12 ms·

Why Gen Z workers are already so burned out

34 points by akeck 4y ago

softcactus 4y ago
I'll throw in my $0.02 I enjoy coding, I'm not some whiz but I can throw together a CRUD app in a weekend and hook libraries together so it's enough. I feel as if any job I take will be intellectually stimulating but spiritually unfulfilling. I would much rather be moving things in the real world with my body, or working outside, or still doing coding as long as it's something that has an immediate visible impact on my community. But jobs like that don't pay the bills. So instead I take the high-paying tech job. I have no real desire to advance except to increase my income so I can save more and partially retire early and take a much lower-paying job doing something that makes me proud. When that's my motivation it's difficult to care about anything other than doing the bare minimum to get the next paycheck. This sentiment is reflected by a lot of the engineers I know my age who escape it through partying, sitting around all day doing nothing and still getting paid, having multiple remote jobs where they barely do any work, or trying to escape the rat race via entrepreneurship. None of them are lazy, the incentives just aren't aligned for employee satisfaction. There's no amount you can be paid to give a shit.
- wildrhythms 4y ago
  Same. I like coding. I do not like the things I'm coding. My livelihood starts and stops at paying the bills. If I could pay my bills writing FOSS software, I would in a heartbeat. Capitalism is going to kill us all
PebblesHD 4y ago
I think the article touched in it, but from my group of friends, the main theme is this. We’re working just as hard as our parents, and particularly the older colleagues in our offices, but not receiving the same rewards in regards to life milestones like getting a ‘nice’ car, moving out, or even owning a house, which further delays other milestones like putting down roots and starting families, leading to an ongoing sense of futility. The feeling is ‘why bother working 50 hour weeks in a stressful profession if I’m going to be in roughly the same position as working 20 hours at a book shop and getting to spend more time with my friends’, and this is something I relate to as well even on the more successful end of the young person with job spectrum. It does feel a bit pointless doing all this. My savings and money are just as useless as nit having them when a house I could live in is 20x a bookshop salary and 12x my salary, they’re both not cutting it so why bother? Anyway, that’s where this feeling is coming from in my group, and is something I’m still trying to find a solution for in my setting.
- gedy 4y ago
  I think this all comes to rent being too high. If you could move out after college in a decent/cool place with no roommates (unless you want them), people would feel like they have accomplished an important step.
- gruez 4y ago
  >if I’m going to be in roughly the same position as working 20 hours at a book shop and getting to spend more time with my friends’ Is this actually true? It's hard to believe that you'll "be in roughly the same position" earning $34k/year as earning $80k/year. Is the thinking that "if I can't buy a house then there's no point in saving/earning any money"?
  - netizen-936824 4y ago
    The top comment doesn't mention salaries, so I don't know where you're getting those numbers from
    - gruez 4y ago
      They did mention "20 hours at a book shop" and "a stressful profession". 20 hours at a book shop earning $17/hr works out to $17k/year (in my original comment I miscalculated and didn't factor in the reduced hours and got $34k). $80k is my estimate for how much "a stressful profession" (eg. finance, consulting) pays.
AussieWog93 4y ago
I'm 28, and employ a 22 year old. Burnout is absolutely a huge thing (and definitely worse for the younger generations), but I'm not sure the burnt-out kids they interview realise exactly why they feel this way (if they did, they would fix the issues and move on). At least from where I'm sitting, it seems like young people never switch off. You come home from work, and rather than spending some alone time doing something you actually enjoy, young people will spend 2 hours projecting their "personal brand" on Insta or Discord, then another hour on the web finding out the latest things they're supposed to be outraged at or offended by. Then, it's time to watch a Twitch streamer, eat an unhealthy meal and before you know it it's midnight and time for sleep. On the weekends, it's time to see your friends and family - which means exhausting, fake interactions designed primarily to "be seen". Brunch, clubs, experiences and attractions, all with the axe looming over your head that your social network could kick you to the turf if you're not keeping up on the treadmill. The poor zoomers haven't had an actual day off (Sabbath) since the end of high school.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
millimeterman 4y ago
