Or is it? Or maybe it is, just not under all circumstances? Age labels slowly start losing their traditional meaning, and it is far from certain that two middle-aged people have as similar lifestyles and could be described as uniformly as used to be the case in the past.

Based on traditional patterns in the world of management, we think that the rat race of multinational companies crushes people faster than other sectors, and managers also end up burnt out sooner here. While this may have been the case 15-20 years ago, nowadays, more and more 40-50 year old leaders and interim managers consciously use the opportunities that they have to stay active and youthful both with regard to their physical and mental health.

Over the past decade, the notions of growing old and withering have been re-evaluated. Instead of becoming slow and grey, many people remain energetic even after the fourth and fifth decade of life; one of the reasons for this is the fact that they are confident about the knowledge and experience that they have gained so far, and use and apply them consciously. Their experience differs from that of their parents in many areas of life.

One of the main differences is their openness to technology, which, with the help of new devices, allows people who used to be called middle-aged to stay up to date and maintain a strong network that is continuously refreshed. This is particularly important when a senior manager leaves the world of employment and spends months or even years as an interim manager or any other type of freelancer.

Another great difference is that, instead of rejecting change and letting the negative emotions associated with it overcome them, they are receptive to it.

The way they handle diversity also differentiates the old and new middle-aged – or, to use a trendy expression, the perennials. They maintain an active and cooperative dialogue with their younger colleagues instead of succumbing to the temptations of the traditional generation gap. Instead of repeating the mantra of “I told you so”, they ask, “how do you see it?” For perennials, life-long learning is not a duty but an opportunity, it is the acceptance and belief of the fact that they can keep up with and even shape this rapidly changing world.

Perennials are both flexible and experienced; sports and healthy eating are also important in their lives. They are aware of the fact that after the fifth decade, they still have a lot more time ahead of them than people in previous ages did – and they need to prepare for that. Consequently, they have goals, dreams, and are ready to face challenges. Hopefully, the increase in life expectancy will also entail a significant and positive increase in expected fulfilment in life, so the image of slow, grey and withering middle-aged people will slowly disappear from the public consciousness. In today’s Europe, where more and more employees are perennials, new approaches are required, not only with regard to millennials, the younger generation, but with regard to them as well.

“We are here. We are ready. We are the perennials”, as the slogan of this generation goes.