Psychology has become a very popular and important aspect in society today. Psychology refers to the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context. Psychology as a field of study basically deals with the problems of everyday life and helps us comprehend the behavior of people around us, what forces make people different from others and generally find out why people behave differently. Sigmund Freud, a psychologist argues that human behavior is as a result of interactions among components of the mind. In an attempt to help understand psychology, there have been several psychologists such as Carl Rogers who argue that humans have one basic motive which is the tendency to self-actualize in fulfilling one’s potential and achieve the highest form of beingness. In understanding psychology individuals have been able to deal with the hassles of life thus curbing depression. This has been made possible by integrating several factors to influence quality of life and personal fulfillment.

Self -actualization or rather personal fulfillment is a main facet in an individual’s life. According to (Perera ,2020), self-actualization can be described as the complete realization of one’s potential as manifest in peak experiences which involve the full development of one’s abilities and appreciation for life and this involves one’s full involvement in life. The time of life between ages forty and sixty-five is referred to as middle adulthood. During this time, middle life adults are often making more money than they have ever made and due to job satisfaction, they are able to do the job well and thus they become more effective and productive. This translates to lower absenteeism and less job hoping as compared to younger adults. Working during the middle adulthood period enables these adults to help with the challenges and responsibilities that they are met with which include, losing parents and experiencing associated grief, becoming grandparents, launching children into their own lives, adjusting to home life without children,dealing with adult children who return to live at home and acting as caregivers for aging parents and spouses (Lazzara,n.d).However, in as much as work is an important factor in personal fulfilment,both men and women experience personal distress at this time and this is caused by the factors associated with work. The different roles for males and females cause confusion between the two since the female gender is encouraged to be overly emotional while the male gender is expected to suppress and dismiss emotions. According to (SMC,n.d),studies on gender and stress have discovered that during prolonged stress, men experience the “flight or fight “mechanism while women typically tends towards” treat and nurture.” The male gender adopts to “fight or flight” as a survival mechanism in dealing with stress. When the male gets angry and becomes argumentative, this is termed as fight while if due to the stress levels, the male retreats to the profane attitude as way of escape, this is termed as flight. On the other hand, women prefer personal connection to help in stress management. In this case, women are likely to opt for friendships, giving and treatment as a way of handling stress and personal distresses. In order to bridge the gap between men and women on stress and the impact it has on them, individual open discourse and active communication is essential.

Quality of life can be directly related to job satisfaction as it may lead to worker happiness or unhappiness. Quality of life is basically associated with life and job satisfaction. According to (Kagan,2021), common qualities of life include free time, commute, weather and harmonious relationships with others, physical and mental health, religious beliefs, safety, security and freedom. Firstly, in relation to weather, climate change will increase the frequency of extreme events. Secondly the state of physical and mental health will affect the quality of life since poor physical and mental health will lead to lack of control, choice and low self-esteem bringing forth a sense of hopelessness and lack of confidence. Thirdly, participation in leisure activities, adults are able to build social relationships, acquire additional skills and knowledge and feel positive emotions thus improving their quality of life. Last but not least, involvement in religious activities during the period of middle adulthood helps improve the quality of life as they are more likely to see friends thus have fewer depressive feelings. In a bid to make ends meet in this fast-moving world, middle adulthood workers are prone to occupational burnout.

Burnout is a syndrome abstracted as resultant from chronic workplace stress that has not been effectively managed. According to (WGU,2019), the effects of job burnout are to begin with, the workers feeling little in control as they cannot be able to make decisions about their work schedule, they develop a lack of work-life balance as they are giving a lot of their energy and time to work, being unsure about their expectations as this is essential to avoid frustrations with work. Since burnout is a major issue in the corporate world, it is important to look into preventive measures such as increasing belief in oneself and abilities as this will help one make well informed decisions about the job. Notably, educating oneself about business and acknowledging what the issues causing burnout are will help deal with occupational burnout thus improving the quality of life of not only the middle adulthood workers but also every other individual in the business field.

In a nutshell, middle adulthood period is an important phase in a person’s life as this is where they make important financial decisions. To ensure that effectiveness in job industries is maintained or rather taken to a higher notch, awareness should be created on how to improve the quality of life, deal with the personal distresses in a healthy way and means of how to cope with occupational burnout.