Stress levels are going up, and we have our youngest workers bearing the brunt of it. The Gen Z burnout rate has risen to alarming levels, with nearly 50% of them stating they already feel too exhausted to keep going. At a glance, the change might be attributed to their unique disposition or the mismatch between their expectations and the realities of work, but the problem is perhaps more complex than that.
Despite prioritizing a healthy work-life balance and mental health over all else, new data from a Youngstown State University survey found that nearly 50% of Gen Z are burnt out, with the rising costs and the pressures of juggling jobs with their education bearing down on them. This exhaustion may be left to the workers to resolve on their own, but organizations that are keen to prepare the future workforce for the changes to come can benefit greatly from supporting the workers who show up at their doorsteps.
The rising Gen Z burnout rate is a mix of the challenges of juggling a full-time job with education, while also seeing a lack of growth at work. (Image: Pexels)
The Gen Z Burnout Rate Suggests That the Time for Change Is Now
Graduating from college and entering the workforce is meant to be an exciting time for workers, celebrating the joys and independence of formally stepping into adulthood. Instead, workers are already facing severe exhaustion, unable to keep up with the demands of their career of choice. A study by Youngstown State University found that 43% of Gen Zers are currently balancing full-time jobs with additional degrees and certification programs designed to enhance their career success.
The importance of learning and upskilling has been driven into us for years now, and this attitude has been handed down to Gen Z. Unfortunately, accessing and managing these educational demands is not easy. The study found that 76% of Gen Z workers found the high costs to be the biggest barrier to seeking out education. In 2025, when workers are being asked to showcase proficiency in new and unrelated areas like AI, the desire to seek out higher education doesn’t come as a surprise.
While data shows that workers are slowly losing faith in college degrees and even drifting towards blue-collar work, those who do want to work in their industry of choice are uncertain about the qualifications it takes to make it there.
The Burnout Affecting Gen Zers Is a Problem for More Reasons than One
Working a full-time job or chasing a degree full-time are both exhausting pursuits on their own, but when they overlap, their effects can be particularly tiresome. Gen Zers who represent this high burnout rate aren’t merely struggling due to the task of handling finances, but due to the mental and physical effects of burnout as well.
Not only is burnout a result of the dominant narrative of hustle culture, but it also limits its victims from hustling any further. The study also found that 40% of its young participants blame the burnout for making it harder to continue learning new skills or throw their hat in the ring for a promotion.
Organizations want skilled candidates, and with the number of jobs shrinking, the landscape of work is growing more competitive. Gen Zers are too young to have experience in the industry, which makes their education and training the only crutch they can use to enter the workforce and gain said experience. Putting balance over burnout may be a preference, but it is a hard goal to achieve with the conditions of work that currently stand.
Why Are Gen Zers Pushing Themselves to the Point of Burnout?
There are multiple reasons that coalesce to result in Gen Z’s high burnout levels. One of the primary reasons, according to the Youngstown State University study, is the lack of support from employers. Only 32% of the respondents felt actively supported by their employer in terms of educational pursuits. This could be in the form of tuition or stipend support, or even work schedules that accommodate their dual roles. Around 37% claimed that while employers supported learning as a concept, they rarely made any effort to promote it.
If support for external educational ambitions is not an option, what about the experience on the job? This has been found lacking as well. Up to 49% of the workers claimed that their job offers provided little to no room for their growth. The lack of career progress has been so notable that 42% have quit a previous job over it, with 34% considering doing the same within the next year.
The idea of quitting a job due to the lack of growth isn’t a Gen Z quirk, but there has been a distinct rise in this attitude in recent years. There may be some difference between Gen Z burnout vs millennial exhaustion, but the results are likely the same.
What HR Can Do About the Rising Burnout Among Gen Zers
Gen Z’s extreme exhaustion may be a problem for them to personally address and resolve, but these are the workers who are set to make up the majority of the workforce in the coming years. In order for them to showcase the necessary skills on the job, they need experience and the ability to last longer in their industries. It falls to organizations and their HR teams to step up and make changes to aid them along their way.
Educational grants and collaborations with universities are a great way for organizations to support employees in their journey towards gaining more experience while remaining employed. This helps remove some of the financial burden on them and also opens up conversations about flexible work schedules that help both employer and employee seek what they want. If this poses too much of a financial challenge, there are various ways to provide training and experience on the job as well.
From talking to employees to chart out a career plan for them at the organization to assigning them mentors who are available to guide them forward, there are an unlimited number of ways to address this burnout. Understanding Gen Z’s appreciation of mental health support systems, providing employees with avenues to address burnout can also go a long way. The sooner that Gen Z handles their burnout, the easier it will be for them to offer up maximum productivity in exchange for their work.
Can HR Teams Tackle the Lack of Hope Among Gen Zers?
With nearly 50% of Gen Z burnout, it is obvious that there is a systemic problem at the root of the issue. The workplace is evolving in myriad ways, and Gen Zers are frequently left out of participating in the change, only to be brought on at the last minute when there are no other candidates available. Many have been warned about the risk of AI taking over their jobs in the future, forcing them to pivot in their employment and look for AI-proof careers.
New York University professor Suzy Welch told Fortune that while workers have always faced challenging circumstances for one reason or another, the young Gen Z and millennial workers of today aren’t driven by hope. Welch’s conversation with a young worker led to this assessment that, in the past, we were driven by optimism about where our effort could take us: “And I did have hope. We all did have hope,” she said. “We believed that if you worked hard, you were rewarded for it. And so this is the disconnect.” For the workforce today, this link between hard work and success does not appear to be the case.
Success was previously measured by promotions and rising pay, and while the money is still a motivator, Gen Zers are no longer looking to rise through the ranks with the same vigor. Their motivations appear to have evolved, and this makes it all the more important to understand what drives them and create the conditions that make it possible to look forward to the trajectory of their careers. This is something that is entirely within the realm of HR experts to support.
Do you think there are other reasons for Gen Z’s burnout rates going up? Share your thoughts with us. Subscribe to The HR Digest for more insights on workplace trends, layoffs, and what to expect with the advent of AI.