The perception that <current generation> is worse off than previous generations is very common but the truth is a bit more complex. - Household income trends per age group have remained relatively consistent. The youngest group has seen the biggest dip in the past couple decades but did recover pre-COVID. https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/FT_18.12.04_IncomeGenerations1.png https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/FT_18... - Real incomes are down slightly for those without a college degree but up significantly for those with a bachelor's or better https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/ https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millenn... - Housing prices are up significantly https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USSTHPI https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USSTHPI but price per square foot is actually fairly flat https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/todays-new-homes-are-1000-square-feet-larger-than-in-1973-and-the-living-space-per-person-has-doubled-over-last-40-years/ https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/todays-new-homes-are-1000-squ...
- trinovantes 4y ago
  Income and wealth after Gen X is trending down for same age groups according to your sources. It also follows the conclusion from this talk [1]. Another thing to keep in mind is with decreasing birth rates, future generations will have a higher tax burden to support the aging costs of the previous generations. [1] https://youtu.be/ZuXzvjBYW8A?t=487 https://youtu.be/ZuXzvjBYW8A?t=487
  - millimeterman 4y ago
    > Income and wealth after Gen X is trending down for same age groups according to your sources. While I see what you mean, the effect seems minor at best. I wouldn't feel comfortable coming to that conclusion without more future data and comparative numbers for Gen Z. > Another thing to keep in mind is with decreasing birth rates, future generations will have a higher tax burden to support the aging costs of the previous generations. This does sound reasonable, though I don't necessarily know of any actual research supporting this conclusion.
planarhobbit 4y ago
Not only will you not own anything, but from an early age we’ll enslave your mind and control your attention span. We have industries of people working day in, day out to perfect this formula. We will blame any concern or problem you have on a regular rotation of mental health issues that we devise and concept, and that doctors will prescribe you a rotation of pills for in tandem. If you have a problem, we will have an answer, prepackaged and ready to go, agreed upon by the most trusted expert minds today. When you get out of line, we will shun you, and concern troll you until you either fall in line, or commit suicide. We will take away religion and community and substitute it with goals, myths, ambitions, and narratives of our own making. We will tell you what to believe and who your God is. We will put role models in front of you to follow, and you will do so even when you think you’re breaking the mould. In the end, you will be happy, you can be sure of that.
- adammarples 4y ago
  Blah blah blah, turn off Instagram and go to church if that's what you want to do, nobody will stop you
- netizen-936824 4y ago
  Dude, people are trying to turn the US into a Christian ethnostate and you're sitting here thinking people are trying to take religion away ????
- marssaxman 4y ago
  Who's this "we" you are talking about?
Yaa101 4y ago
Probably you are going to be mad at me, but I give it a try. My advice (genXer) to the genZer generation is, stop being so scared about what other people think of you, lay down you phone more often (leave it at home) and go do some relaxing stuff like going to concerts or festivals, spend more time outside (unless you are 365 days a year in a cold environment) and seek more people that leave their phone at home too... Take more risks in finding out what your purpose is here on this planet, if playing safe and live a boring life is really your thing after finding out then you have all my respect, but at least explore... Be careful with addictions of any kind as they slave you, especially smartphones, gambling, cigarettes and hard drugs, stay away from debts as well... Try to stay free and try to define your own path as much as can... Success, you can do it as most of us did it...
- softcactus 4y ago
  I would love to live an exciting life but unfortunately I have bills to pay. I'm torn between saving up to have a decent standard of living in my 30s and beyond, or going AWOL today and hoping that I can jump back into a career with higher earning potential to make up for all the years I wasn't able to buy into the market or purchase a home. I try to carpe diem as much as I can but it doesn't help that I am switching jobs every two years and moving almost every year and am never able to find a real sense of stability. Was it the same during the 90s? I watched Office Space and found the protagonist pretty relatable.
  - nopenopenopeno 4y ago
    As someone who was irresponsible in my 20s but had so much fun and made so many great memories that I can never regret it, now I’m playing catch up and it totally sucks. I don’t have any advice except generally don’t take any advice from anybody older than 40, and that is probably pushing it. They have no idea.
    - dan12ha 4y ago
      Seriously come to Europe, you are basically forced into 30+ days of vacation and Heathcare is free, no need to save in case of an illness or fear losing your job and having no healthcare. This means more chance of saving for a house deposit. I am in the UK and as long as you move north of Birmingham the house prices are not stupid.

