burdensome one fine day — indicating that we have arrived at our mid-life crisis.

Usually beginning with questioning every single choice of us — profession, selecting our partner, falling in love, tying the knot, everything becomes a choice of black and white. The relationships that once felt like blooming roses and flying butterflies begin to feel like a choking constraint. Working delayed hours becomes the new norm; once spending the majority of the day at the office with colleagues becomes the immediate circle of friends, growing attraction to that fine individual soon begins to feel like a break from reality.

This is often the reality for middle aged Indian corporates, whose response to the anxiety and stress of mid-life crisis leads them to find solace in the warm embrace of new romantic adventures. Spending reduced time with their primary partners leads to telltale gaps in communication, and peace and calm are only to be found in the thrill of romantic relationships outside marriage.

Ms. Sybil Shiddell, APAC Manager, Gleeden, emphasises on mid-age crisis, saying they are an indicator of requiring change to ensure mental wellbeing, “Life tends to work mysteriously and in the grey zones. Mid-life crisis lets us introspect our inner questions, abilities and status — if an established relationship is forcing against change, human minds address it through a unique way. The best way to overcome mid-life crisis is to fixate yourself on what our inner self desires and working toways achieving it. If it leads us to meeting a certain individual who aligns with us better than our established relationships, prioritizing self well-being should be the norm.”

Marital challenges and cheating

Indian corporate employees spend a significant amount of time in their office premises. For many, setting aside personal time for their primary partners becomes a challenge in itself, leading to marital challenges that have long-term consequences. The resulting combination of stress and anxiety, a byproduct of marital breakdown — the idea of faithfulness soon goes out of the window. Prioritizing clicking and swiping to engage in casual flings to more serious relationships outside the boundaries of marriage helps to reduce the stress and the notion has also been cross-checked by a survey conducted by Gleeden. 25% of Indians reveal they have been unfaithful to their established partners with a colleague, with the trend particularly catching up in Kolkata (35%), Delhi (32%) and Mumbai (35%) — highlighting a majorly unspoken aspect of the mid-life crisis of corporate employees.

Losing purpose

Life’s dynamics shift as we mature, and for corporate employees, it constitutes a significant reason behind their mid-life crisis. At this stage when the purpose of having loved their partners, or getting married makes little sense, this results in them losing the purpose of life. Neglected love by their primary partners leads to a willingness to cross established boundaries, and the resulting craving for variety elevates them to acceptance — and an affair is born.