Not Exhausted:
How Burnout Became Society's Favorite Status Symbol
There’s a quiet panic that hits me every time someone asks,
“So what have you been up to?”.
It’s not because I have nothing going on. It's because I didn’t almost die from doing it.
Apparently, if you're not barely holding it together with a triple espresso in one hand and a color-coded Google Calendar in the other, you're not trying hard enough.
Resting? That’s for people who’ve earned it — and let’s face it, when the hell is that?
Welcome to the Cult of Overload™, where productivity is religion and exhaustion is your confession booth.
76% of full-time workers in
the U.S. experience burnout
at least sometimes — and 28% say they feel it “very often.”
That’s not a vibe, that’s a crisis.
Burnout Is the New Normcore
We’re not just tired — we’re culturally programmed to be. From #5amClub influencers to CEOs humblebragging about their 80-hour weeks, exhaustion has gone from red flag to status symbol.
It’s not “doing your best,” it’s “slowly dying with
a good LinkedIn presence.”
Let’s blame capitalism. And tech bros. And that girl on LinkedIn who posted a tearful selfie from the office at 3 a.m. with the caption, “This is what dedication looks like.”
(What it actually looks like is untreated anxiety and a desperate need for boundaries, but okay.)
The Numbers Don't Lie — But You Might Be
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is now a legit occupational phenomenon.
In 2021, 52% of American workers reported feeling burned out — up from 43% the year before.
Congrats, everyone. We're all emotionally bankrupt, but at least we answered that email at midnight.
Meanwhile, the hustle economy keeps whispering sweet nothings in our ears:
“Sleep is for the weak.”
“If you’re not grinding, someone else is.”
“You’ll rest when you’re dead.”
Cool. So we’re all racing toward death for… a Canva resume that says “Team Player” in Helvetica?
Who Benefits From This?
Short answer: not you.
Long answer: companies, algorithms, and every self-help guru trying to sell you a $400 morning routine.
The fetishization of hustle culture doesn’t just ruin your nervous system — it turns you into an unpaid intern for your own life.
You become a full-time manager of tasks that don’t feed your soul, just your to-do list.
Let Me Guess: You Still Think Rest Is Lazy?
Here’s the kicker: rest makes you smarter.
Not my opinion — science says so.
A 2019 study from the University of Rochester found that your brain literally flushes out toxins while you sleep.
So yeah, your 8 hours are actually a full-on detox spa for your neurons. Take that, juice cleanse.
Even creativity — the thing we all romanticize — needs boredom and downtime to show up. You can’t think outside the box if you’re too damn busy trying to fill every corner of it with checklists.
So What Now?
What if we stopped asking “How are you?” and started asking “Are you rested?”
What if the new flex was saying, “I took a nap today and didn’t hate myself for it.”
Radical, I know.
But maybe — just maybe — you're not here to burn out like a discounted Yankee Candle.
Maybe you’re here to feel things, to make things, to be things other than exhausted.
So go lie down. Not because you earned it. But because you exist.
And that's enough.