34 points by akeck 4y ago

I'll throw in my $0.02 I enjoy coding, I'm not some whiz but I can throw together a CRUD app in a weekend and hook libraries together so it's enough. I feel as if any job I take will be intellectually stimulating but spiritually unfulfilling. I would much rather be moving things in the real world with my body, or working outside, or still doing coding as long as it's something that has an immediate visible impact on my community. But jobs like that don't pay the bills. So instead I take the high-paying tech job. I have no real desire to advance except to increase my income so I can save more and partially retire early and take a much lower-paying job doing something that makes me proud. When that's my motivation it's difficult to care about anything other than doing the bare minimum to get the next paycheck. This sentiment is reflected by a lot of the engineers I know my age who escape it through partying, sitting around all day doing nothing and still getting paid, having multiple remote jobs where they barely do any work, or trying to escape the rat race via entrepreneurship. None of them are lazy, the incentives just aren't aligned for employee satisfaction. There's no amount you can be paid to give a shit.

wildrhythms 4y ago
Same. I like coding. I do not like the things I'm coding. My livelihood starts and stops at paying the bills. If I could pay my bills writing FOSS software, I would in a heartbeat. Capitalism is going to kill us all

PebblesHD 4y ago

I think the article touched in it, but from my group of friends, the main theme is this. We’re working just as hard as our parents, and particularly the older colleagues in our offices, but not receiving the same rewards in regards to life milestones like getting a ‘nice’ car, moving out, or even owning a house, which further delays other milestones like putting down roots and starting families, leading to an ongoing sense of futility. The feeling is ‘why bother working 50 hour weeks in a stressful profession if I’m going to be in roughly the same position as working 20 hours at a book shop and getting to spend more time with my friends’, and this is something I relate to as well even on the more successful end of the young person with job spectrum. It does feel a bit pointless doing all this. My savings and money are just as useless as nit having them when a house I could live in is 20x a bookshop salary and 12x my salary, they’re both not cutting it so why bother? Anyway, that’s where this feeling is coming from in my group, and is something I’m still trying to find a solution for in my setting.

gedy 4y ago
I think this all comes to rent being too high. If you could move out after college in a decent/cool place with no roommates (unless you want them), people would feel like they have accomplished an important step.
gruez 4y ago
>if I’m going to be in roughly the same position as working 20 hours at a book shop and getting to spend more time with my friends’ Is this actually true? It's hard to believe that you'll "be in roughly the same position" earning $34k/year as earning $80k/year. Is the thinking that "if I can't buy a house then there's no point in saving/earning any money"?
- netizen-936824 4y ago
  The top comment doesn't mention salaries, so I don't know where you're getting those numbers from
  - gruez 4y ago
    They did mention "20 hours at a book shop" and "a stressful profession". 20 hours at a book shop earning $17/hr works out to $17k/year (in my original comment I miscalculated and didn't factor in the reduced hours and got $34k). $80k is my estimate for how much "a stressful profession" (eg. finance, consulting) pays.

AussieWog93 4y ago

I'm 28, and employ a 22 year old. Burnout is absolutely a huge thing (and definitely worse for the younger generations), but I'm not sure the burnt-out kids they interview realise exactly why they feel this way (if they did, they would fix the issues and move on). At least from where I'm sitting, it seems like young people never switch off. You come home from work, and rather than spending some alone time doing something you actually enjoy, young people will spend 2 hours projecting their "personal brand" on Insta or Discord, then another hour on the web finding out the latest things they're supposed to be outraged at or offended by. Then, it's time to watch a Twitch streamer, eat an unhealthy meal and before you know it it's midnight and time for sleep. On the weekends, it's time to see your friends and family - which means exhausting, fake interactions designed primarily to "be seen". Brunch, clubs, experiences and attractions, all with the axe looming over your head that your social network could kick you to the turf if you're not keeping up on the treadmill. The poor zoomers haven't had an actual day off (Sabbath) since the end of high school.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

millimeterman 4y ago

The perception that <current generation> is worse off than previous generations is very common but the truth is a bit more complex. - Household income trends per age group have remained relatively consistent. The youngest group has seen the biggest dip in the past couple decades but did recover pre-COVID. https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/FT_18.12.04_IncomeGenerations1.png https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/FT_18... - Real incomes are down slightly for those without a college degree but up significantly for those with a bachelor's or better https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millennial-life-how-young-adulthood-today-compares-with-prior-generations-2/ https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/14/millenn... - Housing prices are up significantly https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USSTHPI https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USSTHPI but price per square foot is actually fairly flat https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/todays-new-homes-are-1000-square-feet-larger-than-in-1973-and-the-living-space-per-person-has-doubled-over-last-40-years/ https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/todays-new-homes-are-1000-squ...

