Overview
- The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre reports Australians aged 35 to 55 face the highest time stress, burnout and emotional fatigue, with pressures intensifying over the past decade.
- Time scarcity emerges as the strongest factor in declining wellbeing, accounting for roughly half of the life-satisfaction drop as scores bottom out between ages 40 and 44 before recovering later.
- Women in their 40s and 50s do about 12 more unpaid hours of housework and care each week and report 13% higher time stress than men, with around one in ten women at age 48 caring for both children and ageing parents.
- About one in three people in midlife experience a major negative life event each year, and financial stress increases the likelihood of separation fourfold, with single parents reporting the lowest life satisfaction and highest hardship.
- Community engagement has weakened, with volunteering among 35–55-year-olds falling from roughly 60% in 2010 to below 44% in 2022, and researchers urge flexible, predictable work and better childcare and eldercare access to ease time pressure.