For as long as we’ve been talking about burnout, it’s 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 weeklong vacation once a year (or twice if you’re lucky).
I’ve 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’re 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’ve watched the pandemic decimate working life as they knew it, survived mass layoffs conducted over Zoom, and now they’re hearing AI will remake or outright eliminate many of the jobs they’ve 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.
In a recent 2025 global workplace survey from Deloitte, only 6% of Gen Z respondents said their primary career goal was to reach a senior-level position. But they’re not without ambition. Learning and development were two of the top reasons Gen Z said they chose their current employer. They just want to know where the ladder is leading them before they dedicate the next 20 years of their life to climbing it.
The exhaustion of disconnection
I think this is where companies are failing to see the next phase of employee burnout. Someone can work eight-hour days within a friendly corporate culture and still feel totally burned out if they don’t feel connected to the work they’re doing.
Companies are beginning to realize they can let people work from home two to three days a week, offer unlimited vacation, and have the coolest Ping-Pong table in Silicon Valley, but it still might not matter. Burnout is slowly becoming less about how many hours we work and more about why we work them.
Journalist Jennifer Breheny Wallace wrote about this concept in her book Mattering. Wallace argues one of our core needs is to feel that we matter and that we have something of value to offer. She distinguishes between the two to highlight how important the latter has become to modern workers.
Employees don’t want to work for a company that just appreciates them; they want to do work that they feel has value. So you can give everyone Fridays off, but they’ll probably still be burned out.
Burnout vs. flexibility
For years, companies have battled each other over who offers remote work, hybrid schedules, and other coveted benefits. And yes, flexibility still matters, but it doesn’t fix the (younger) millennial and Gen Z workers’ biggest question:
What’s the point of any of this?
This generation wants to know why they get to come to work each day. Moving forward, companies that provide their employees with the ability to answer that question will win. Managers will need to articulate why the work matters. Or better yet, show employees how it matters by connecting daily tasks to tangible outcomes.
And before you say it, I know this is in addition to allowing younger workers opportunities to learn and develop on the job. Gen Z (and soon Gen Alpha) are forcing companies to realize what other generations accepted: Yes, rest can allow us to recover from working too hard. But it can’t give meaningless work purpose.
A regular pattern that I have observed with my senior-level executive coaching clients is that they seem to be doing great but in reality are struggling. On the surface, they look successful: excellent results, composure under pressure, and abundant c…
In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made a determination in a novel case: The agency concluded there was reasonable cause to believe Cisco had infringed upon the rights of its Muslim and Middle Eastern employees, along with others who…
OpenAI is reportedly buying tens of thousands of Mac mini and Mac Studio systems as AI labs find a new use for Apple hardware.
The post OpenAI Purchases Tens of Thousands of Mac minis, Mac Studios appeared first on TechRepublic.
Do you feel like the same person in February as in June? For most people, the answer is a resounding no.
During winter, your energy tends to dip, your immune system takes a hit and you may feel less social. Research finds that people are less incli…
“Nobody does everything perfectly, not even Warren Buffett,” Dalio told David Rubenstein in conversation at the 92nd Street Y.
Under the deal, Nissan, based in the port city of Yokohama, and Tokyo-based Honda will share standardized parts in “core ECUs,” as well as software.
Google’s Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash adds video extensions, frame controls, cheaper previews and upscaled 4K output for AI video creators.
The post Google Upgrades Gemini AI Video: What Omni 1.1 Changes for Creators appeared first on TechRepublic.
Uber president and COO Andrew Macdonald predicts that in two decades, most people will get around by bike, scooter, public transit, or autonomous vehicle.
Meta is testing robots for data center maintenance, from swapping cables to restarting servers, raising questions about automation and IT staffing.
The post Meta Tests Robot Technicians: Inside Its Push to Automate Data Center Work appeared first on Te…