trinovantes 4y ago
Income and wealth after Gen X is trending down for same age groups according to your sources. It also follows the conclusion from this talk [1]. Another thing to keep in mind is with decreasing birth rates, future generations will have a higher tax burden to support the aging costs of the previous generations. [1] https://youtu.be/ZuXzvjBYW8A?t=487 https://youtu.be/ZuXzvjBYW8A?t=487
- millimeterman 4y ago
  > Income and wealth after Gen X is trending down for same age groups according to your sources. While I see what you mean, the effect seems minor at best. I wouldn't feel comfortable coming to that conclusion without more future data and comparative numbers for Gen Z. > Another thing to keep in mind is with decreasing birth rates, future generations will have a higher tax burden to support the aging costs of the previous generations. This does sound reasonable, though I don't necessarily know of any actual research supporting this conclusion.

planarhobbit 4y ago

Not only will you not own anything, but from an early age we’ll enslave your mind and control your attention span. We have industries of people working day in, day out to perfect this formula. We will blame any concern or problem you have on a regular rotation of mental health issues that we devise and concept, and that doctors will prescribe you a rotation of pills for in tandem. If you have a problem, we will have an answer, prepackaged and ready to go, agreed upon by the most trusted expert minds today. When you get out of line, we will shun you, and concern troll you until you either fall in line, or commit suicide. We will take away religion and community and substitute it with goals, myths, ambitions, and narratives of our own making. We will tell you what to believe and who your God is. We will put role models in front of you to follow, and you will do so even when you think you’re breaking the mould. In the end, you will be happy, you can be sure of that.

adammarples 4y ago
Blah blah blah, turn off Instagram and go to church if that's what you want to do, nobody will stop you
netizen-936824 4y ago
Dude, people are trying to turn the US into a Christian ethnostate and you're sitting here thinking people are trying to take religion away ????
marssaxman 4y ago
Who's this "we" you are talking about?

Yaa101 4y ago

Probably you are going to be mad at me, but I give it a try. My advice (genXer) to the genZer generation is, stop being so scared about what other people think of you, lay down you phone more often (leave it at home) and go do some relaxing stuff like going to concerts or festivals, spend more time outside (unless you are 365 days a year in a cold environment) and seek more people that leave their phone at home too... Take more risks in finding out what your purpose is here on this planet, if playing safe and live a boring life is really your thing after finding out then you have all my respect, but at least explore... Be careful with addictions of any kind as they slave you, especially smartphones, gambling, cigarettes and hard drugs, stay away from debts as well... Try to stay free and try to define your own path as much as can... Success, you can do it as most of us did it...

softcactus 4y ago
I would love to live an exciting life but unfortunately I have bills to pay. I'm torn between saving up to have a decent standard of living in my 30s and beyond, or going AWOL today and hoping that I can jump back into a career with higher earning potential to make up for all the years I wasn't able to buy into the market or purchase a home. I try to carpe diem as much as I can but it doesn't help that I am switching jobs every two years and moving almost every year and am never able to find a real sense of stability. Was it the same during the 90s? I watched Office Space and found the protagonist pretty relatable.
- nopenopenopeno 4y ago
  As someone who was irresponsible in my 20s but had so much fun and made so many great memories that I can never regret it, now I’m playing catch up and it totally sucks. I don’t have any advice except generally don’t take any advice from anybody older than 40, and that is probably pushing it. They have no idea.
  - dan12ha 4y ago
    Seriously come to Europe, you are basically forced into 30+ days of vacation and Heathcare is free, no need to save in case of an illness or fear losing your job and having no healthcare. This means more chance of saving for a house deposit. I am in the UK and as long as you move north of Birmingham the house prices are not stupid.