Posted on 09/09/2013 5:17:21 AM PDT by thackney
Generation X oil and gas industry workers are in danger of burning out due to a combination of increasingly few mid-career professionals working in oil and gas, family commitments and an ever-increasing workload connected to an expanding energy sector, according to a senior member of the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Taking part in the Offshore Europe 2013 conference’s final keynote session, Steve Walker – Head of Strategic Inventions for the HSE’s Energy Division – said: "We [know] there’s not enough of Generation X and yet they are extremely valuable, so I think there's a real danger of the burn out of Generation X."
Walker said that while Generation X employees aged between their early 40s and early 50s are seeking better work/life balance and roles mentoring younger workers, the current increase in activity in the oil and gas sector suggests they are likely to be working harder than ever, directly involved in carrying out projects.
"I think there’s a real tension there and it's very easy to speak theoretically about how we want look at and nurture Generation X [workers] but I do wonder whether, just because of the pace of the industry, there is a real danger we are overusing them," he added.
Also taking part in the keynote session – titled "Oil and Gas Skills – Your Future Today" – were Sara Caplan, a partner at business consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Ferdinand von Prondzynski, principal of Robert Gordon University.
Caplan noted:
"People in the middle [of their careers] tend to suffer from not an awful lot of investment because they are steady people, they know their job and are really good at it. What we find is that people don't tend to move on for more money unless something has made them think about money. And the thing that tends to make them think about money is dissatisfaction in a job and that might be because no-one is investing in their development and they don’t feel valued anymore."
Prof von Prondzynski added that educational and training organizations like the recently-formed Oil & Gas Academy of Scotland (OGAS) have a role to play in helping Generation X.
"OGAS, along with the institutions that make up OGAS will be much better at addressing that generation of employees," he said.
"Previously, universities and colleges were used to dealing with school leavers, taking them through an educational program and then saying goodbye to them. Now, we are used to engaging with people who are later on in their careers… to develop them at that point and also help the companies concerned."
An interesting quote.
I met guys that were in their 30's/early 40's that were approaching being millionaires. They didn't seem to want much of anything except to work. I thought it an intriguing perception.
If I was mid 20's and strong/healthy ... I'd sell my soul to the oil/gas industry for about three years, learn some stuff and settle into a very comfortable life.
The money would go into buying an island somewhere and I'd go off and be a missionary or something.
Not many in the 20’s have the discipline to set aside that much of their salary.
But then ... I'm looking out through older eyes, also.
Are they talking about line workers, or guys with college degrees in petroleum engineering?
You’re leaving out all the stuff the girl buys.
Once you’ve ‘bought’ the girl, she’s ‘bought’ your paycheck.
My kid brother just broke up with (Thank you God) a girl that managed to ‘help’ him spend over $100K in a year. $1200 shoes (several pairs at a time), vacations to tropical paradise locations (several of these), tuition for her kids, toys for her kids, trip to Disney for her kids, 2 or 3 thousand dollars a month on clothes, bought her a car, etc. It was Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous! On an oilhand’s (really good, but not Donald Trump!) salary.
My family’s been in the oilfield for nearly 65 years. The difference between who has money when they retire and who doesn’t is nearly always up to the woman. I’ve seen one exception to this. In that case the oilhand had a gambling problem.
If he’s got a happy marriage and she’s not spending him to the poorhouse he’s usually a very happy boy...
In the field, the guys that make the most dollars are directional drillers and company men.
Nowadays it’s ‘preferred’ to have some sort of college degree for those jobs but not required by any means.
The PetE degree holders are usually office minions somewhere.
I’ve got a cousin who, with only a highschool diploma, is a directional driller making $200K+/yr. In his mid 30’s. And has been making that kind of money for over a decade. Spending a hundred grand on a degree and using his early 20’s to get that would have seriously cost him money long term.
This article makes this phenomenon sound like its something new. There have been boom industries through out our history and people work like crazy in them, and some of the workers spend every cent they make, and then burn out. The smart ones realize that the good times won’t keep rolling and save some money.
I was in the energy field service biz a long time. While a colleague was buying race cars and gorgeous leather jackets, I was socking it away for the future. I’ve often wondered how he turned out.
There’s a lot of boom and bust, that’s for sure.
The best outcome from my observation is having a thrifty wife who holds the checkbook so he can worry about work and not finances.
My immediate family keeps Ford in business.
Besides the obvious money spender; travel, bigger and bigger boats...
Gen Y grew up under Clinton and they're on the dole.
It's frightening to consider what Gen Obama will become.
So now, unable to stop the shift toward shale, they will try to demonize it as “inhuman” to the workers. Nice try.
So now, unable to stop the shift toward shale, they will try to demonize it as “inhuman” to the workers. Nice try.
Those poor, poor workers forced to live a six figure salary , high bonus life style doing pretty hard but cool work.
They are the new proletariat/s
There is a reason they are working hard enough to be in danger of burning out.
I have been in their position and it’s a good place to be.
Wouldn’t mind being there now too, actually
I’ve been thinking about a career change, and moving out west to get in on the Bakken Boom, but I have no contacts. Does anyone here have any information they can pass on?
Gen X Ping
>>Not many in the 20’s have the discipline to set aside that much of their salary.<<
If they are shown the benefits of compounding many of them will do just fine.
The hard part can be convincing someone who only worked in the boom that the bust is coming. in this industry it is not enough to save only for retirement.
That’s so, so true.
Xer Ping
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