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Locked in
More than ever, it feels Gen Z is sold the idea that as long as we’re “locked in” we’ll be content. As long as we have the most “tea” body, get the perfect grades and work the longest hours, then we’ll at last feel happy and the work will pay off. But at what point does constantly working and striving to be perfect take its toll? When do we distinguish between “being disciplined” and just feeling like a failure if we aren’t? We’re sold this narrative each day on social media, whether it be early morning GRWMs or balancing school and full-time jobs, it seems like everyone is dialed in. But then, why are we experiencing a national mental health crisis?
Do people actually feel motivated every day or do they feel like they have the world on their shoulders with nothing to look forward to? Seems like the latter… based on what I’m about to reveal to you.
2026 and burnout
Employee monitoring software, WorkTime uncovered some harrowing realities linking mental health with extreme productivity. Eagle Hill Consulting’s Workforce Burnout Survey found that a staggering 55% of the U.S. workforce is currently experiencing burnout. Based on their sample, that’s an estimated 93 million U.S. workers. Not only are people fatigued, but their exhaustion directly affects their ability to perform at work, leading to severely low levels of efficiency. Essentially, Americans are so stressed out, the quality of their work is deteriorating.
Additionally, 72% of U.S. employees face “moderate to very high stress at work.” According to Aflac’s WorkForces Report, stress levels are the highest they’ve been since 2020 during the pandemic, and a heavy workload is the number one driver.
What’s even more alarming is that a study conducted by Modern Health found that employee burnout is the highest it’s ever been. 66% of American employees reported being burned out. The study also found that this correlated directly with negative business performance.
In essence, Americans are so exhausted from being overworked that they can’t even perform their jobs to their highest potential anymore.
“Employees are physically present but mentally depleted”
WorkTime also found that 89% of burnout-related loss comes from presenteeism and not from absenteeism. This means that although people are at work and showing up every day, they literally have nothing left to give. Here are some more disturbing findings:
- Many employees end up in the emergency room due to mental health issues caused by work-related stress
- Nearly half (47%) of employees had to take mental health days in 2025
- Gen Z and Millennials hit peak burnout at 25 years old
- Chronic stress is attributed to 120,000 deaths each year in the U.S., mainly influenced by mental health issues driven by work-related stress
- Fully remote workers are even more likely to report burnout due to severe isolation
Will gen z be the generation to make a change?
Despite all of these negative and concerning statistics, as Gen Z enters the workforce, they’re calling out companies that require long hours and prioritizing work-life balance more than any generation before them. The fact that 34% of workers have accepted lower-paying jobs in exchange for protecting their mental health just shows how heavily workplace stress is influencing career decisions.
That’s how extreme the mental health crisis is right now. Many people are beginning to weigh the costs of overworking and decide that even if it means struggling financially, it’s worth safeguarding their mental well-being.
moving forward
One study even found that if companies were to prioritize well-being, they would see a 67% boost in work performance. On top of that, employees would be 21% more productive. Who would have thought? If people were treated like human beings, and not robots, their work would be more productive; companies would be more successful.
It’s simple. If we continue glorifying working ourselves to the extreme, we’re only going to worsen the mental health crisis we’re already facing. Something has to change now, because if burnout has become the new normal, what does that mean for our future?
Fortunately, it’s looking better as more people speak out. From Bernie Sanders’ proposed four-day workweek to suggestions of more mental health resources, it’s relieving to see that we’re beginning to address a mental health crisis that can no longer be ignored. “The hustle” is pushing many workers into survival mode, and we’ve spent far too long masking exhaustion as ambition and burnout as willpower.
All in all, we shouldn’t be asking how much harder we can work, but how much longer we can live like this. If the hustle is supposed to build us a better life, at what point did it become the very thing keeping us from living one?