The term 'burnout' was coined in the 1970s by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. It's the emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by relentless, continual stress.
If you have experienced burnout in the last year, you're not alone. According to a study conducted by Indeed, a worldwide employment website, 52% of respondents reported they felt burned out in the last year, with 67% of respondents noting they felt it worsened throughout the pandemic. ¹
For millennials and Gen Z, burnout is becoming more prevalent with the rise of hustle culture.
Hustle culture breeds burnout
You may have seen the following quotes plastered over your social media in the past decade; 'work all day, every day', '24/7 hustle' and 'rise and grind'. These quotes sum up hustle culture.
Hustle culture is the social pressure to constantly work, never switch off and prioritise your career over everything else. If you’re not continually trying to reach new milestones and achieve even greater success, hustle culture gets in your head and tells you that you’re not doing enough.
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It's a social trend that has caused millennials to burn out and become the 'burnout generation', as journalist Anne Helen Peterson said. ²
With no work-life balance, hustle culture breeds burnout, unhealthy competition and poor mental health.
In an interview with Grazia, Celebrity Hairstylist Jen Atkin spoke about the reality of hustle culture and said,
