Why Young Women Like You, Are Burning Out?

Millennials have been called ‘Generation Burnout’, with young women especially hitting full-blown burnout by the age of 30. here’s how to step down off the ledge

I went into therapy a week before Christmas, and it took just one session for me to understand what had been building up for ages. I ticked all the burnout boxes,” says 28-year-old Event Coordinator Maria. “This time last year, I’d never even heard of the ‘Millennial Burnout’. Burnout was something that happened to middle-aged corporate men. I’d covered it up, but eventually I screwed up so badly that my boss asked me to take a month off, insisting that I get help. I’ve lost a lot of ground and compromised my professional reputation, but I was lucky. I could have also lost my job.’

A 2014 survey by job-placement service Monster Worldwide found that Millennials are experiencing burnout in the highest numbers—86% as opposed to 76% of their more seasoned colleagues. Other studies reflect the same findings. Most worrying, ‘Millennial burnout’ affects more than the workplace: according to a Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology article, Generational Differences in Young Adults’ Life Goals, Concern Of Others and Civic Orientation, Gen Y’s high levels of burnout are matched by elevated anxiety, depression and mental- health issues. Millennial women are the hardest-hit. “A Millennial Female Burnout Syndrome is emerging,” says Erica Dhawan, strategic consultant and CEO of Cotential. “It’s women who are ‘burning out by 30’”, writes business journalist Larissa Faw in Forbes magazine.