The New Burnout Isn’t about Working Too Much

For as long as we have been talking about burnout, it has been about how much we have to do. Too many meetings, too many emails, too many hours in front of a laptop. The obvious solution, of course, is to cross our fingers for fewer meetings and getting a week-long vacation once a year (or twice if you are lucky).

I have listened to parents gloat when they have to call out sick. And don't even get me started on pure joy over a five-day COVID-19 quarantine. But according to a growing number of young workers, burnout isn't about how much work they are expected to do. It's about answering a far more uncomfortable question: Why am I doing this at all?

Gen Z entered the workforce in an unprecedentedly volatile economy. They have watched the pandemic decimate working life as they knew it, survived mass layoffs conducted over Zoom and now they are hearing AI will remake or outright eliminate many of the jobs they have been trained to do. Add it all up and it shouldn't surprise you that climbing the corporate ladder isn't quite as attractive as it was 10 years ago.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.